Yes, I've been working on a book for some time now...unfortunately, life (and other book contracts) have gotten in the way. But the following is the plan for a forthcoming book.
Haunted By Chocolate:
How to Go from Chocoholic to Chocolate Gourmet
The book springs out of Loyd Auerbach's developing fascination with better and better chocolate. Though he liked chocolate, he was never all that impressed with too much of it, a position so many may find themselves in even today. Yes, there were individual chocolate makers he ran into here and there who made good truffles and ganache-filled chocolates, but it was one place that truly got him started on his path to the dark side and another that pulled him completely over.
Loyd preferred dark chocolate over the sweet, milky stuff (strange, since he's an admitted sugar addict), and several years ago he found that Trader Joe's, that unique grocery chain, had some chocolate bars and pieces that he'd never seen before. He bought some, and flipped. Good chocolate was in his grasp. But if there were a few at Trader Joe's, what about other places?
Scharffen Berger chocolate began popping up at wineries in the Bay Area, and eventually at Trader Joe's. Scharffen Berger,located in Berkeley, CA, has truly made a mark on quality flavorful chocolate, and certainly made its mark on Loyd. He began keeping his eyes open for other makers' bars, and did find some few others, notably Valrhona. But then, he found his chocolate mecca...
Fog City News on Market Street in San Francisco is a newsstand of unusual capacity. They offer chocolate from all over the world, hundreds of bars and several confections from dozens of chocolate makers. There is an excellent spread of chocolate from local chocolate makers, which led Loyd to explore the local scene and learn much.
Before discovering Fog City News, Loyd began reading up on the subject. He found a few good books and read many dozens of articles retrieved from all over through LexisNexis (who he worked for part time at that point).
But it was a visit to Atriad Press, the publisher of his 2005 book A PARANORMAL CASEBOOK: Ghost Hunting in the New Millennium that was the inception of the chocolate book and really set him on his chocolate path. Having dinner with Ginnie Bivona, his publisher and admitted foodhist, Loyd pulled out some premium chocolate bars to share with her. Over chocolate, he discussed numerous fun facts of history, health and chocolate making that he'd learned so far.
Ginnie saw an opportunity...."Write that in a book" she suggested. "How did you learn so much? What should people know about chocolate? How do they know a good one?" Loyd countered with the suggestion to include full interviews with a few chocolate makers.
Since then, Loyd's been researching what he'll be putting in the book, as well as tasting LOTS of chocolate (it's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it...and it's research!), as well as conducting numerous private tasting sessions for businesses, private parties, and wineries. Originally intending to include only a few interviews with local chocolate makers, attending the Fancy Food Show for the last few years has allowed him to connect with more, several outside the Bay Area. To date, he's completed all his targeted interviews, but now has a little updating to do given the time lag since doing them originally. "At some point, I will have to stop -- too many to include in the book for this attempt" he commented. The interviews have been fascinating so far "especially the passion these folks have for what they do and what they make."
Excerpts of several of the original interviews will be posted here at www.hauntedbychocolate.com in upcoming months.
The book will approach chocolate from the perspective of someone outside the industry (outside the food industry, in fact). Chocolate's place in history and in popular culture will be covered. Research on health benefits of chocolate are of interest to most people, and will be included. Coverage of the varying ways chocolate is produced, as well as the different kinds of chocolate out there is in the book, as well as new ways chocolate makers and companies are marketing their products. The book will look at doing your own chocolate tasting, and includes advice on finding chocolate that makes you the most happy.
The book's been a project Loyd's taken a lot more time than originally thought. "There's always more to include," he said, "and sometimes (well, often) life gets in the way." Plus, Atriad Press has gone by the wayside, and other book opportunities were higher priority.
One thing that truly sidetracked him came from a suggestion by famed Chocolatier Joseph Schmidt - that to really understand the dark stuff, he should learn to make chocolate. His wife found a wonderful course for him to take: the Professional Chocolatier course through Ecole Chocolat out of Vancouver, British Columbia. Finishing the course, he began exploring what kinds of chocolate products he wanted to make.
The result has been further delays in the book, but some incredible chocolate! Ghost Drops were the first of his products sold in late 2010 through this website, although he's been producing fine truffles for special orders.
As for the book - watch for an announcement later this year as to its availability (including as an ebook for Nook and Kindle).
Coming Soon on this Page
In 2016, excerpts of Loyd's interviews with chocolate makers such as Richard Donnelly, Michael Recchiuti, Chuck Siegel (Charles Chocolates), and others, as well as excerpts from an interview with Adam Smith of Fog City News.
Also coming once the book is done and out in the world will be a blog by Loyd Auerbach -- and he hopes to occasionally have guest commentary from others, whether chocolate makers or chocolate lovers.
