France Archives - Page 9 of 15

Fouquet: from jam to chocolate luxuries sweetening up the picky mouths of old Paris

Since 1852 Maison Fouquet has been installed as a jam purveyor on Rue Laffitte in the heart of Paris, and it is still here, near to the Opera, where all manufacturing remained until today. Later, as the Chambeau-Mimard family took over the house in the 1900s, other confectionery products were added. For five generations, the Chambeau descendants reigned over their small kingdom of flavours, thriving in the popularity of luxurious confectionery. During one period of the early 20th century, Rue François I, where the second boutique was opened, became a luxurious neighbourhood of high-end shops (Avenue Montaigne), so Fouquet naturally entered the sphere of desirable Parisian indulgence.

Fouquet is one of the oldest chocolate shops in Paris, yet it has not been until the 1980 when Christophe Chambeau levelled up the chocolate production to match its other highly praised sweets. Today, chocolate remains the specialty of the house.
Alongside the traditional recipes for ganache, pralines and truffles, the fifth Chambeau generation came with more modern chocolate treats at Fouquet. Vanilla marshmallows enrobed in dark chocolate, white ganache with coconut, fine almond biscuits wrapped in dark or milk chocolate coating are some of the “innovations” that were recently added to the already expansive portfolio.
The old-school favourites remaining are the Praline Amande Noir & Lait (Dark & Milk chocolate almond praline) and Praline Amande Moka (Coffee praline).
Chocolate bars are not much elaborated, with plain milk and dark chocolate (72%) bars as well as milk and dark chocolate Mediants with chopped dried fruits and nuts so far the only available, yet they are made of a very high quality cocoa and delicious. Small chocolate bricks or slants – “Biseautes” – are an ideal treat for guests as they are individually wrapped. Similarly, Griottes – kirsch enrobed in dark chocolate, Liqueurs – alcohol filled in dark chocolate, and Perles – nougatine in chocolate, all are packaged in a shiny wrap.

Shops:
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36 Rue Laffitte – 75009 Paris
+33 1 47 70 85 00
Monday to Friday 11:00 – 18:30 except holidays.
22 rue François 1er – 75008 Paris
+33 1 47 23 30 36
Monday to Saturday 10.00 – 19.30 except holidays.
42 rue du Marché Saint-Honoré – 75001 Paris
+33 1 47 03 90 07
Monday to Saturday 11:00 – 18:30 except holidays.

Jean Paul Hevin: adventurous chocolatier filling chocolate with cheese in Paris

Jean Paul Hevin is not just a top-notch chocolatier with ultra-luxe boutiques sprinkled across Paris, but he also personally controls all stages of the chocolate making from finding the most suitable cocoa beans in Africa, Indonesia and South America to crafting unique choco objects to please the palate and the eye at the same time. Influenced by the legendary chef Joel Robuchon and the Japanese culture, he won his first international pastry prize and successfully entered the prestigious competition for the Meilleur Ouvrier de France in 1986.

Hevin travels directly to the sources of cocoa, from which he later masterminds his chocolate marvels – some are more traditional truffles, pralines and ganaches, but many others are groundbreaking (he was one of the first, if not the inventor itself, to craft chocolate with cheese together in one bite). From Europe to Asia, the savvy gourmets can appreciate his groundbreaking creations bought at his tastefully designed boutiques.

Jean Paul Hevin is a multi-tasker making chocolates, sweet pastries, macaroons, but he also blends own teas and writes books mainly about chocolate. More, he constantly searches for something new. Surprising his fans with innovative flavours (Gemme – smoked Chinese tea with bitter dark chocolate, Woman – green tea and marzipan ganache with bergamot enrobed in dark chocolate, and much more), making chocolate with cheese, Stilettos (€58), Sunglasses and Eiffel Tower or his Easter play with eggs, are all little chocolate wonders.

