If for one reason you come into Maison Larnicol, the brainchild of Master Chocolatier and MOF, Georges Larnicol, it’s to marvel at his playful, colorful chocolate creations.

Oh but you should taste as much as possible, too. We dropped by his shop in Saint Malo (Brittany) but he has a whole slew of shops in these cities Auray, Bordeaux, Concarneau, Guerande, La Baule, Locronan, Nantes, Pont Aven, Quimper, Rennes and Saint Brieuc.

The kouign amann (an oh-so-amazing buttery, baked Breton pastry), macarons and chocolate were heavenly. There are no additives, preservatives or artificial ingredients in the baked goods.

The mini kouign-amanns called kougnettes are so cute and come in 14 different flavors.

The only regret we have now is that we didn’t try every single item in the shop. There’s so much more to grab here: cookies, lollipops, galettes…

Maison Larnicol
6, rue Saint-Vincent
35400  Saint Malo France
Telephone Number: +33 (0)2 99 40 57 62

Continue reading the post to see more photos.
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The grace and beauty of window design in France never ceases to amaze me all year long. But with Christmas being one of my favorite times of year, I MUST get out to see the festive displays. This is when true artistry emerges. The beautiful window display below is from Fabrice Gillotte, who happens to be a MOF of chocolate. Not only is he a master of his craft, his stuff is cute! And different. I LOVE his Santa.

Fabrice Gillotte, Chocolatier
21, rue du Bourg
21000 Dijon
Telephone +33(0)3 80 30 38 88

We’re getting ready to take off to spend the holidays in the U.S. so we’ve been frantically buying gifts and stocking stuffers. We came across these kitschy boxes of liqueur-filled chocolates. Unlike those little sugar bottles filled with God knows what liqueurs (we got those too!), these use dark chocolate without the sugar crust, they explain what the liqueurs are and where they are from in France AND they are in cute little shapes. Here’s what’s inside: Armagnac du Sud-Ouest (in an armagnac cork), Marc de champagne (champagne cork), Kirsch d’Alsace (cherry), Mirabelle de Lorraine (mirabel plum), Calvados de Normandie (apple), Cognac de Charente (barrel), Pastis 51 (bottle).

It’s a fun gift and perfect stocking stuffer. You can probably find them all over the large French supermarkets like Carrefour, Auchan, etc..

By the way, these have the real deal inside, no watered-down anything.

From Le Meurice’s FB:

Yannick Alléno, the Head Chef of Le Meurice’s 3 Michelin Star gastronomic restaurant, loves to reinvent classic recipes and has brought about a new meaning to breakfast in Paris, with the Choc’Alléno.

Created with Ladurée, the renowned Parisian café and pastry shop, the Choc’Alleno will be available in all Ladurée boutiques as well as for breakfast at Le Meurice from 11 September 2009. Looking to create is own version of the French croissant after being inspired by the chocolate aromas and colours at Ladurée, Yannick Alléno researched different types and textures of cocoa bean and decided to re-interpret the French art of “viennoiserie”.

The Choc’Alléno pain au chocolat and croissant are all-chocolate: the dough is made with chocolate and added cocoa beans to enhance the flavour, arousing a multitude of sensors in the palate – and making it impossible to resist.

The Choc’Alléno will be served for breakfast from 11 September 2009 in the Restaurant Le Meurice from 7am -10.30am weekdays and from 7am-11am weekends, for €36.

