Alléno & Rivoire: the end of an adventure for two, the start of a new chapter
After working together for almost 12 years, pastry chef Aurélien Rivoire has parted company with Yannick Alléno, who is now taking over the reins of the company that has become Les Chocolats de Yannick Alléno.
It's the end of a team effort spanning more than a decade, announced this Monday, February 16, 2026 on the Instagram page of chef Aurélien Rivoire, for whom the adventure has only just begun.
An eclectic and creative career
After graduating with a CAP in pastry, chocolate and confectionery, Aurélien Rivoire learned the basics of the trade in a pastry shop in Neuville-sur-Saône, before moving into the restaurant business, joining chef Anthony Bonnet's brigade at La Cour des Loges. His career then took him to Paris, to work with Jérôme Banctel, where he perfected his rigor, technique and consistency. In 2012, he joined the kitchens of Le Meurice, working alongside Yannick Alléno and pastry luminaries Maxime Frédéric, Cédric Grolet and Yohann Caron.
In 2021, he was named Pastry Chef of the Year, and in late 2021 opened the Alléno & Rivoire chocolate factory, the fruit of his collaboration with chef Alléno, where he reinvented traditional chocolate-making using innovative techniques such as cryoconcentration.
The end of an adventure for two
Prior to opening their joint confiserie-chocolaterie, the two chefs met at Le Meurice in 2012, and their collaboration continued at the 1947 restaurant in Cheval Blanc, then at Le Pavillon Ledoyen, where Aurélien Rivoire imagined no-sugar-added desserts and contributed to the opening of L'Abysse and Le Pavillon.
After eight years of working together, the two chefs decided to go their separate ways, giving birth to the now-renamed chocolateriee Les Chocolats de Yannick Alléno, while Aurélien Rivoire prepares to write a new chapter in his solo career.
This Monday, February 16, 2026, he announced the news on Instagram: "It's a 12-year adventure that's coming to an end! So many beautiful encounters, creations and passion.And so much ground covered alongside chef Yannick Alléno". Although the next step is still unknown, the chef promises to continue exploring the creation and balance of flavors: "Because I never want to stop creating and inventing, with gourmandise and balance.See you soon for new adventures".
