La Maison du Chocolat : Transcendent Desserts by the Legendary Chocolatier

Rating:
Summary: a beautiful book but......
Review: An absolutly gorgerous book. I think I am a little greedy in that I was expecting more from this book. I believe there are around 60 recipes. Some are divine, some were the standards found in many books and some I don't think were worth putting in(like chocolate dipped dried fruit). There are numerous lush pictures and poetic discriptions of candies made at La Maison Du Chocolat but no actual recipes or guidelines for candy making. Although I may sound critical, the book is truly beautiful and one can sense the author's passion for his art.

Rating:
Summary: a beautiful book but......
Review: An absolutly gorgerous book. I think I am a little greedy in that I was expecting more from this book. I believe there are around 60 recipes. Some are divine, some were the standards found in many books and some I don't think were worth putting in(like chocolate dipped dried fruit). There are numerous lush pictures and poetic discriptions of candies made at La Maison Du Chocolat but no actual recipes or guidelines for candy making. Although I may sound critical, the book is truly beautiful and one can sense the author's passion for his art.

Rating:
Summary: Close to perfection
Review: Chocolate is one of the four basic food groups. The others are, some say, wine and garlic, with furious debate over the fourth.
Linxe has, over a lifetime, created a veritable ode to chocolate in many forms, and his five stores in Paris are well worth the visit (you will come out much poorer except in chocolate). His New York jewel, which has moved slightly downtown from the East 70s to Madison Avenue, is worth seeing and smelling close up--any chocolate lover will understand.
The soul of Linxe's art with chocolate is captured in this magnificent book. The photographs alone are sinfully sensual.
A baker friend says that the recipes are within her grasp if she only had the time, and the money, and could get all the ingredients conveniently. She and I both agreed, and this was pointed out by another reviewer, that the history and diversity of chocolate is a significant omission, but wanting more data on chocolate is perhaps greedy on our part and we should not sit around lazily on a chocolate high, with some decent pinot noir on the side, but get out and do our own research.
For what it is, and not for what it omits, this is a great book. It makes one want to fly to Paris right this second, and there one can find all the other vital food groups as well.

Rating:
Summary: "A bit egotistical, but a worthy gift"
Review: I agree with reviwers' comments on the photography - exceptional shots of works of art. I have been working with pastry and food for 12 years, and recommend this book as an excellent gift for someone. Constructively speaking however, it is not perfect. There are typographical errors, most trivial, several in recipes (not trivial). I thought the format a bit too much 'coffee table', and the fonts used too small and hard to read for some small neasures. The small fonts also wasted paper - large sections of blank paper in the pages. Regardless, the recipes are excellent and flavorful - don't be afraid to use the chocolate you have available. As a companion book, take a look at 'Belgian Chocolates' by Roger Geerts (1990). They are a great set!

Rating:
Summary: arm chair cookbook
Review: I have been wanting this book for a while, but I waited a long time (too long) to buy it. This book is not only visually beautiful, it has some interesting information about chocolate in general, as well as some really intriguing recipes - some of them are on a professional level and are quite complex, but a lot of them are pretty simple and sound very nice. Even if you never make a recipe out of this book, I don't think that you will regret buying it.

Rating:
Summary: Temptation by Choclate
Review: This is one of the most magnificently illustrated books I have ever seen. It makes you want to either run out and buy a box of the best choclates or whip up some of the decadent brownies. Although the recipes may seem intimidating for a beginner, most of them can be easily accomplised by the home baker. The chocolate almond cake is divine. So is the chocolate rasberry mousse. My only problem with this book was that there was no section with information about chocolate and the different kinds available and their particular features.