Please send any comments to us at [email protected] or to [email protected]
Brief Excerpts from Interviews
To Begin with, here's a brief excerpt from the interview with Frederick Schilling, founding Chocolate Alchemist and the mind behind Dagoba Organic Chocolate. conducted back in 2006.
Loyd Auerbach (LA): What would you want the public to know about chocolate? How about a few words of chocolate wisdom from the Chocolate Alchemist?
Frederick Schilling (FS): Over the last 50 years, 60 years, even 70 years, cacao has been so homogenized just with the mass expansion and mass distribution of chocolate, of bringing chocolate to the masses. Ultimately, that was a great thing at the time. But because of that, cacao has been compromised in how, we, the consumers look at chocolate. We've kinda forgotten that it has truly magical properties and the flavor can be as diverse as wine or cheese. Yes, chocolate hasn't lost its appeal and its status of a gift representing love and appreciation. Yet, the end products have been pretty focused on just being mass produced, instead of tending the source and respecting the bean that gives us this pleasure.
What's been happening now, manufacturers are really digging down into the source and presenting the complexities and the wide varieties of what cacao really is, and bringing this to the consumer. So to the consumer, I'd say stay open to all these incredible differences of cacao.
The book I'm reading right now, it'sjust this amazing book. It's called The Genetic Diversity of Cacao [and Its Utilization by B.G.D. Bartley]. It's just fascinating how cacao is grown around the world, and just the differences that exist in the strains and genetics and flavor profiles of each region. It's limitless.
I think the message for the consumers is to have fun and explore and be open to new things that producers are bringing out. And also, please understand what we've been paying for chocolate bars in the past is too cheap. It's basically a sugar bar that has a little bit of cocoa in it. But as we step up and start producing these fine flavored dark chocolates, you know what, even five dollars for a two or three ounce bar, even that is still a good deal in my opinion because of the work that goes into it; planting, tending, harvesting, fermenting, drying and the transportation, then the processing, blah blah blah blah blah...
LA: Let's face it, with a 99 cent milk chocolate bar, you pop it into your mouth and eat the whole thing in one sitting. You don't even want to do that with really good chocolate. You can't. It hits you and you're satisfied much quicker.
FS: Exactly. It's a beautiful thing that's happening. The alchemy of chocolate. The alchemy is taking root, the transformation is happening, and the industry is shifting to more of a pure product. I think as far as the future of the chocolate industry, the door is just opening to what's going to be happening. Over the next few years we're going to see a plethora of small artisan companies emerging, all producing chocolate which will overload the shelves. It's good for the consumer.
Haunted By Chocolate:
How to Go from Chocoholic to Chocolate Gourmet
The book springs out of Loyd Auerbach's developing fascination with better and better chocolate. Though he liked chocolate, he was never all that impressed with too much of it, a position so many may find themselves in even today. Yes, there were individual chocolate makers he ran into here and there who made good truffles and ganache-filled chocolates, but it was one place that truly got him started on his path to the dark side and another that pulled him completely over.
Loyd preferred dark chocolate over the sweet, milky stuff (strange, since he's an admitted sugar addict), and several years ago he found that Trader Joe's, that unique grocery chain, had some chocolate bars and pieces that he'd never seen before. He bought some, and flipped. Good chocolate was in his grasp. But if there were a few at Trader Joe's, what about other places?
Scharffen Berger chocolate began popping up at wineries in the Bay Area, and eventually at Trader Joe's. Scharffen Berger,located in Berkeley, CA, has truly made a mark on quality flavorful chocolate, and certainly made its mark on Loyd. He began keeping his eyes open for other makers' bars, and did find some few others, notably Valrhona. But then, he found his chocolate mecca...
Fog City News on Market Street in San Francisco is a newsstand of unusual capacity. They offer chocolate from all over the world, hundreds of bars and several confections from dozens of chocolate makers. There is an excellent spread of chocolate from local chocolate makers, which led Loyd to explore the local scene and learn much.
Before discovering Fog City News, Loyd began reading up on the subject. He found a few good books and read many dozens of articles retrieved from all over through LexisNexis (who he worked for part time at that point).
But it was a visit to Atriad Press, the publisher of his 2005 book A PARANORMAL CASEBOOK: Ghost Hunting in the New Millennium that was the inception of the chocolate book and really set him on his chocolate path. Having dinner with Ginnie Bivona, his publisher and admitted foodhist, Loyd pulled out some premium chocolate bars to share with her. Over chocolate, he discussed numerous fun facts of history, health and chocolate making that he'd learned so far.
Ginnie saw an opportunity...."Write that in a book" she suggested. "How did you learn so much? What should people know about chocolate? How do they know a good one?" Loyd countered with the suggestion to include full interviews with a few chocolate makers.
