Mendiant vs chocolate bark

Same technique, different discipline. A mendiant is a fixed traditional composition on a small disc; bark is a slab with whatever you like on it.

Side by side

	Mendiant	Chocolate bark	Why it matters
Composition	Traditionally four toppings representing the mendicant orders: almond, hazelnut, fig and raisin.	Anything.	The mendiant's constraint is the point of it. Once you add a fifth topping you have made bark on a small disc.
Form	Individual piped discs.	A poured sheet, broken irregularly after setting.
Timing	Toppings placed while the chocolate is still fluid, disc by disc.	Scattered across the whole sheet at once.	Bark is much faster to make in volume, which is why it dominates as a homemade gift.
Tempering requirement	Yes — the disc has to release cleanly and hold a shine.	Yes, for snap and appearance, though a rustic result is more tolerable.

For a traditional, composed piece where the restraint reads as intent.

For volume, for improvisation, and when the pieces are meant to look rustic.

MendiantSet against Chocolate bark, with the practical consequence of each difference.
Chocolate barkSet against Mendiant, with the practical consequence of each difference.

ChocolateHQ editorial synthesis — ChocolateHQ(citation identity confirmed; passage not re-read)