The Choc’Alléno breakfast will include:
o Choc’Alléno pain au chocolat
o Choc’Alléno croissant
o Chocolate baguette
o A selection of coffees, teas and hot chocolates (specially selected by the Head Sommelier Nicolas Rebut)
o Fruit Juice
o Chocolate chip butter
o Jam and Honey

via

Some people choose Nutella, others, like my in-laws, prefer to spread Buttella on their tartines / toast. Appetizing!

tags: france, french, nuttella, buttella

A well-established restaurant, Le Chalet Bleu, headed by Philippe Bouché, is one of our favorite restaurants in Autun, France (Burgundy). It’s very reasonably priced with a basic menu starting at 18 euros. Of course, that menu features Tête de veau, which I don’t think I could bring myself to eating. It looks so blubbery and well….it’s a baby cow’s face! I might be unreasonable saying this but I don’t really want to eat a calf’s head. Does that include the brains? I know, I know, I should TRY it one day to REALLY tell. It’s not like you see a face with eyes and ears and a nose and BRAINS.. Well. Anyway, we ate lunch at Le Chalet Bleu recently, so here’s a little sampling of what we ate. None of us ordered Tête de veau.

Ballotine et Rillettes de Faisan en Gelée de Lentilles Vertes , Magret de Canard Fumé en Compote de Figue, Effilochée d’Endive, glace aux champignons et au miel

Terrine de lentils, Magret de Canard Fumé, soupe aux lentils

Dos de Flétan et Pétoncles au Safran, Meunière d’Endive, Epinard et Kumquat

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From sinolinx:

“France has recalled sweets and biscuits made with Chinese dairy after finding high levels of an industrial chemical.

In China, four babies have died and 53,000 have fallen sick after consuming milk products contaminated with the chemical melamine.

The EU banned imports of Chinese baby food containing traces of milk in response to the scare last month.

The recall of White Rabbit sweets and Koala biscuits is the first such order to be made by a European country.

French consumers were warned to destroy or return the tainted products after tests showed high levels of melamine, which can cause kidney failure.

“The first results of tests conducted in France have shown a melamine level above the warning level set by the European Commission at 2.5mg per kilo,” the agriculture ministry said in a statement.

So far there have been no identified cases of health problems associated with the contamination in France.

The recall is the strongest measure yet taken by a European country amid a worldwide health scare over Chinese milk products that has led several countries to ban dairy imports from China.

It came as China issued new quality controls for its dairy industry and promised more severe punishment, including public naming, for anyone found to have violated safety standards.

Some Chinese dairy farmers are accused of fraudulently adding melamine to watered-down milk to make the product appear rich in protein and to fool quality control tests.”

Our MOF Discovery partners in crime, Chloé and Jacques, told us about an MOF Chef named Serge Chenet who just opened a restaurant near their bed and breakfast in Saint Laurent des arbres. We all, of course, HAD to go check it out and have dinner there. On s’est régalé. Absolutely no complaints here. It was divine, and we highly recommend it, not only for the most scrumptious dishes ever but also for discrete service, and very reasonable prices.

Les mises en bouches / starters

Brochette de boudin noir , sorbet de hareng sur canapé / blood sausage skewered wontons, herring sorbet with caviar on toast (there was a teeny triangle of lemon on top)

Soupe d’artichauds , parmesan agé et coriandre / artichoke soup with aged parmesan and fresh cilantro

Entrées / Appetizers

Duo de foie gras : poêlé à l’hypocras et sa figue rôtie , farcie à la figue / Foie Gras Duo: Seared slice of foie gras cooked in a mulled honey wine with a roasted fig, non-seared foie gras stuffed with fig

Duo de lapereau : Médaillons de Lapereau , feuilleté de lapereau / Leveret Duo: Medallions of Leveret (some people call these bunnies), puff pastry with leveret

Course principale / Main Course

Lieu jaune accompagné de purée de chou fleur sur un lit de mousse de cresson / Pollack with a puree of cauliflower in a bed of watercress mousse (more…)

I’ll be in Paris next week for a chocolate fix and other things so I was trying to find the exact address of Jean-Paul Hévin’s place. I serendipitously stumbled upon these new chocolate abs on his website.

It turns out, since May of this year, you can get Les Tablettes de chocolat (abs of steel, 6 pack abs) without having to work out! Isn’t that excellent news?

