Fine Fine Chocolate: The Mast Brothers and Paul A. Young

These are some of the most stylish chocolate bars I have ever seen. If you live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, you have probably already wandered through the Mast Brothers chocolate factory more than once and know all about their different sorts and flavours. For the rest of us, the brothers offer a standing invitation: Come to Brooklyn, check out our factory, hang out in our tasting room, and learn how American craft chocolate is truly made.

I really like these two bearded chocolate makers. Their packaging — patterned papers wrapped tightly around small dark bars — has that lovely mix of old apothecary and new design school. There is also a wonderful sailboat mobile hanging in their factory, which appears around the 6:29 mark of The Mast Brothers short film by The Scout. Worth watching for the workshop alone.

But back to books. A few days ago I read about a recipe book called Adventures with Chocolate and have not been able to stop thinking about the photographs ever since. They are by the photographer Anders Schønnemann, with food styling by Annie Rigg, and the combination is dangerous: rich, dark, slightly under-lit shots that make you want to climb directly into the page.

I should confess at this point that I am, by nature, a chocoholic. Why does chocolate have to look so tasty?

The book’s author is the award-winning London chocolatier Paul A. Young. His recipes range from straightforward truffles to fairly bold experiments — chocolate with chilli, with sea salt, with herbs from the garden. Adventures with Chocolate (Kyle Books, 80 recipes) is a great one to give to anyone who enjoys both cooking and looking at beautiful books.

Now, off to put the kettle on.