Chocolate Romance in 18th Century France
January 16, 2015
There is a lovely little story on BBC.com featuring a man’s adventure into one of the best-known French chocolate shops in Lyon.
In this shop is where master chocolatier Monsieur Bernachon continues the French tradition of creating papillotes, which are chocolate bars filled with salted caramel, or stuffed with nuts and dried fruits soaked in Grand Marnier.
Until recently, there were two places making the traditional papillotes – in Lyon, and several hundred miles north near Montmartre. Unfortunately though, the Golden Star suffered a gas explosion last year, making Lyon, France officially the only place to find French papillotes.
Denise Acabo, Parisian owner of the late Golden Star, has since taken to working in Lyon with Bernachon. It is here that she told the story of the papillotes, and how romance was at the heart of their creation.
Over 200 years ago, in the 18th century, there was a boy who worked as an apprentice in the sweet shop of Monsieur Papillot. The boy had set his eye on a young beautiful maiden who lived just across the street from the shop.
The young boy, sought to woo this fair maiden, and so he devised a plan to sneak to her little notes of love and devotion. He would do this, by wrapping up chocolates from the sweet shop in papers covered with his notes.
The shop owner, a cunning businessman, shortly noticed that there were chocolates missing. Instead of disciplining the boy, however, he congratulated him on his romance and his creation of the wrapped goodies.
The young man and his fair maiden were wed, and the shop owner Mr. Papillot made his fortune from the little wrapped chocolate bars they called papillotes.
Nowadays, the chocolate bars are wrapped in papers printed with jokes and fun sketches instead of love letters. They are an important part of the French Christmas and New Year’s tradition.
It’s no wonder that chocolate is the symbol of love for our upcoming holiday, Valentine’s Day! Whether it began with the French or its origins sprung up elsewhere, I’ll be grateful for a box of chocolates come February 14!
Photo: "chocolate heart" by Marit and Toomas Hinnosaar is licensed under CC BY 2.0/cropped from original
- Super-Dad Writes To Cadbury About Chocolate - October 30, 2015
- Dark Chocolate Covered Frightened Pretzels Recipe - October 28, 2015
- Will It Chocolate? Funny Video Friday! - October 23, 2015