As part of its 150th-anniversary celebrations, the Parisian pâtisserie Ladurée is featuring a delicious new pastry every month throughout 2012. The first in the series was the chocolate Bostock Cacao, launched in January. February’s pastry, which also features chocolate, is the Mont-Blanc Marron Cassis. Mont-Blanc is a classic pastry consisting of a sponge base topped with [...]

An exhibit of French chocolate posters from the late 1800s and early 1900s is currently on display at Paris’s chocolate museum, Le Musée Gourmand du Chocolat. The prints on display as part of Images Exquises (exquisite pictures) are from the private collection of Guido Odin and his son Sammy, founders of the Musée de la Poupée [...]

For those in search of original chocolate gift ideas, Michel Cluizel has some fun creations in store. Daughter Catherine Cluizel, who runs the Cluizel chocolate shop on rue Saint-Honoré, is the designer of some glamorous haute couture chocolate handbags. The Chocobags come in brown, red or pink and are made of either 72 per cent cacao dark [...]

For Valentine’s Day 2012, luxury chocolatier Michel Richart drew inspiration from “the ever-changing sides of love,” creating a set of unique textures and flavours called Les Mots d’Amour (Words of Love). The collection includes three bite-sized chocolates and a larger bouchée. Secret features a creamy centre with floral aromas and citrus notes, covered with a [...]

Brussels-based chocolatier Pierre Marcolini sees Valentine’s Day as “a moment for cherishing your loved one…a tender, passionate celebration symbolised by a beautiful heart.” The master chocolatier, whose lovely red chocolate hearts are his signature creation, has some scrumptious Valentine’s Day treats in store: a stunning red heart containing ten delicious chocolate hearts, a five-tray assortment [...]

“Be my valentine,” is the message from Parisian chocolatier Jean-Paul Hévin, who has created some romantic chocolate treats that say just that. The delicious line-up of Valentine’s Day confections from the master chocolatier features single-origin chocolate from Costa Rica and the Caribbean, caramel, grapefruit, lime, spices and other wonderful flavours. The goodies on offer include [...]

The ambrosial flavour of pink grapefruit is the theme of Ladurée‘s Valentine’s Day treats this year — dainty macarons and a luscious chocolate-covered heart-shaped tart. And what a wonderfully romantic flavour it is: tangy grapefruit paired with vanilla makes for a sweet and sensuous tastebud experience. Ladurée, which celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2012, is [...]

For Valentine’s Day 2012, Dalloyau has created his and hers gourmand pastries: Valentine & Valentin, a tasty duo of religieuses, the round éclairs first invented in 1856 at the Café Frascati in Paris. The Frascati, an upscale establishment immortalised in the works of Honoré de Balzac and Alexandre Dumas, was located at the corner of [...]

The Parisian pâtisserie Ladurée is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. To mark this milestone, the company has launched a line-up of spectacular desserts and pastries — one for every month. The sweets, created under the direction of Ladurée head pastry chef Vincent Lemains, will be unveiled one at a time, throughout 2012. January’s pastry [...]

Paris’s oldest sweets shop, A la Mère de Famille, is one of the city’s most famous historic shops. Founded in 1761, the flagship store on rue du Faubourg Montmartre has been operating in the same location for more than 250 years. Both the exterior façade and the interior décor date from the 18th century. A [...]