Hevin’s perhaps most discernible concept are his chocolates with cheese (€16.20 for 16 pieces). Goat cheese is paired with crushed hazelnuts and enveloped in a thin layer of dark chocolate. The shiny coat covering Epoisse displays strawy touch of cumin. The blue Roquefort saltness is tamed by chopped deep flavours of walnuts. Pont l’Evêque squared in dark chocolate is enlivened by a pinch of dried thyme. You can enjoy these morsels with a glass of deep red wine (Bordeaux blend or lighter wines for the goat cheese) or a cup of black tea (the earthy Chinese Pu-erh goes especially well with the Roquefort).

Pure chocolate by Jean Paul Hevin

As most of the chocolatiers today Jean Paul Hevin offers single origin chocolate tablets from Caribbean, Madagascar, Central & South America, Java and other locations known for producing high quality cocoa, but he also creates his own blends and even a sugar-free bar for diabetics (Fitness 80% cocoa sweetened by maltitol).
APURIMA 75% is a vibrant chocolate from Peru. Its high acidity, floral notes and raw hazelnut with walnut flavours guarantee complex pleasure on the palate.
CUBA 75% boosts with an unroasted hazelnut-dominant flavour, fresh cocoa powder, youthful green tannins and long fresh aftertaste.

Jean Paul Hevin pastry creations

From his deserts, the highlights are: Caracas – bitter dark chocolate biscuit layered with dark chocolate mousse with vanilla aromas and glazed in a dark chocolate;
Tonka – a crisp leafy pastry with a biscuit rich with almonds and tonka beans, a black Venezuelan chocolate mousse covered with creamy tonka bean, toppled with a dark chocolate mousse;
Yuzu – a thin crisp pastry with a zesty creamy layer of Japanese citrusy-tasting yuzu and chocolate mouse dusted with dark cocoa, that is perfectly balanced, refreshing and not too sugar tasting;
Longchamp chocolat noir – a French meringue core is softened by Praline mousse, and wrapped in black chocolate filled with nuggets of toasted almonds on hazelnut dacquoise.

You can taste all of his pastries, interesting hot chocolates (pure Grand Crus, hot chocolate served with Japanese matcha tea, strawberry coulis or even more outrageous pairing with chocolate – the oysters, …), teas alongside light salads and warm lunch dishes at his popular Café located just above his boutique at Rue Saint-Honoré. It is a comfortable and efficient place for lunch or a delightful afternoon tea and cake “sitdown” with a friend.
Jean Paul Hevin Chocolates
231 Rue Saint-Honoré, 75001 Paris (chocolate bar, tea room and boutique);
3 Rue Vavin 75006 Paris;
23 bis Avenue de la Motte-Picquet 75007 Paris (the first boutique);
Lafayette Gourmet 48 Bd Haussmann 75009 Paris.
Rue Saint-Honoré: Monday – Saturday: 10am – 7:30 pm; closed on Sundays and public holidays.
+ 33 1 55 35 35 96

Dalloyau: royal patisserie since the 17th century still roars in Paris

Lingering in the hands of one French family for more than 330 years, Dalloyau is a unique enterprise in Paris. Creating ‘haute-gastronomique’ pastries, chocolates, ice-creams and even savoury breads (its breads captured the Luis XIV. king and spurred the generations of branches of the Dalloyau tree) and cooked dishes – the house employs cooks, pastry chefs, chocolate makers, confectioners, ice-cream makers and bakers all under one roof.

Much older than the hyped-up and overtly commercial La Durée (founded as a bakery in 1862), Dalloyau served sweet and savoury pastries to the French court since 1682. In their court days the Dalloyau family was wearing the very prestigious title of “Officier de bouche“, the highest French gastronomy distinction at the time. The Versailles-based kings savoured the delicatessen made by Dalloyau until the Revolution brought down the kingdom. In the new Republic era, the family opened their own house of delicatessen in Paris and started the long-term romance with the astute Parisian palates.

