Sugar Savvy

The Chocolate Guide: To Local Chocolatiers, Chocolate Makers, Boutiques, Patisseries and Shops - Eastern Edition is Taste TV’s latest guidebook to all things chocolate on the East Coast.  This book follows the publication of The Chocolate Guide Western Edition.

At its core, the book is a compilation of profiles of various Chocolate Makers and chocolate shops on the East Coast.  The profiles are organized by the following regions:

● Southeast
● Northeast & New England
● Pennsylvania
● New York, New Jersey, Connecticut
● Chicago, Ohio, Indiana

Each profile provides basic information such as contact information and business hours, as well as more specific descriptions of popular products, notable people or unique stories about the businesses.  Along with this information are pictures of the chocolates and the people who make them.

Unfortunately, unlike the Western Edition, the editors chose to publish all of the pictures in this edition in black and white, which, in my opinion, does the Chocolate Makers a disservice by not showcasing their creations in all their colorful beauty.  It is also not quite clear to me why the editors chose to give some of the Chocolate Makers multiple-page spreads of pictures while others have only a half-page profile with no pictures at all.

The Eastern Edition of the Chocolate Guide reads very much like a Zagat Guide to chocolate, as it is more of a reference book than a coffee table book. The sole focus of the book are the profiles; there is no information presented in regards to the making or the history of chocolate. Unlike a Zagat Guide, however, the featured Chocolate Makers are not rated, simply presented to the reader.  This would be a good book to travel with as it is lightweight and could fit in most handbags.

Notwithstanding my objections above, this book does contain useful information about Chocolate Makers on the East Coast, some familiar names such as Lake Champlain Chocolates and Voges Haut Chocolate, and some new discoveries.  If you live on the East Coast and are interested in learning more about chocolate shops in your area, or are planning a trip to the East Coast you may want to check out this book.