Founded in 1761, A la Mère de Famille, is Paris’s oldest sweets shop. With its period exterior and furnishings, the store on rue du Faubourg Montmartre is like a time capsule, filled with traditional sweets of all kinds: artisanal chocolates, jams, candied fruit, calissons, marrons glacés and teas from around the world line its shelves [...]

“I wanted this year’s collection to be simple and mysterious. A structured combination of crunch, crackle and smoothness in streamlined shapes,” Brussels-based chocolatier Pierre Marcolini writes on his website. And indeed it is. Pierre Marcolini has created a collection of “sphere-themed” Christmas chocolates, inspired, he explains, by the spirit of sharing and family get togethers during the [...]

One of this year’s most distinctive bûches de Noël can be found at the upscale Hôtel Le Burgundy, in Paris’s 1st arrondissement. This limited-edition chocolate dessert is in fact an edible replica of the hotel’s colourful bar, painted by artist Véronique Charpy. It features a chocolate and chestnut sacher sponge, delicate mandarine jelly and cognac mousse topped [...]

Founded in 1802, Maison Dalloyau is one of the oldest pastry shops in Paris. Charles Dalloyau, personal chef to King Louis XIV, was the first in a long line of Dalloyau family members to master the art of pâtisserie, long before the company that bears the family name was born. In fact, the Dalloyau family’s descendants [...]

Since his arrival in Paris from Tokyo in 1991, Sadaharu Aoki has established himself as one of Paris’s top pastry chefs and chocolatiers. His creations artfully combine the aesthetics and flavours of traditional Japanese confections with classic French pâtisserie. Chef Aoki has won numerous awards both in France and Japan. He was recently awarded 5 bars [...]

It was two years ago that chocolatier Pierre Cluizel (son of renowned chocolatier and chocolate maker Michel Cluizel) launched his new chocolate concept store, Un Dimanche à Paris, in the historic Cour du Commerce Saint-André (6th arr.). Today, Cluizel’s one-stop “everything chocolate” shop is busier than ever, with its chocolate store, pâtisserie, chocolate cuisine restaurant, lounge, tea [...]

The pastry chefs at Angelina, the celebrated Paris tea room once frequented by Coco Chanel and Marcel Proust, have dreamed up a spicy, fruity bûche de Noël in honour of the salon’s Austrian roots. Indeed, Angelina was founded in 1903 by Austrian pastry chef and confectioner Antoine Rumpelmayer (1832-1914). Mr Rumpelmayer came to France in 1870, first setting [...]

Since its launch one year ago, Sébastien Gaudard’s Pâtisserie des Martyrs (9th arr.) has made a name for itself serving up traditional French pastries in its lovely vintage locale. (The store is located in the premises of the former Pâtisserie Seurre, one of the oldest in Paris.) For the Yuletide season, Chef Gaudard, named “Best Pastry Chef [...]

La Maison du Chocolat has put together a stellar collection of chocolate creations for this year’s holiday season! Created under the direction of chef Nicolas Cloiseau, these festive goodies combine the magic of Christmas with stunning chocolate artistry. From a star-studded chocolate bûche de Noël to fruit- and nut-filled chocolate stars and a striking chocolate Christmas tree, this year’s [...]

With its origins dating back to 1682, Dalloyau has been making exquisite cakes and pastries for more than 300 years. The renowned Parisian pastry shop, chocolatier and caterer today has several stores in Paris as well as boutiques in Japan, Korea, Dubai and Doha. For this year’s holiday collection the theme is gold and light, [...]

Opened a year ago, Un Dimanche à Paris is a marvellous chocolate “concept store” located in the heart of the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district. Created by Pierre Cluizel (son of renowned chocolatier Michel Cluizel), this thriving one-stop shop features a chocolate shop and pâtisserie, restaurant, tea room (salon de chocolat), lounge and cooking school in the historic [...]

Internationally renowned master chocolatier Pierre Marcolini opened his first chocolate shop in Brussels in 1995. Today he has two shops in Paris as well as stores in New York, Tokyo, Kuwait, and London in addition to his home country of Belgium. He is one of the rare chocolatiers to personally select his cocoa beans, working [...]

Since its opening on the Left Bank in 1975, Gérard Mulot‘s boulangerie, pâtisserie and chocolate shop has established itself as a gourmand institution. Today, the company has grown to include three shops in Paris and several stores in Japan. The flagship boutique on rue de Seine is known for its gorgeous window displays of jewel-like [...]

Celebrity French chef Cyril Lignac has just opened a pâtisserie in the heart of Paris’s 11th arrondissement, just across from his restaurant Le Chardenoux. Named La Pâtisserie by Cyril Lignac, the shop is a collaboration between Chef Lignac and former Fauchon pastry chef Benoît Couvrand. Together they offer modern adaptations of traditional french pastries and [...]

Chocolatier and pastry chef Jean-Paul Hévin is one of Paris’s most famous chocolate artisans. His flagship chocolate shop in Paris on the upscale rue Saint-Honoré (1st arr.) is a sleek modern space filled with exquisite chocolate creations and pastries. Monsieur Hévin is notably famous for his chocolate Eiffel Towers, chocolate cigars and fashionable chocolate stiletto [...]