bonheur: chocolate

Showing posts with label chocolate. Show all posts

Musee Gourmand du Chocolat

You don't have to be painting French chocolates to pay a visit to the musee Gourmand du Chocolat (Choc-Story) in Paris.

28, bd Bonne Novelle 75010 Metro:Bonne Nouvelle
Open every day 10 - 6

If you're a chocolate nut you really should know a bit more than which is your favorite ganache or Parisian chocolatier.

Lots of people may be clueless when they see a colorful cocoa pod/cabosse like this ahem...

Same with the pod's interior, but in France you'll find chocolate pods hither and thither. Some are solid chocolate. Others open up and are full of your usual squares of lush ganache.

I certainly didn't know till I visited the museum that monkeys were key imagery related to chocolates. They conveniently opened the pods, ate the surrounding material and spit out the cocoa seeds onto the ground, thus saving the farmer a lot of trouble by 'planting' the seeds and increasing their growth. Who knew?!

Astex codex include the cocoa bean and it's various and sundry processes...

Beautiful moulinet for grinding roasted beans. La Maison du Chocolat uses one as a symbol for their brand. I wish Hershey would do likewise...hmmm

Videos of South American chocolate making...

You can even buy a nice authentic la chocolatière in the museum's shop.

As well as chips of chocolate from just about everywhere in the world at different percentages and at a good price.

As part of my research in painting chocolate I felt the need to visit a few shops along with the museum. Dimanche A Paris smells wonderfully chocolaty. The aromas hit you on entry...

Naturally since it's Fall, the French champignon turns up in chocolate form

Over and over!

Or simply as window décor at Frederic Cassel Fontainebleau

I have yet to try one of these chocolate chataignes/chestnuts but my 12-year old watercolor student let out a big MIAM when she saw this picture. Her taste buds are way more sophisticated than mine it seems...

Back to painting chocolates.

I was lucky to find this cocoa bean/cabosse at the musee du chocolat - the perfect container for my still life. By the way if you are familiar with cocoa beans do give a shout out and I'll stop the hectoring I promise.

I was trying to remember the color combinations to make chocolate browns. I called Ali in NYC in desperation. She reminded me teacher David Dewey had us all get this terrific little watercolor mixing guide - THE WATERCOLOR PAINTER'S POCKET PALETTE.

I suggest you get it in English. The French versions is a tad beyond me. What was I thinking?!

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Context Chocolate Tour

Vendredi 29 Mars chocolate walk in Paris

Today I was a guest at the Context Chocolate tour in the 6th arrondissement. This is our well-informed chocolate leader Bryan filling us in on the origins of chocolate histoire at Paris' oldest chocolate shop Debeauve et Gallais.

Of course huge chocolate chickens grace the window

We taste the same circles of dark chocolate Marie-Antoinette ate daily.

At Arnaud Larher we eat chocolate macarons but the chocolates are enticing.

And the eggs are elegant.

A stop in Gerard Mulot for an array of flavors - caramel au beurre sale, framboise ganache and a minty palate cleanser.

We stop in 10 different chocolate shops for an immersion quite complete.

My favorites at Pierre Marcolini are the white chocolate hearts (white chocolate can be made in endless colors) filled with raspberry ganache. The bunnies are full of noisette praline.

Un Dimanche dans Paris is an elegantly modern setting.

Yet they have the very popular fried egg look on display. The egg in all forms is much loved by the French no doubt about it.

At top chocolatier Patrick Roger the lines are dense and the windows are getting a workover.

It's 4 pm in Paris on Good Friday and everyone has the same idea. Grab heaps of chocolate and run home and devour. Bryan tells us the French average 2 kilos (2.5 pounds) of chocolate during Easter alone. Restraint is not on the menu. By the way there are no day-after Easter sales in Paris. The bunnies/eggs are available for a quite a while post Easter.

Patrick Roger's windows are dependably bizarre.

Someone has escaped the maddening crowd and run off with her signature turquoise bag of Patrick Roger goodies. The rest of us try to wait patiently.
Don't miss this fabulous Context chocolate tour next visit.

BONNE/Joyeous EASTER!

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Le Chocolat - Ducasse

Hier 27 Mars Le Chocolat - Ducasse

If you haven't already heard Alain Ducasse has a brand new chocolate factory on funky#22, rue de la Roquette 75011

Keep an eye out or you could easily miss it.

Once you're in the entry way the whole atmosphere changes dramatically

From funk to high-end utter chicness.

And continues inside. The staff, by the way, could not be kinder or more helpful. Merci M. Ducasse!

In that handsome glass case - gorgeous ganache bonbons.

These chocolate sculptures look to have hopped off a ceramist's spinning wheel - if only a ceramist could make something so unique and deliciously edible. Did I mention this is Paris' first bean-to-bar chocolate factory? Cocoa beans are generously strewn around. If you look on the lower shelves there are some chocolate-covered beans to taste. Miam miam

Everywhere it's a Zen moment for the eye to contemplate. Must find out who the designer is here..

And you can even gaze right into the factory while browsing...

Ducasse has a splendid collection of vintage chocolate molds he's using for his 'fritures'. Note the chockie fish in the watercolor above. These did not hop out of a plastic mold for sure.

*I always try milk/lait chocolate since it's harder to get the balance right than your ever-so-popular noir/dark chocolates. These were absolutely excellent though I wish there was a melange of dark/milk/white on offer...

Up at the cash register sits a knockout Aztec sculpture holding your box-to-be of chocolates. Do mention it's a cadeau/gift and get an additional handsome box. Everything here is designed within an inch of it's life but tastes excellent. Looks count but so does content.