Day 9 in France

A day to remember - my Mom and Denise Acabo

Today was a good day. A very, very good day. In fact, I would go so far as to say it was one of the very best days I have ever had in Paris.

It was filled with some long anticipated sunshine and meeting new people, doing new things, a surprise or two and perhaps most importantly it was a day where I tried the very best chocolate that I have ever tasted…in my life.

It started out in a rather ordinary fashion, getting up, having coffee, doing a load or two of laundry and getting organized for the day ahead. I did dash out to the bakery across the courtyard to pick up some croissants and a few pain au chocolats which were really wonderful (although that is not where I experienced the best chocolate ever…).

When we were talking about where we would be going today my Mom mentioned that she had been investigating Parisian chocolate and candy shops (the woman has a serious sweet tooth) and had one special place in particular that she wanted to take me. I had never heard of A L’Etoile d’Or, a tiny chocolate and candy shop located just a short walk from the flat on rue Pierre Fontaine, nor had I heard of its legendary owner Denise Acabo.

My Mom had done her research and told me that A L’Etoile d’Or is the only place outside Lyon that you can pick up the famed Bernachon chocolate tablettes (bars). This chocolate maker is one of the very few that roast their own cacao beans and grind them up to produce some of the best, pure bittersweet chocolate in the world. A L’Etoile d’Or is the only place they are sold outside Bernachon’s own factory/store in Lyon. A L’Etoile d’Or also carries the famed Henri Le Roux salted caramels and a selection of chocolates from such French artisan chocolatiers as Bonnat and Weiss. Mom also told me that the owner was a woman who was considered to be almost the patron saint of French chocolate. She has been running her store for 40 years and has some very strong ideas about what constitutes the best chocolate from the different regions of France.

As much as my Mom prepared me for this mecca of chocolate nothing can really prepare you for your first encounter with A l’Etoile d’Or’s owner Denise Acabo. You enter the store and are met by a woman of a certain age (she later confessed to us that she was 78 although you would never guess) wearing an outfit that is reminiscent of a Catholic school girl’s uniform with a blue tartan skirt, V neck sweater and tie, her blond hair in braids and a pair of bifocals perched on her nose. She greeted us with a friendly bonjour when we entered the store and then turned her attention back to arranging chocolates in a large glass case in the middle of her rather small but well stocked candy store.

As Mom and I moved around the room pointing out chocolates and caramels and candies that we had on our list to buy, Ms. Acabo turned to us and sensing our enthusiasm and asked “Do you speak French?”. When we sadly said that our language skills were limited she barely missed a beat. She grabbed us a couple of silver trays to help hold our goodies and lead us around the room smiling, laughing and talking (mostly in French but sometimes in English), explaining, in detail, all of the many amazing treasures in her shop. Her deep knowledge and obvious love for very, very good chocolate and candies is so inspiring and infectious we were soon zipping around the room with her sampling a chocolate here and there and loading up our trays with Bernachon tablettes, pistachio caramels, 66% caramel and fleur de sel chocolate bars, Bergamottes de Nancy (hard candies that are flavoured with Bergamot) and chocolate bonbons with flavours like raspberry praline and balsamic vinegar truffle from some of the top chocolate producers in France.

After 40 minutes or so we finally left A L’Etoile d’Or with our bags filled with sweets and feeling more than a bit giddy. There was certainly some excitement over trying these highly anticipated chocolates and caramels that we had just purchased but more than that there was really a sense of gratitude over experiencing something in this small Parisian candy store that was so unexpected and genuine and well, sweet, that made both me and my Mom very happy.

The rest of the day was as magical as our morning. We picked up a few gifts for friends at home.  We enjoyed a relaxing lunch at home, which actually featured some vegetables in an attempt to offset our growing diet of chocolate and candy. After lunch I headed out for a two hour walk around the city in the sunshine while my Mom stayed home to eat her chocolates.

We headed out for an early dinner at our favourite bistro nearby and after a lovely meal we strolled home a in the warm early evening air. As we walked and talked about our day my Mom said, “It was really a beautiful day in Paris…” It was one of the very best.