Chocolate at Home: Step-by-step recipes from a master chocolatier

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From Dormouse Chocolate in Manchester to Chocolate Tree in Edinburgh, Andrew Baker introduces us to Britain’s best chocolate makers. Vianne Rocher, single mother of Anouk who arrives at the village of Lasquennet-sous-les-Tannes and opens a chocolaterie at the beginning of Lent. The ensemble of the cast is wonderful; with Juliette Binoche a luminous Vianne; Judi Dench a tetchy Armande with a dirty laugh; Alfred Molina a hulking, intense but oddly vulnerable Reynaud.

He has a stutter, although it lessens in the company of his grandmother, and when he's drinking at the party.Outsiders are not welcome; old grudges linger; the inhabitants of neighbouring villages are seen as traditional enemies. Written by a member of the original Cadbury family, this book looks at how the greed for profit altered the course of the chocolate industry. In a piece written for the Telegraph in July 2012, she describes her own affection for Lansquenet, as well as that of her readers, many of whom have written to her to say that they have found the place, and therefore know that it exists. Some are professional references, while others are a source of inspirational stories, recipes for the home cook and trends.

Vianne does the same in a gentler way, but she too has preconceptions and prejudices, and like Reynaud, she is a victim of her past. Simran Sethi’s book goes into the origin and cultural significance of some of our most beloved foods, including chocolate. We live in a world which is becoming increasingly complicated around us; we are bombarded with mixed messages and impossible targets from the media; like Reynaud we have learned to demonize pleasure and to be afraid of our feelings. Her mother strove to inspire the same need for freedom in her daughter, who is more social and passive.

It delves into the pharmacological properties of chocolate and reveals the mythical and magical associations between humans and this unique plant.