In France, the equivalent of the phrase, “abs of steel” is, “les tablettes de chocolat” (chocolate bars). So, chocolatier Jean-Paul Hévin, an MOF in Paris, has taken the concept one step further and has re-invented the les tablettes de chocolat, called “Abdominal bars,” which actually sounds more dietetic, if you think about it. What a sneaky trick. Far, Far, and light years away from being dietetic, these Jean-Paul Hévin chocolate bars seem like the best alternative to going to the gym for some abs. Of course, they aren’t THOSE abs we’re really thinking about.

There are three different kinds of abdominal bars: Pecs, Muscle and Fitness Bars. 

Pecs Bars
75% cocoa
Origin : Venezuela
Bean type : Criollo, Trinitario
Nose : powerful, manly
Taste : spicy touches of coffee and dry fruit, floral touches, slight acidity due to the bean fermentation.
Distinctive feature : intense aroma and surprisingly long taste, cocoa finesse.

2,20 € per 40 g bar

Muscle Bars
75% cocoa
Origin : Madagascar
Bean type : Criollo, Forastero
Nose : powerful, intense
Taste : acidity typical of Madagascar, touches of red and yellow berries.
Distinctive feature : intense freshness due to cocoa acidity.

2,20 € per 40 g bar

Fitness Bars
65% cocoa
Origin : Blend of central America and Africa
Bean type : Trinitario, Forastero
Nose : black chocolate, spicy
Taste : spicy, marked chocolate taste
Distinctive feature : sugar-free, suitable for diabetes patients

2,20 € per 40 g bar

Jean-Paul Hévin Chocolatier
23 bis, avenue de la Motte-Picquet
75007 Paris – FRANCE
Website

tags: france travel jean paul hevin chocolate in paris les tablettes de chocolate MOF abdominal bars

Last week in Rennes, we ALMOST met miserable misfortune by NOT stepping into this place, Le Daniel, a patisserie. My sweetie stopped abruptly and said, “M.O.F.!”

“Wha?!”

“M.O.F.! M.O.F.! We HAVE to go into Le Daniel; he’s an M.O.F.”

“We just ate and I’m not very hungry. How do you know? And…What the heck is an MOF, anyway?”

“Meilleur Ouvrier de France! It’s on the window. He’s the best.”

By some miraculous and divine intervention of nature, my sweetie, who usually can’t find butter in the frig (when there’s only butter and nothing else in the frig), noticed the small print with “Meilleur Ouvrier de France” on the window whilst the three of us walked by briskly on our way to fnac.

“NEVER ignore an M.O.F. THAT is just crazy.”

So, we entered and sampled some things.

Before I go on with this story, I have some explaining to do about the “Meilleur Ouvrier de France.” It means “Best Craftsman (or Worker) in France” and this is a coveted award only given to the very best artisans of France every 3 years (since 1924). There’s a long list of categories so the M.O.F.. can be a pastry chef, a furniture maker, painter, saddle designer, all kinds of “craftsmen.” There’s a stringent process to earn this ranking and those who succeed keep their title for life. Their work is absolute pure quality, the best France has to offer. The people who earn this rank are all passionate about what they do and it shows in their work. So now I know that I should never ignore an M.O.F. You shouldn’t either, especially if you see an M.O.F. who makes pastries!

There are lots of very good patisseries in France (except near our house) but some really go beyond the call of duty and are ahead of others by giant leaps and bounds. Le Daniel was a true M.O.F. When the three of us ate our pastries, there was total silence. It was that good. I got a large salted butter caramel macaron and there are simply no words to do it justice.

We already want to go back. We have to check out his chocolates and ice cream!

By the way, do you know any M.O.F.s??? PLEASE tell me about them!

Le Daniel
13, Galerie du Théâtre
Place de la Mairie
35000 Rennes
02 99 79 33 81
Website: Le Daniel

Cute Chocolate Chick (that disappeared quick(ly))
Bernigaud
Chocolaterie/Pâtisserie
18, rue de la République
58170 Luzy (Burgundy) France
Tel: 03.86.30.04.70