Today, Dalloyau has branches and shops also outside France – in Japan, Korea and the Middle East. Perhaps their most known delicacy is their Opéra cake created in 1955. Consisting of lean layers of dark Venezuela chocolate (70% cacao), biscuit infused with coffee and coffee-infused cream, the sweet delight conceived so “one bite would give the whole cake’s taste“.
Another speciality – Le Cake d’Amour, celebrates the art of French cinema.

Dalloyau is not just a place to buy something tasty, in Paris the good-life savouring bourgeois can sit down and enjoy an upscale breakfast pastry, freshly made lunch or a splendid dessert treat with a cup of tea or coffee at one of its cafés. It is beautifully decorated inside and if the sun tempts one out, there are white rounded and gold enamelled tables outside, that would not insult even a member of the royalty.

The choice from chocolate pralines, ganaches and truffles is awash and a devilish temptation for the sugar conscious population. Good news is that all the chocolates are made without any preservatives and other vegetal fats other than cacao butter. The antioxidant-rich Ganaches pures origines, are pure chocolate treats composed of either cocoa from Venezuela, Ecuador, Ivory Coast or Madagascar. The chocolate bar selection is limited, yet quality is outstanding. The Dark chocolate bar with grapefruit stands out not only for originality and depth of taste, but also for its balance between bitter cocoa tones, sweetness and acidity from the grapefruit.

The pralines are the most characteristic produce of the house. The Dalloyau recipes show the skills of their chocolatiers. Whether it is a simple praline with hazelnuts from Piedmont, creamy caramel with salt flakes from the French Guérande region or the more complex creations such as praline infused with tea, lemon zest or filled with fruit jelly, it all depends on personal taste preferences. From the Praliné Maison DALLOYAU my palate can highly recommend the Levander ganache enrobed in dark chocolate as its fragrant aroma wonderfully paired with a cup of black tea, but also the Sated Caramel ganache for its wonderful, although sticky balance and a refreshing salty kick. The half-and-half Marzipan and creamy praline was also intriguing in its complex and textured duality.

Salon de thé DALLOYAU:
101, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré – 75008 Paris
Daily from 8h30am – 9pm
Restaurant: Weekdays: 8:30am- 7:30pm; Weekend: 9am- 7pm
+33 1 42 99 90 00

Patrick Roger Rare Dark chocolate bar single origin from Indonesia

Provenance of Cocoa Beans: 78% cocoa from Indonesia
Producer: Patrick Roger – an award-winning French chocolatier with his own stores exclusively offering the entire range of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products across Belgium and France. Patric Roger’s remarkable chocolate sculptures adorn his purist boutiques.
Price: €7 per 100g bar.

Taste: One of the best chocolates I have had to date. It’s sublime! Your nose is teased by exotic flowers & sweet honey. The Indonesian odyssey continues on the palate with orchids floral taste that moves into deep charcoal richness enveloping all of your mouth. Refreshing acidity is balanced by sweet acacia honey aromas, while bitter walnut in the background shows up lively later on. Complex and pronounced aftertaste.
Score:© *****+
Buy it: At the online store (closed for summer) and across France and in Brussels flagship retail boutiques.
© My scores are from * to *****+:
* – hardly palatable chocolate not worth the money and you would not want to buy again unless you needed purely to satisfy your urgent sugar rush;
** – average chocolate not focused on quality but rather bursting with “empty” calories;
*** – high-quality ingredients undermined by the chocolatier’s processing, so the resulting taste is just satisfactory;
**** – enjoyable high-quality chocolate you want to share with others;
***** – outstanding quality and unique touch of the chocolatier that are pleasure to taste and you want to share with your nearest friends and family;
*****+ – heaven on earth for the palate!!! Amazing ingredients highlighted by the chocolatier’s superb skills, so one wants to eat it on every special occasion possible and almost never share with others. !Highly addictive!