Since then, Loyd's been researching what he'll be putting in the book, as well as tasting LOTS of chocolate (it's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it...and it's research!), as well as conducting numerous private tasting sessions for businesses, private parties, and wineries. Originally intending to include only a few interviews with local chocolate makers, attending the Fancy Food Show for the last few years has allowed him to connect with more, several outside the Bay Area. To date, he's completed all his targeted interviews, but now has a little updating to do given the time lag since doing them originally. "At some point, I will have to stop -- too many to include in the book for this attempt" he commented. The interviews have been fascinating so far "especially the passion these folks have for what they do and what they make."
Excerpts of several of the original interviews will be posted here at www.hauntedbychocolate.com in upcoming months.
The book will approach chocolate from the perspective of someone outside the industry (outside the food industry, in fact). Chocolate's place in history and in popular culture will be covered. Research on health benefits of chocolate are of interest to most people, and will be included. Coverage of the varying ways chocolate is produced, as well as the different kinds of chocolate out there is in the book, as well as new ways chocolate makers and companies are marketing their products. The book will look at doing your own chocolate tasting, and includes advice on finding chocolate that makes you the most happy.
The book's been a project Loyd's taken a lot more time than originally thought. "There's always more to include," he said, "and sometimes (well, often) life gets in the way." Plus, Atriad Press has gone by the wayside, and other book opportunities were higher priority.
One thing that truly sidetracked him came from a suggestion by famed Chocolatier Joseph Schmidt - that to really understand the dark stuff, he should learn to make chocolate. His wife found a wonderful course for him to take: the Professional Chocolatier course through Ecole Chocolat out of Vancouver, British Columbia. Finishing the course, he began exploring what kinds of chocolate products he wanted to make.
The result has been further delays in the book, but some incredible chocolate! Ghost Drops were the first of his products sold in late 2010 through this website, although he's been producing fine truffles for special orders.
As for the book - watch for an announcement later this year as to its availability (including as an ebook for Nook and Kindle).
Coming Soon on this Page
In 2016, excerpts of Loyd's interviews with chocolate makers such as Richard Donnelly, Michael Recchiuti, Chuck Siegel (Charles Chocolates), and others, as well as excerpts from an interview with Adam Smith of Fog City News.
Also coming once the book is done and out in the world will be a blog by Loyd Auerbach -- and he hopes to occasionally have guest commentary from others, whether chocolate makers or chocolate lovers.
Please send any comments to us at [email protected] or to [email protected]
Brief Excerpts from Interviews
To Begin with, here's a brief excerpt from the interview with Frederick Schilling, founding Chocolate Alchemist and the mind behind Dagoba Organic Chocolate. conducted back in 2006.
Loyd Auerbach (LA): What would you want the public to know about chocolate? How about a few words of chocolate wisdom from the Chocolate Alchemist?
Frederick Schilling (FS): Over the last 50 years, 60 years, even 70 years, cacao has been so homogenized just with the mass expansion and mass distribution of chocolate, of bringing chocolate to the masses. Ultimately, that was a great thing at the time. But because of that, cacao has been compromised in how, we, the consumers look at chocolate. We've kinda forgotten that it has truly magical properties and the flavor can be as diverse as wine or cheese. Yes, chocolate hasn't lost its appeal and its status of a gift representing love and appreciation. Yet, the end products have been pretty focused on just being mass produced, instead of tending the source and respecting the bean that gives us this pleasure.
What's been happening now, manufacturers are really digging down into the source and presenting the complexities and the wide varieties of what cacao really is, and bringing this to the consumer. So to the consumer, I'd say stay open to all these incredible differences of cacao.
The book I'm reading right now, it'sjust this amazing book. It's called The Genetic Diversity of Cacao [and Its Utilization by B.G.D. Bartley]. It's just fascinating how cacao is grown around the world, and just the differences that exist in the strains and genetics and flavor profiles of each region. It's limitless.
I think the message for the consumers is to have fun and explore and be open to new things that producers are bringing out. And also, please understand what we've been paying for chocolate bars in the past is too cheap. It's basically a sugar bar that has a little bit of cocoa in it. But as we step up and start producing these fine flavored dark chocolates, you know what, even five dollars for a two or three ounce bar, even that is still a good deal in my opinion because of the work that goes into it; planting, tending, harvesting, fermenting, drying and the transportation, then the processing, blah blah blah blah blah...
LA: Let's face it, with a 99 cent milk chocolate bar, you pop it into your mouth and eat the whole thing in one sitting. You don't even want to do that with really good chocolate. You can't. It hits you and you're satisfied much quicker.
FS: Exactly. It's a beautiful thing that's happening. The alchemy of chocolate. The alchemy is taking root, the transformation is happening, and the industry is shifting to more of a pure product. I think as far as the future of the chocolate industry, the door is just opening to what's going to be happening. Over the next few years we're going to see a plethora of small artisan companies emerging, all producing chocolate which will overload the shelves. It's good for the consumer.
