Cal OreyBesprekingen

I finally got around to giving this book my attention - I was actually disappointed, as I was hoping for some real evidence to support my chocolate addiction ;) - instead I found a collection of facts and cures centered on chocolate, but really, I already knew that chocolate was good for everything and didn't need confirmation. Nothing much of substance here and the editing seemed rather haphazard, unfortunately I'll probably pass the book on to another reader. Some of the recipes looked interesting but if you've ever worked with chocolate you'll know it's a bit tricky.

Not exactly stellar writing or a wildly innovative approach, but informational enough. The section on chocolate-based cures was a bit of a joke: almost every ailment was remedied with 2 oz dark chocolate. There are a couple of recipes I want to check out, but overall, this one is destined to be weeded out in the next move.

This non-fiction book was an ER selection. Ms. Orey mentions several times that she used to write those "mini magazines you find at the grocery store checkout stands", and the quality of writing is the same. This reads like a mini magazine stretched out into a book, and it seems like much the same information is presented several times over. In addition, much information, such as on the health effects of chocolate on different conditions, is not referenced. For a light pop look at chocolate, a listing of where to buy quality chocolate around the world, and a sprinkling of recipes, this would be your book.

Every time the news announces some bit of science that will somehow confirm Woody Allen's fantastic future in Sleeper where all things bad for us are actually very good for us, three things happen. First, the headlines grab all sorts of attention. Second, the facts are printed and those that care to know find out the truth quickly realize that getting the benefits would involve consuming ridiculous amounts of a foodstuff on a daily basis. Thirdly, those wishing to make a buck off of the headlines will write books on how to incorporate the reformed bad food into your daily diet without caring about the scientific part of things. Alas, I thought we'd moved onto "everything in moderation" years ago and away from things being only good or bad with the need to justify everything we eat, but here we are looking for a reason to eat chocolate in moderation.

If I'm to believe this book, chocolate can cure everything that ails me - one of my favorites from the list being entries on both diarrhea and constipation. Talk about your wonder food! Don't worry, it also can be used to treat anorexia and bulimia according to the same list. But that's not all - cabin fever, flatulence, lovesickness and something known as universal emergency - all cured by chocolate! I wish I were kidding, but this is the quality of the medical advice.

The book also contains recipes. In the past, I'd normally cook a few recipes from a book as part of my review, but when reviewing a few recipes, I found some interesting ingredients. And when I say "interesting," what I mean is that these ingredients no longer exist. First there are Hershey's Raspberry chocolate chips which were discontinued nearly three years ago. Then there's the case of Watkin's Danish Pastry Extract - which was part of their special 2006 LIMITED Holiday Edition gift pack available only between September and December of that year. If that weren't bad enough, there's the inclusion of vague ingredients with no explanation. Lavender is mentioned in one recipe but no clarification is offered to point the reader to dried buds, leaves, stems or even essential oil. And then there's the random use of branding throughout - olive oils, vinegars and even some chocolates - with no explanation as to why that particular brand is the one to use. In one of the chocolate brands, an artisan Hawaiian chocolate that is mail-order only and clocks in at over $30/pound is casually tossed out (and her version isn't listed on the official web site) with no good reason to explain why I couldn't use any one of about the 30 or so other chocolates readily available at my local Whole Foods. Long story short, this lack of editing and care when writing the recipes didn't inspire me to heat up the stove to even bother with what were likely recipes submitted a few years ago by various sponsors (or copied from her prior books).

Ultimately, this reads like someone that threw together a book after realizing they were three days away from needing to make their deadline while remembering that they promised to somehow work in free advertisements for a bunch of random food companies.

This book was a disappointment to me. It really was not much more than an uninteresting listing of "facts" in which the author habitually referenced her own prior works as the source. In fact the author promotes her prior books at every opportunity throughout. She promotes chocolate as an anticancer food and in the “What You Can Do” portion says “Treat yourself to one-fifth of a dark chocolate bar each day. Keep in mind, incorporating dark chocolate in moderation with other anticancer foods including antioxidant-rich fresh fruits, vegetables, fatty fish and olive oil is beneficial too” This seems to sum up her basic advise in a nutshell (or coco bean if you want to be clever): follow all the advise of the respected nutritionists, doctors, and researchers, but a little chocolate probably boosts your spirits for the battle. Maybe she’s on to something but the writing style of the book was too "low level text book" for me.

I have to admit that I didn’t finish reading this book. I made it to page 167 of 294 (the last 60 of those pages are recipes and places to buy chocolate). It is so poorly written that I just couldn’t read it. My initial impression was that it needed a good editor, but after the first couple of chapters, I realized that what it really needed was a good author.

There is very little original writing in this volume. Most of the material in it was previously published in Ms. Orey’s previous two books. It is obvious she merely copied and pasted passages from those books into the manuscript with no regard to narrative flow.

She uses tables of information lifted directly from other sources (with proper attribution) without any discussion. The most egregious fault I found was her description of a tour of a chocolate factory. She was unable to make the tour, so she used the notes of a friend who did go on the tour. Just the notes in raw form, again copied and pasted into her manuscript.

Some of her writing reads likes notes also. I found it very jarring to encounter sentences that were grammatically incorrect or that had no point. She tells the same stories over and over, each time as if it were the first time that the story has been used.

Her tracing of the history of chocolate is marred by her lack of geographical knowledge. Countries wander from Central to South America and back again, depending on which page you are reading.

As for those “healing powers”, she is correct in citing the trace nutrients found in chocolate. However, reputable scientists have pointed out that they are found in such minute quantities that you would have to eat 25 pounds of chocolate every day to gain any benefit from them. Ms. Orley smoothly skates past this little detail by recommending a “dosage” of 1 to 2 squares of dark chocolate per day as part of a healthy diet (she recommends either the Mediterranean diet or the French diet) along with regular exercise. She neglects to mention that it is the diet and exercise, not the chocolate, that is providing the health benefits.

She lives in the San Francisco area and takes us on a tour of the chocolatiers in that city, breathlessly describing their incomparable chocolates, recommending that readers choose those chocolates rather than chocolates from anywhere else. She then goes on to admit that she eats plain old Hershey’s Dark Chocolate. From Pennsylvania.

This is a very cool book about chocolate. The information is interesting, but what really makes the book are the recipes at the end. I especially enjoyed the chocolate spa recipes.

If you love chocolate and need reasons to eat more of it, then grab a copy of this book. It is a light but fascinating read about the powers of chocolate and it's history.

Since I leave only 30 minutes from Hershey PA chocolate has always played a big part in my life. I am sad that Hershey doesn't get more mention in the book, but I guess there are other books for that.

Did you know that the first brownie recipe was published in 1897 in the Sears and Roebuck Catalog? I didn't know that either but learned it in this book.

The most interesting part of this book to me is a list of ailments (such as PMS, Sore Throat, IBS) and their appropriate chocolate treatments. Yes, these are serious suggestions that use the items contained in chocolate (such as iron) to help ease these problems.

The book contains a large number of recipes also for those who need more ways to consume the discussed chocolate.

I wouldn't call this book a serious reference book and I'm not sure my doctor would agree with all of the health claims, but it definitely is worth the time I took to read it.

I'm a chocoholic. A book with a title like this ought to be compelling reading. Sadly, it isn't. It reads like a diet book - very repetitive.½

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