Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(
De Gaulle (23km/14 miles); Orly (14km/
8
2
⁄
3
miles).
L
$$$
Hôtel Luxembourg Parc,
42
Head east from here to the Boulevard St-
Germain, where you'll find two other choc-
olate must-sees—the stylish Paris outpost
of
Richart
(258 bd. St-Germain, 7e;
&
33/
1/45 55 66 00
), a Lyons-based chocolate
maker selling spectacular gift boxes, and
Patrick Roger
(108 bd. St-Germain, 6e;
&
33/1/43 29 38 42
), whose audacious
combinations of ingredients play off flavors
and textures in poetic flights of inspiration.
rue de Vaugirard, 6e (
&
33/1/53-10-36-
50;
www.luxembourg-paris-hotel.com).
$$
Hôtel Saintonge,
16 rue Saintonge, 3e
(
&
44/1/42-77-91-13;
www.saintonge
marais.com).
Chocolate World
467
London: The Choc Walk
A Suite of Sweets
London, England
Studies show the United Kingdom ranks
first in the world in per capita chocolate
consumption. In a country with such a rag-
ing national sweet tooth, artisanal choco-
lates are almost beside the point; most
Britons are perfectly content to wolf down
a Mars bar or a Kit Kat or an entire Dairy
Milk assortment, just so long as they get
their daily fix. Perhaps that's why London's
luxury chocolate boutiques have to go
the extra mile, enticing customers with
gorgeous packaging and over-the-top
romantic flavorings.
The sentimental favorite is
Charbonnel
& Walker
(28 Old Bond St., in the Royal
Arcade;
&
44/20/7491-0939;
www.
charbonnel.co.uk), which has been around
since 1875 and counts the Prince of Wales
as one of its first customers. Traditional
hand-dipped chocolates they may be, but
oh, the boxes they come in! Floral band-
boxes, creamy white tins with gilt accents,
gold-foil
bonbonnieres,
all display Char-
bonnel's Victorian-era logo and the seal of
its royal warrant as chocolate maker to the
royal family.
Nearby in Piccadilly,
Prestat
(14 Princes
Arcade;
&
44/20/8896 8699
) is also an
old-timer, founded in 1902, but the gaudy
fin de siècle
decor of the shop makes it
look like a brash newcomer. There's a
sense of fun about its packaging, with gold
lettering that looks taken from an old the-
ater poster. Under its new owners, Prestat
is anything but sleepy, offering single-ori-
gin and organic chocolates as well as a line
of artisanal truffles (after all, the firm's
founder, Antoine Dufour, came from the
French family that invented truffles).
In contrast, London's new breed of
chocolatiers are making their mark with
unique flavors and techniques. Down in
Chelsea,
Demarquette
(285 Fulham Rd.;
&
44/20/7351 5467;
www.demarquette.
co.uk) uses its silken chocolate as a base
for conveying a wide range of flavors, from
Earl Grey tea to Highland malt whisky,
from Java cinnamon to Brazilian pink pep-
per to Provençal lavender. Check for regu-
lar tasting events, a great way to be led
through this palette of flavors. Despite the
French-sounding name, Marc Demar-
quette is London born and bred, though
he learned his craft in France. At Demar-
quette's Chelsea rival,
L'Artisan du Choc-
olat
(89 Lower Sloane St.;
&
44/20/7824
8365;
www.artisanduchocolat.com), Irish-
born chocolatier Gerard Coleman makes
his chocolate from scratch, grinding pre-
mier cacao beans at the firm's manufactory
