Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light

by Mort Rosenblum

North Point Press, 290 pp., $24

Mort Rosenblum is an award-winning international journalist with a love of food and a genuine talent for immersing himself in his chosen subjects. His gifts and passions are evident in this erudite exploration of the history, archeology, agronomy, allure, and mystique of chocolate. The writer attended a chocolate tasting in Paris held by the exclusive Club des Croqueurs de Chocolat, and chocolate thereafter became his muse. It led him to Mexico, Africa, San Francisco, Hershey, and all the established chocolate capitals of Europe. The thought-provoking stories of the chocolate masters he encounters illuminate Rosenblum’s trek, as he samples their wares and expands his “database of available chocopleasures.” Reading this delicious book is likely to increase chocolate knowledge and chocolate cravings exponentially. The only thing missing is a good bibliography.

This article appears in February 11 • 2005.

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