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Chocolate: the Definitive Guide
by Sara Jayne-Stanes
Foreword by Michel Roux

Amazon.co.uk Review
The secret of the uniquely, irresistibly seductive quality of chocolate, according to Sara Jayne-Stanes, is that it is the only substance to melt at blood temperature, "gently exploding into a warm, sensual liquid, filling your mouth with an incomparable, hedonistic feeling that you just want to go on and on . . . " I think we get the picture. Another, complementary, view of its attractions is indicated by the scientific name accorded it by Linnaeus: Theobroma, food of the gods. Chocolate:The Definitive Guide is a loving homage to this extraordinary substance by one of Britain's finest professional chocolate makers. It's difficult to convey the riches of this marvellous book. Sara Jayne-Stanes begins by outlining the history of chocolate, from its prehistoric Meso-american origins to its current paradoxical status as both bland, trashy global comfort food and expensive luxury commodity. The latter of course is her preoccupation. Chocolate, it seems, is as susceptible as wine to the vagaries of climate and terroir.

Utterly thorough instructions on the preparation of chocolate for any and all types of cooking are followed here by a series of recipes that will have chocoholics on their knees. From sauces, petits fours, cakes and gateaux, through puddings, ices and mousses, there is nothing that isn't rich, exciting and fulfilling. So, a fabulous recipe for Brownies, a Roule Marquis from Michel Roux, Shaun Hill's Warm Chocolate Cake with Cherry or Apricot Compot, Frozen Mississippi Mud Pie or, to climax, a trio of plain milk and white chocolate truffles. As if that were not enough, a few savoury recipes involving chocolate are appended: The famous Mexican Mole Poblano, of course, but also a Spanish dish of fish stewed in onions with chocolate and mushrooms and a Bordelaise one of lampreys in a red wine stew spiked with chocolate.

Chocolate addicts, and you know who you are, will need no encouragement. (Need I say, the recipes are all most achievable.) For the rest of us, Sara Jayne-Stanes offers a legitimate route to shameless pleasure.

Robin Davidson

Synopsis
Providing a history of chocolate, this book also covers how and where the cocoa plant grows, how chocolate is made, the different varieties, all the manufacturers, sources of information and suppliers, and recipes for confectionery, cakes, biscuits, pastries, pies, puddings, sauces and decorations.

A Chocoholics Delight! (August 2002)
Reviewer: RH from London, UK

If you like chocolate, you'll love this book. It is informative and entertaining. From the historical genesis of cacao bean, through its evolution as a drink, to the confectionary on sale today, Sara Jayne Stanes tells the story with knowledge and style. If you are looking for a single book that shares historical context, recipes, makers and retail outlets, then this is the one to buy. Now where are those Valrhona truffles . . . ?

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