Patrick Roger: boundless chocolatier connects art with indulgence

After an apprenticeship in pastry making Patrick Roger discovered the boundless muse of creativity in chocolate. He moved to Paris and let his carving art flow. The ocean of ideas soon floated to the most coveted award for artisans in France – in 2000 Patrick Roger was decorated the best chocolatier of France (Meilleur Ouvrier). At only 32 years old, this was a seal of approval by the French, that elevated him to the Olymp of the artisanal chocolate industry.

Chocolate art

Patrick Roger is not just a creator of vibrant hedonistic flavours, but also a true artist. From his raw material – chocolate as well metal, he carves giant sculptures at his workshop in Sceaux, south of Paris. You cannot bite into these marvels since by exhibiting them and using metal they are not considered safe to ingest.
His muses, the objects change seasonally – once a giant monkey adorned the window of his boutique on the Place de la Madeleine in Paris, other time a life-size polar bear wowed the curious visitors of his gallery adjoining the workshop in Sceaux. His free spirit pops out in his awe-rousing works of art. He confessed that for him “Chocolate is an incredible means of communication – it’s monstrous. Everyone eats chocolate, so you can get a lot across.”

His quest for perfection mirrors also his edible work. Sourcing herbs and fruits from his own garden next to the manufacturing facility allows for freshness and more control over the ingredients that he marries with his carefully selected cocoa from the best plantations around the world.

His sculptures are captured in a book called “Patrick Roger, l’Art & la Matière“. You can buy it at the Patrick Roger chocolate boutiques across France and Brussels as well as online on patrickroger.com website.
On the many occasions I tasted his chocolate I was more drawn into his world of harmonious taste, and my joy from eating chocolate grew as I explored Roger’s endless creations. I am far from having tried all of them, as every season he comes with something new, yet the chocolate hedonism became an inspiration for my every trip to Paris.
If there were some particular specialities of Patrick Roger chocolate house, then these would be the unique rainforest coloured Amazon chocolate caramel with its lime freshness, the Earth blue Cyclone chocolate caramel & plum, and the wild Savage chocolate caramel. I have sampled the Amazon and dived into its refreshing lime splash with harmonious deep South American cocoa sweetened by caramel gooeyness – subtle yet powerful!
There are many other palate-alluring creations crossing the creative boundaries of taste. Some with names like Envy – which is a chocolate caramel, Trinidad & Tobago – where cocoa is paired with rum, and others more seasonal, but Patrick Roger produces also indulgent chocolate bars, worth of any cocoa connoisseur’s bite.

Provenance of cocoa for Patrick Roger

Sourcing the cocoa from around 30 countries, paying attention to the growers and the conditions under which the plants are cultivated, dried and delivered to his workshops, sets him apart from many bulk-cocoa buyers, that just mould the various cocoa beans together to form their mass products. His range of chocolate bars is extensive and revelatory for any chocolate connoisseur. From rare cocoa beans to more common, from single origin bars to house blends, the choice is immense. My favourites are Indonesia, Bali, Haiti, Sri Lanka and Vietnam single origin dark chocolate bars.

His newest addition to his already original set of sweet sensations are the Chocolate tubes of paint.
These new creative “containers” of chocolate offer a new way to relish the gold of the Incas and make an interesting gift for kids as they reluctantly return behind the school desks.
Filled with 64% dark Madagascar chocolate the Chocolate tubes of paint are a sweet, light return to reality for the little ones.
Patrick Roger also produces simple, more traditional and time-tested flavours. A praline filling made of sugar, almonds and hazelnuts, a simple ganache or dark chocolate enrobed orange peel and ginger are the leading horses of every chocolatier’s stable.
Locations of his boutiques in Brussels and in France on patrickroger.com.

Patrick Roger Dark Embrace Chocolate from West Indies

Provenance of Cocoa Beans: 70 % cocoa from West Indies.
Producer: Patrick Roger – an award-winning French chocolatier with his own stores exclusively offering the entire range of high quality chocolate and cocoa products across Belgium and France. Patric Roger’s remarkable chocolate sculptures adorn his purist boutiques.
Price: €6 per 100g bar.

