Being the chocolaholic that I am, one of my primary concerns upon arriving in the city of lights was where to find the best chocolate.
Granted, it’s hard to go wrong midst a population that takes chocolate as seriously as they take their cheese (which, I believe, is thanks to their compatibility with wine). So one could wander willy-nilly into the first chocolatier on the block and continue on to chocolate heaven. And yet, there are those that go above and beyond.
Check out my list of the top rated restaurants and shops to sample the very best qualify truffles in France.
I’ve included a mix of the most traditional along with those most contemporary. Traditionalists like A La Mere de Famille favor more buttery flavors, country-side vignettes on the boxes, warm comfortable wood throughout the interior whilst Patrick Roger loves the grittier, naturally earthy flavors of chocolate itself and showcases his creations under track lighting.
Patrick Roger
While he’s several locations scattered throughout Paris, all with their own variations of his theme, the one I’ll present is located 108 Boulevard Saint-Germain. The boutique is bright and luminous with aqua colors and brushed aluminum fittings to display the chocolate.
The first scent to hit me was something more gingery than chocolately, but that would come later as I inched forward to the island at the center, where one can select their own mix of chocolate pieces, priced by the kg.
A new trend in distinguishing chocolate lies not in the flavor of the center ganache, but the origin of that chocolate: Africa, Indonesia, South America… and little pamphlets are offered with the box-sets of his 20th parallel so that tasters can begin to remark the differences between, say, a bean from Africa from a bean who grew in the Caribbean. (Said box, so you can budget, would cost 30 Euros).
I asked the cashier which product she thought the most unique, and (sold!) what she called Amazon: a chocolate-green bonbon with caramel and lime at the center. For 50 grams of said Amazon, my pocket was 7 Euros lighter, but I would drop that money again in a second to have a second round.
Joséphine Vannier
This classic black store face is easily missed if you’re not looking for it. I spotted it as I was leaving Maison de Victor Hugo, crossing that invisible line between the 4th and 3rd arrodissements for 4 Rue du Pas de la Mule.
Joséphine happens to be my favorite name thanks to Louise Alcott’s Little Women so I deviated from the planned path to join those window-shopping (lèche-vitrines, or literally, window-licking is a French-ism especially appropriate here) the display of chocolates. The stars of the show are undoubtedly the chocolate sculptures.
Le tour Eiffel is rendered in perfect chocolately goodness, a delicate chocolate piano, a vast selection of chocolate eggs, water lilies… but I was more interested in how her chocolate tasted, so I ventured inside to find a more predictable display for serious gourmands.
Following suit the orders of a group of Parisians who seemed to know the shop well, I purchased une petite boîte of the Rochers, which for the record, is not something I usually go for, but after one bite I let out an audible “Mmmmm” that everyone outside on the sidewalk could hear.
A l’Étoile d’Or
Shopkeeper Denise Acabo spends her energy finding, as opposed to producing, chocolates and candies (though she does have her own collection of chocolate bars which you will find wrapped in gold). This place (30 rue Fontaine), with its deep-pink window hanging, is a wonderland of different candy-makers.
This is not only a good place to fix your sweet tooth, but to practice your French, as Madame Acabo loves nothing more than discussing her candy. Take advantage of her knowledge, her recommendations, and try out some of those confectionary words. Honestly, if you’re only coming in to see her, that’s enough.
Remember that scene in Willy Wonka (à la Gene Wilder si vous plait) of the candy shop to which all the children flock after school? This! But bigger. And the clientele a bit older. The shop is a collection of candy from everywhere in France, not just the Paris region, which is wonderful is you want nougat from, say, Provençe.
For my part, I let Mm. Acabo assemble an assortment after learning that a) I prefer things darker, b) not a huge fan of peanuts and c) my favorite fruit is blueberry. Since, I imagine, you’ll be out to take pictures of the Moulin Rouge anyway, there really isn’t an excuse to stop by.
A La Mere de Famille
A step into this quiet boutique is like wandering into a library of sweets. It’s a nice contrast from the runway-esque chocolate-shops that line Les Champs Elysses. There were only two others in the shop with me, three if you count their little white dog.
The opaque glass or yellow and blue for windows protects the integrity of the chocolates (as light heats and destroys their flavors) yet provides a warm, comfortable glow. It was particularly difficult to make a choice here. (Here: 35 Rue du Faubourg).
Indeed, all of the flavors follow the more classic mold cut out by centuries of chocolatiers: jasmine, orange, almond pâte… yet there were ever so many of the classics I was in veritable danger of staying past closing time. (I would plan my visit with the sunset).
I filled a sac full of Olives Provençales, a popular fashion of enrobing almonds despite the misleading name and ate the entire thing with my espresso fifteen minutes and eight blocks later. You won’t want to share.
Jean-Charles Rochoux
Does this list follow protocol and save the-best-for-last? Yes. Yes it does. I consider les truffes, chocolate truffles, the epitome of the chocolate experience.
I’d picked Rochoux out as a place I simply must go long before I’d purchased my train ticket to Paris because, well, he’s won prizes for those oddly shaped cubed truffes of his. While most of the world knows him for his cute chocolate animals and other sculptures (The display included a bust of a man’s torso which made me hungry for le Louvre) the complexity of taste and tempering shouldn’t be overlooked here.
There is, certainly, a musée feel to the place (and personally, I found the alligator print on the boxes a tad too) but Rochoux has real talent. As I arrived at 16 rue d’Assas with truffes in mind, this is exactly what I left with, but not before drooling over the chocolate-dipped strawberries nestled in their white leather cases.
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