Imperial Chocolat Fontainebleau

 

Another CHOCOLATE SALON! Can you handle it?

The IMPERIAL CHOCOLAT always takes place in November headed by top patissiere & chocolatier Frederic Cassel.

In the glorious château Fontainebleau 

A mere 45 minutes ride by train from Gare de Lyon(direction Montarges)

HURRAY UP! Today is the LAST DAY!! Entrée - 9€ And Children under 12 are gratuit 👏

It’s held in the grand hunting hall of the chateau 

Stunning deer were gazing down at us

Under fabulous poly-chrome hand-painted beams

All interior details I have never noticed at other visits. I was always single-mindedly focused 👁️ on the CHOCOLATE 🍫 

Rosa Bonheur would have approved of these chocolate 🍫 bunnies (or hares) 👍

This time I went with British-born Janet, whose lived in France for yonks (French husband etc.). 

Janet has an inquiring mind + excellent French, a great asset to have around at all times.

Janet wanted to know why some chocolate molded sculptures were so shiny and others had a dull finish. *Note matt-finish chocolate bits on the trays. I would have never thought to ask… Too busy gobbling up chocolate samples 🥳

We got a full demo by pastry students & teacher from Lycée Antonine Careme.

You might be wondering who the H*** is Antonin Carême? He was France’s first celebrity chef. The full details are in Cooking For Kings. 

We can thank master pastry chef, Antonin for pâte à chou or the beloved ❤️ cream puff. I  believe you can get a very nice dinner at their student restaurant, should you happen to be in Savigny-le-Temple.

Evidently the chocolate must be exactly 31 degrees, to achieve the best sheen on the chocolate! Who knew? 🤔 But I digress as usual…

Chef Frederic Cassel had stacks of marron glacée on offer and Fontainebleau Advent calendars full of his chocolates 🍫 

Giant bricks of pâtes de fruit were very tempting. 

I gave into temptation over madeleines ‘enrobed’(don’t you love ❤️ that word) in dark chocolate from Au Faubourg de l’écluse. I had one for breakfast this morning. 

I fell madly in love ❤️ with this sparking Blanc de Blanc Chardonnay with hints of cacao & hazelnuts from Chocolate in a Bottle. If only wine bottles were light to carry home like chocolate-covered madeleines…

I was inspired to paint 🍾 🥂 Champagne glasses with pastry (on SALE) this morning. They can be personalized!

Janet insisted we stop & look at the carp in the Fontainebleau pond. They are enormous even if you can’t see them.We had quite the day of indulgences, Janet and me. I learned this tree is called an ‘arbre remarkable’. Another useful bit of French. If you can’t run to Chateau Fontainebleau today, please add it to your to-do list for next trip to France. And don’t miss Frederic’s patisserie on rue Grande for sweets, savories and the best Strawberry 🍓 jam ever. Please share with a friend 🍓

Watercolors on ETSY.