Taste: Floral, exotic fruits of the agrummes (citruses) family and mainly tangerine unveil themselves on the mid-palate, which later disappear to give a way to a lengthy hazelnut splash. Very complex and intriguing piece of a dark cocoa creation processed gently by a European hand to showcase its natural qualities and the exotic terroir of West Indies.
Score: © *****
Buy it: At online shop – (closed for summer) and in France and Brussels retail locations.
© My scores are from * to *****+: * – hardly palatable chocolate not worth the money and you would not want to buy again unless you needed purely to satisfy your urgent sugar rush; ** – average chocolate not focused on quality but rather bursting with “empty” calories; *** – high quality ingredients undermined by the chocolatier’s processing, so the resulting taste is just satisfactory; **** – enjoyable high-quality chocolate you want to share with others; ***** – outstanding quality and unique touch of the chocolatier that are pleasure to taste and you want to share with your nearest friends and family; *****+ – heaven on earth for the palate!!! Amazing ingredients highlighted by the chocolatier’s superb skills, so one wants to eat it on every special occasion possible and almost never share with others. !Highly addictive!

Patrick Roger: Dark Embrace Chocolate Apothicaire for diabetics

Provenance of Cocoa Beans: blend of various origins; 64 % cocoa
Apothicaire means pharmacy and this chocolate is relevant to health as it is sweetened by malitol, sugar-free ingredient making the bar suitable for diabetics.
Producer: Patrick Roger – an award-winning French chocolatier with his own stores exclusively offering the entire range of high quality chocolate and cocoa products across Belgium and France. Patric Roger’s remarkable chocolate sculptures adorn his purist boutiques.
Price: €6 per 100g bar.

Taste: Green walnuts kick on the start, shy away on the mid-palate and the finish is rounder with a hazelnut-like balancing touch. It is quite light with good acidity and not disturbing astringency, so any dark chocolate devotee will find it enjoyable and interesting. Sweetened by maltiol, this sugar-free chocolate bar is suitable for diabetics. This sweetener delicately sweetens up the flavour, but prevents the bar from becoming too sugary tasting.
Score: © *****
Buy it: At the online shop and at Franch and Brussels’ retail locations.
© My scores are from * to *****+:
* – hardly palatable chocolate not worth the money and you would not want to buy again unless you needed purely to satisfy your urgent sugar rush;
** – average chocolate not focused on quality but rather bursting with “empty” calories;
*** – high-quality ingredients undermined by the chocolatier’s processing, so the resulting taste is just satisfactory;
**** – enjoyable high-quality chocolate you want to share with others;
***** – outstanding quality and unique touch of the chocolatier that are pleasure to taste and you want to share with your nearest friends and family;
*****+ – heaven on earth for the palate!!! Amazing ingredients highlighted by the chocolatier’s superb skills, so one wants to eat it on every special occasion possible and almost never share with others. !Highly addictive!

Patrick Roger Dark Chocolate from Antilles

Provenance of Cocoa Beans: 70 % cocoa from Antilles (a group of islands in the West Indies).
Producer: Patrick Roger – an award-winning French chocolatier with his own stores exclusively offering the entire range of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products across Belgium and France. Patric Roger’s remarkable chocolate sculptures adorn his purist boutiques.
Price: €6 per 100g bar.

