Chocolatiers: stories of memory

As Pierre Hermé so aptly put it, "Transmission is a duty, essential to bequeathing our know-how, maintaining it and developing it further. It is a multi-faceted heritage that we strive to pass on, to ensure that our know-how and tradition live on. "

This handing-down takes many forms: apprenticeships, apprenticeship schemes, schools, museums, but also new technologies. The podcast recently launched by Pierre Marcolini is a case in point: "Theprimary vocation of craftsmanship is transmission," stresses the chocolatier.

It's also a unique transmission that we inherit through blood ties, one that oscillates between perennity and novelty. On the occasion of the Salon du Chocolat (October 28 - November 1, Porte de Versailles, Paris), Gault&Millau invites you to discover this family heritage with five families whose work is now part of France's gastronomic heritage. Pralus, Bernachon, Pariès, Bonnat, Gillotte: these are just some of the families whose work continues and develops thanks to new generations.

• At Pralus, "the perpetuation of family know-how".

Hugo Pralus represents the third generation of the Roanne-based company. After studying business and travelling extensively, he returned to the family business with the desire to keep the tradition alive.I've always been immersed in the world of patisserie and chocolate, but I wanted to make a well-considered decision," explains Hugo Pralus. With a pastry chef's CAP in his pocket, Stéphane Grange - "the great chef", as we like to call him - was with me throughout my apprenticeship, helping me with both gesture and technique. He is the indispensable link between my grandfather, who trained him, and my father. I'm gradually working my way up the ladder and trying to bring my generation's approach to things, such as responsible development. My father and Stéphane are with me every day, because I'm well aware of the responsibility that awaits me."

www.choc olats-pralus.com

• Chez Bernachon, "tradition in motion

A veritable institution in Lyon, Chez Bernachon is today represented by Philippe Bernachon and his sisters Candice and Stéphanie, who proudly carry on the work of their grandfather and father.When you inherit a chocolate factory, the challenge is to continue what has been built, while bringing our own vision to the table," says Philippe Bernachon. When I arrived after studying accounting, I was trained by the head chocolatier at the time, who was the link between the two generations that preceded me. Today, the great classics - the "Président", the "Éventail", the "Ambassadeur" - are more relevant than ever. Our generation has brought us new creations, such as the "XXL" éclair, the interpretation of the gold palet in tablet form, and the opening up to Japan with the Tokyo Chocolate Show, for which we imagine exclusive creations", continues Philippe Bernachon.

www.bern achon.com

• Chez Pariès, "passing on a heritage".

Five generations have succeeded one another at the head of this company, founded in Bayonne in 1895. Today, it's Céline Pariès who is committed to perpetuating the Pariès taste. "In 1905, my great-great-grandfather, a chocolatier, invented 'Kanouga'," says Céline Pariès. The turning point for our creation came with my grandfather, who imagined the majority of our recipes, such as the "mouchou", the Basque cake, the travel cakes... A chocolatier and confectioner with a genius for taste, he taught me how to taste and sharpen my palate. Today, we're building on what's already there and working as a team on new creations, such as the ephemeral chocolate collections and the Kanouga spread."

www.paries.fr

• At Bonnat, "it's not a foregone conclusion!"

The seventh head of the company founded in 1884 in Voiron (Isère), Stéphane Bonnat, the chocolate adventurer, runs the house with a master's hand.At the Bonnat family, we don't plan to be managers, we buy the company; it's an extra motivation that makes us more committed," explains Stéphane Bonnat. I started working at the age of 13 alongside my father, as a hobby. He passed on his know-how to me. I also travelled a lot to enrich my knowledge. Now it's my turn to pass on our knowledge to the growers we work with. We are present at every harvest and welcome them to Voiron. Transmission is an ongoing exchange. But you also have to realize that it's a complex mission: you have to find your place, impose your vision and be accepted by the teams and customers, even though we've always worked alongside our parents."

bonnat-chocolatier.com/en

• For Fabrice Gillotte, "Transmission is above all a long-term training process that takes place on a daily basis".

In the Gillotte family, only Fabrice, the father, Meilleur ouvrier de France 1991, is a chocolatier (in Norges, near Dijon), but the transmission is there.Our technologies no longer have anything to do with what an apprentice has to learn," explains Fabrice Gillotte. So we no longer train young people to enter the trade; instead, we train those who are ready to start from scratch to learn new technologies. For Julien, my son, it's not just a matter of passing on know-how; I've given him the opportunity to express himself in fields I didn't know existed. So the transmission is mutual. Before we came to this point, I pushed him to open up internationally, to discover other companies; he then decided to join us. He's involved in new creative ideas as much as in marketing, communications and company management. We have a complementary outlook."

fabricegillotte.com