Chocolate is one of our most popular ingredients - both to eat and to cook with. But how many of us know how truly versatile it is? Hotel Chocolat, the UK's leading chocolatier, has pioneered 'cocoa cuisine': a new way of cooking with chocolate because, athough we know chocolate as a sweet ingredient, cocoa was originally used in savoury recipes. In fact, cocoa is a 'super-ingredient' with many layers of flavour and plenty of goodness too, and and this book showcases its many flavours and nuances with over 100 innovative chocolate recipes, both sweet and savoury.
Hotel Chocolat has created energy-boosting recipes for breakfast, savoury recipes that enhance meat and fish dishes as well as give texture and depth to salads and snacks. And of course, not forgetting the hedonistic qualities that we love so much - with seductive bakes and puddings for all tastes.
Find out too how to use the whole bean, from the shell to the nibs, cocoa powder to bar. And how to roast your own beans and even create a bar of your own. Uniquely, each recipe has a Cocoa Factor to indicate the depth of flavour as well as the cocoa percentage and region that will best suit the dish. Angus Thirlwell, Hotel Chocolat's visionary founder, will also take you through the story of chocolate from pod to plate.
Welcome to cocoa cuisine!
