L ATELIER DU CHOCOLAT FULL
L ATELIER DU CHOCOLAT WINDOWS

There is another much larger L’Atelier du Chocolat in nearby Bayonne that gives tours and demonstrations. This area is also covered in stores so this hot chocolate is perfect to give you a bit of energy to start your shopping. Verdict: For 2.50 Euros this is a fantastic hot chocolate. If only they would put a little bench outside, then you could enjoy your hot chocolate while watching the locals walk by, or the kids going around the old fashion merry go round close by. It is a bit tricky to drink it standing up. If you don’t rescue your 30 gram piece of chocolate in time (as I failed to do) it melts into your hot chocolate and makes it taste even better. It smells very rich but isn’t as rich as you would expect. There isn’t anywhere in the store to sit down or any tables or chairs outside so we stand to drink it. She then puts your 30 gram piece of chocolate into the cup like a spoon and hands it to you. The hot chocolate is prepared in a paper cup using boiling water and a special powder they make in store. 30 grams is actually quite a generous piece of chocolate.

L ATELIER DU CHOCOLAT FULL

She directs us to a wall with baskets full of sheets of chocolate from around the world, 90% cocoa from Trinidad, 70% cocoa from Venezuela. As she prepares our drinks she lets us know that we can also choose 30 grams of any other chocolate in the store. You have a choice, you can get standard hot chocolate, or one with cinnamon, coffee, orange, ginger or even pepper. Most of the chocolate shops don’t sell drinks, however this one had a sign in the front window saying it did. The locals obviously love their chocolate. It isn’t the only chocolate shop in town, as there seems to be one on almost every block.

The treats of Bayonne's ' L'Atelier du Chocolat (External link) ' can be found in some thirty shops in France, including the historic Bayonne store.In the heart of Pau, right off the main square is a little chocolate shop called L’Atelier du Chocolat.

Come along and get a taste of Bayonne's fabulous chocolate! For more information: Meanwhile, here is the latest invention planned for early 2020: a new criollo-based tablet, the rarest variety of cocoa in the world, which Bayonne's 'L'Atelier du Chocolat' cultivates in Mexico, thus participating in its preservation. You can also taste new flavor specialties, like dark chocolate spiced up with Basque Espelette pepper, or white chocolate with vanilla, almonds and cranberries. Here, learn to recognize the grand crus that the chocolatier puts together as an oenologist, like the homemade 'kiretsa' (70% cocoa, a unique blend of beans from Ecuador, Sao Tome and the Ivory Coast) and the 'extra kiretsa' (97% cocoa, or chocolate from Madagascar). Want to dip your fingers in the chocolate pot after this mouthwatering visit? Young gourmets (4-12) are welcomed to get hands-on in a fun workshop: decorating a goodie or painting a fish.īayonne's 'L'Atelier du Chocolat' opens the doors of its tasting area to all visitors. Today, if most chocolatiers have merged with industrialization, Bayonne's 'L'Atelier du Chocolat,' like the companies that form Bayonne's Academy of Chocolate, carries on the tradition of hand-crafted chocolate. Soon, it made the city famous: in 1809, the chocolate of Bayonne appeared on the first gastronomic menu of France! An academy for traditional chocolate These were Spanish and Portuguese Jews, who fled to Bayonne to avoid persecution, importing the secrets of the transformation of the cocoa bean to France in the 17th century.Īt the time, chocolate was a popular luxury product among kings and queens, starting with Infanta Maria Theresa of Spain, who introduced it to the Court after her marriage with Louis XIV in Saint-Jean-de-Luz in 1660.

L ATELIER DU CHOCOLAT WINDOWS

Ganaches, pralines and other soft toppingsĪll week long, from Monday to Friday, through the windows of the workshops, enjoy watching chocolate artisans prepare ganaches, pralines and other soft toppings in a true goldsmith work in the tradition of the first chocolate makers in Bayonne. The visit is a true journey through the history of what was first an Aztec and Mayan drink before reaching Europe via the Spanish conquistadors on a maiden voyage into the mysteries of chocolate making.

L atelier du chocolat