Taste: Fruity and floral. Refreshing and vibrant dark chocolate ideal for summer. Exotic yellow fruits like carambola underline its Caribbean provenance. The cocoa comes from Antillean archipelago, which includes Cuba, Haiti & Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands and many other small islands such as Nevis, Saint Kitts and Mustique. The Greater Antilles are made up of continental rock, while the Lesser Antilles are mostly young volcanic and coral islands. The volcanic soil adds complex taste qualities to the cocoa plants from here.
Score: © *****
Buy it: At the online shop (closed for summer) and Paris and Brussels retail boutiques.
© My scores are from * to *****+:
* – hardly palatable chocolate not worth the money and you would not want to buy again unless you needed purely to satisfy your urgent sugar rush;
** – average chocolate not focused on quality but rather bursting with “empty” calories;
*** – high quality ingredients undermined by the chocolatier’s processing, so the resulting taste is just satisfactory;
**** – enjoyable high-quality chocolate you want to share with others;
***** – outstanding quality and unique touch of the chocolatier that are pleasure to taste and you want to share with your nearest friends and family;
*****+ – heaven on earth for the palate!!! Amazing ingredients highlighted by the chocolatier’s superb skills, so one wants to eat it on every special occasion possible and almost never share with others. !Highly addictive!

Patrick Roger Black Brut Chocolate single origin from Ecuador

Provenance of Cocoa Beans: 70 % cocoa from Ecuador.
Producer: Patrick Roger – an award-winning French chocolatier with his own stores exclusively offering the entire range of high quality chocolate and cocoa products across Belgium and France. Patric Roger’s remarkable chocolate sculptures adorn his purist boutiques.
Price: €6 per 100g bar.

Taste: Sweet almond liquor embraces your palate with deep and fruity undertones freshen it up. As its name suggests this dark chocolate has rather raw character demonstrating itself with earthy taste showing mainly in the long aftertaste. Ecuador is one of the top producers of cocoa in the world, yet it exports a small amount from South America.

Score: © *****
Buy: At the online shop and flagship retail boutiques in France and Brussels.
© My scores are from * to *****+:
* – hardly palatable chocolate not worth the money and you would not want to buy again unless you needed purely to satisfy your urgent sugar rush;
** – average chocolate not focused on quality but rather bursting with “empty” calories;
**** – enjoyable high-quality chocolate you want to share with others;
***** – outstanding quality and unique touch of the chocolatier that are pleasure to taste and you want to share with your nearest friends and family;
*****+ – heaven on earth for the palate!!! Amazing ingredients highlighted by the chocolatier’s superb skills, so one wants to eat it on every special occasion possible and almost never share with others. !Highly addictive!

Patrick Roger Rare Dark Chocolate single origin from Bali

Provenance of Cocoa Beans: 75 % cocoa from Bali
Producer:Patrick Roger – an award-winning French chocolatier with his own stores exclusively offering the entire range of high quality chocolate and cocoa products across Belgium and France. Patric Roger’s remarkable chocolate sculptures adorn his purist boutiques.
Price: €7 per 100g bar.

Taste: Quirky sweet fruits with unusual flavors such as mango and papaya. Floral aromas dominate the palate, with exotic orchids in particular. Its raw and slightly awkward character makes a good option for the real chocolate aficionados who appreciate its natural character. Its is well-balanced with either tannins or acidity shouting over each other on the palate.
Bali might not ring with “cocoa” to most chocolate lovers, yet the island of Java is not far and Philippines just a bit North and the later is where the chocolate story started for South-East Asia after being brought from Mexico. Bali is an island in Indonesia and you can see many chocolates made from cocoa widely noted as being of an Indonesian origin. The natural diverse ecosystem of Bali lends distinct flavors to its cocoa beans.
Score: © ****
Buy: At the online shop (closed for summer) and at French and Brussels retail boutiques.
© My scores are from * to *****+:
* – hardly palatable chocolate not worth the money and you would not want to buy again unless you needed purely to satisfy your urgent sugar rush;
** – average chocolate not focused on quality but rather bursting with “empty” calories;
*** – high quality ingredients undermined by the chocolatier’s processing, so the resulting taste is just satisfactory;
**** – enjoyable high-quality chocolate you want to share with others;
***** – outstanding quality and unique touch of the chocolatier that are pleasure to taste and you want to share with your nearest friends and family;
*****+ – heaven on earth for the palate!!! Amazing ingredients highlighted by the chocolatier’s superb skills, so one wants to eat it on every special occasion possible and almost never share with others. !Highly addictive!

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