The museum retraces the 4,000-year-old history of cocoa through displays and artefacts and explains chocolate-making techniques with demonstrations and tastings.

Ironically, Paris’s first chocolate museum is privately owned and operated by the Van Belle family of Belgian chocolatiers.

The first Choco-Story museum was opened in Bruges in 2004 and the second in Prague in 2008.

Choco-Story – Le Musée Gourmand du Chocolat
28, Boulevard de Bonne Nouvelle, 75010 Paris
Tel. +33 (0)1 42 29 68 60
Fax +33 (0)1 42 29 65 08
Métro: Bonne Nouvelle or Strasbourg Saint-Denis

Hours: Mon. to Sun. 10 a.m to 6 p.m.
Admission: adults 9 €, children 6 €

Web site : www.museeduchocolat.fr
E-mail : info@museeduchocolat.fr

Le Figaro newspaper offers this round up of special Valentine’s day sweets created for the occasion by Paris’s master chocolatiers (links to article in French).

Known for his gourmet macarons and artful pastries, Pierre Hermé already has four shops in Paris and one in Tokyo. The London shop will be known as Pierre Hermé Paris.

British fans who don’t want to wait until the big day can find Pierre Hermé’s macarons and chocolates on sale at Selfridge’s until the Knightsbridge shop opens.

At the top of the list this year are: Fabrice Gillotte (Dijon), Vincent Guerlais (Nantes), Jean-Paul Hévin (Paris), Pierre Hermé (Paris), Pâtisserie Lac (Nice), Pascal le Gac (Saint-Germain-en-Laye), La Maison du Chocolat (Paris), Pariès (Saint-Jean-de-Luz), and François Pralus (Paris).

Judging was based on blind taste tests of five pieces submitted by each chocolatier: dark chocolate ganache, milk chocolate ganache, praliné, a speciality item, and a new creation.

The full report, which lists the best chocolatiers throughout France by region, can be found here.

The Club des Croqueurs de Chocolat, an exclusive group of 150 serious chocolate enthusiasts, doles out the Meilleurs Chocolatiers de France awards each year at the annual Salon du Chocolat.

The event marks the release of the English-language edition of the French cooking classic, Ginette Mathiot’s I Know how to Cook as well as the sixth anniversary of Dusoulier’s best-selling book, which presents the author’s “lighter-than-traditional” approach to French cooking and desserts.

What: An evening with Clotilde Dusoulier
Where: WHSmith, 248, rue de Rivoli, 75001 Paris
When: November 17, 2009 at 7 p.m.
Métro: Concorde
Admission: Free, but reservations are required.

For more information, visit the author’s website.

To mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Roger, known for his ambitious creations, built a 15-meter-long replica of the infamous barrier between East and West.

The structure was made with 900 kg of chocolate and took three weeks to complete.

It was decorated with reproductions of graffiti art by East Side Gallery artists such as Thierry Noir, Birgit Kinder and Dimitri Vrubel, using cocoa butter mixed with food coloring.

Segments of Roger’s “Wall” will be on display at his three Paris stores until November 9, 2009, date on which they will be symbolically torn down.

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Sections of Patrick Roger's chocolate replica of the Berlin Wall (photos: courtesy of Patrick Roger)

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This year’s amazing chocolate extravaganza, being held at Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles, will bring together more than 400 leading chocolatiers from around the world.

Jean-Paul Hevin, Arnaud Larher, Michel Cluizel and many of the other top names in the world of chocolate will all have stands at the salon.

The show covers 14,000 square meters filled with stands where visitors can sample chocolate, watch chocolate demonstrations, enjoy music and indulge in one of the world’s favourite foods.

The event is famous for its chocolate fashion show, where models come down the runway wearing haute couture chocolate dresses.

What: Salon du Chocolat
Where: Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles, Pavillons 5/2 & 5/3
When: October 14-18, 2009
Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day; Special late night opening on Friday October 18, until 9 p.m..
Métro: Porte de Versailles or Balard
Bus: 80 or 39

Admission: Adults 12 €; children from 3 to 12 years, 6 €. Free for children under 3 years of age.

For more information, visit the show’s official website.

 

Welcome to chocoparis.com, a website dedicated to the divine world of Parisian chocolatiers.

Browse the menus on the right to discover the best places in Paris to indulge in the finest gourmet dark chocolate, best chocolate pastries, gourmet ice cream, and luxury hot chocolate offered by the city’s culinary masters.  To learn more about a shop, simply click on the name.

Planning a trip to Paris? Why not try one of our free Paris chocolate walk itineraries, available in a convenient, printer-friendly format.

Or, check out our Paris chocolate shop map to quickly locate gourmet chocolate stores by arrondissement and plan your own “chocolate walk.”

This blog will be updated with chocolate news and announcements about chocolate events, so please check back often.

Enjoy!