Twas that time of year, when I found myself back on the TGV (high speed train) from Zürich to Paris with sweets on my mind. You might think that after a few days of nonstop visits to pâtisseries, boulangeries and chocolate and sweet shops, I might be all sugared out. Not at all; I was just getting warmed up for the Salon du Chocolat, now in its 16th year, and with shows all around the world, even Cairo and Moscow.
With family and friends living in and around Paris, I visit the City of Lights several times a year. But there is one trip that stands out from the rest. My annual pilgrimage in the fall for the Salon du Chocolat. Yes, I take an almost 5 hour train ride to visit this show. But then again, it’s no ordinary food show. We’re talking almost 14,000 square meters (150,000 square feet!) of floor, one stand after another, showing their finest products – the very best in the chocolate world today. Free samples abound.
On my train ride to Paris, after going through my endless lists of patisseries and boulangeries that I would visit during the few days leading up to the salon (that I’ll share soon too), I also went through my notes from last year’s Salon du Chocolat. It felt like it was just yesterday – I could still taste the masterful pairing of buckwheat flour and salted butter by Henri Le Roux. I could picture the hot pink candied nuts of François Pralus’ signature Praluline and wondered if they would be baking at the show once again (oui !). I pictured my favorite discovery last year – Les Gayettes du Pays Noir from Belgium, as well as the meringues as big as rugby balls from Le Grenier à Pain, hoping they would both return to the show this year (unfortunately not, 0 for 2).
For the 15th year, the show was just as grand and impressive as previous years. Read the rest of this story >>
It was April 1, 2002 when I first laid eyes on those beautiful, bright pink brioches. I didn’t quite know what they were, but I was awfully curious to find out. I was standing outside of François Pralus’ eponymous shop in Roanne, France, which his father Auguste Pralus opened in 1955. I was staring inside the pastry shop window, wondering why it had to be closed at that very moment. I had taken 2 trains from Clermont-Ferrand (where I was living at the time), for a total of almost 3 hours to go to lunch at Restaurant Troisgros. Crazy? Yes, but totally worth it! I not only remember every course of that 4 hour lunch, but also that moment outside of Pralus’ shop. I had no clue then that I would eventually know all of Pralus’ products, and even have the chance to work with François himself at the Chocolate Show in New York.
Now I only need to take one train from Zürich, be it 4.5 hours, to get that same brioche. With the opening of Pralus’ boutique in Paris, it won’t be too long before everyone is talking about the shop’s irresistible specialty, of which there are several in my freezer in Zürich.
This is not your typical brioche with a few pink candied nuts sprinkled on top. Oh, no. Read the rest of this story >>
Being in Paris towards the end of October certainly turned out to be a good thing. Not only was I able to attend the Salon du Chocolat, but I was also there for the opening of François Pralus’ shop in the area of Beaubourg, just steps from the Centre Pompidou. His first in Paris! This was reason for celebration! There are only 3 chocolate makers in France who begin the process from the cacao beans themselves – and François Pralus is one of them. His collection of chocolate bars is sought out by pastry chefs and chocolate aficionados alike. Especially his signature Pyramid, an attractive stack of ten single origin chocolate squares, each 50 grams and wrapped in a different color paper. Sold in chocolate shops, fine food stores and even some supermarkets (like Monoprix) all across the world, the Pyramide des Tropiques includes 75% dark chocolate from Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Sao Tome, Trinidad, Venezuela, Tanzania, Ghana, Madagascar, Colombia and Ecuador. A one-pound chocolate trip around the world. Tasting notes are included, with descriptions like “powerful nose, long on the palate, woody, buttered milk caramel, spicy, etc.” Each chocolate has distinct aromas and flavors, a sensorial experience similar to wine tasting.
A chocolate shop with just these bars would be a destination in itself, yet Pralus’ boutique in Paris is so much more. Read the rest of this story >>
If you’ve read my last few posts, you might be thinking – obsessed with macarons?! You’ve read about macarons in New York City, and you’ve read about macarons in Paris. So yes, maybe a little obsessed. But there are other things in life too. I agree. Like chocolate. So thank goodness that my trip to Paris coincided with the 14th annual Salon du Chocolat. Ok, so maybe it wasn?t a coincidence. I have a long relationship with the Salon, having visited it in Paris many years back when it was a very high-end event on a smaller scale, held at the Carrousel du Louvre. I also helped run the media relations for the Chocolate Show in New York for several years. As the liaison between every exhibitor and the press, I had to know (and taste!) every product at the show. Not a bad job!
