Chocolatiers, bean to bar

Among the bean-to-bar pioneers are the Bernachon family in Lyon, the Pralus family in Roanne and the Bonnat family in Voiron. Families whose know-how has been handed down from generation to generation, always with the same passion and that unmistakable "chocolate" taste. Today, the new generation of chocolatiers is going back to basics: transformation from bean to bar. Many of them are self-taught, converted by passion to this time-consuming, gourmet profession. What drives them all: ethics, eco-responsibility, fairness and transparency in the cocoa chain, even going so far as to create the bean to bar France association in June 2021 to promote their values. Their work begins with the selection of beans, then their transformation (roasting, crushing, grinding, mixing and conching) until chocolate is obtained. The bars on offer are free from preservatives and additives, and are of course pure cocoa butter.

• Ara Chocolat

Andrès Zakhour, a Venezuelan-born chocolatier, has fallen in love with pods, their diversity and the work of the growers. Setting up in Paris in October 2015 with his wife Sabrina, their bias is to work with beans from Latin America with 100% vegan production. "I work the beans by variety. Cocoa is seasonal, harvested at different times of the year, so our production follows the rhythm of arrivals. "

We rush off to discover the bars, including Chuncho 70%, an ancient Cuzco variety from Peru, with notes of cinnamon and caramelized pineapple, and Agua Viva Criollo 74% from Nicaragua, with aromas of walnut and caramel. And don't forget to try the vegan and gluten-free chocolate cake topped with the pure-origin chocolate being made.

54 rue de Dunkerque, Paris 9

www.arac hocolat.com

• L'Instant cacao

Less than 20m2 for the laboratory and boutique in the heart of Paris. Yet here, chocolatier Marc Chinchole transforms his cocoa beans into chocolate."Working with couverture chocolates limits my tastes, I like sourcing and working with beans for the freedom it gives me, the aromatic palette of cocoas is incredible."

We're off to discover her bars, including the exceptional Bolivia, 2020 harvest, a creamy, unctuous chocolate with notes of flowers and nuts, and the Tanzania bar with 63% coconut milk. A true revelation for its sweetness and milky notes. You'll also want to try the Rochers maison and Florentins covered in their own slab of pure-origin chocolate.

3 rue des Petits Champs Paris 1

www.lins tantcacao.fr

• 20° North, 20° South

Until 2018, Mélanie Paulau didn't like chocolate. She finds it too bitter and greasy when it's dark, too sweet when it's milk-based, and above all not very virtuous. "It waswhen I tasted a rare cocoa that I had a revelation and discovered the true taste of chocolate. That's when I left everything behind to set up my own business and transform the beans into chocolate, while working for transparency in the cocoa chain."

Let yourself be carried away by the duos of pure-origin tablets available in dark and "dark milk" versions, a dark chocolate seasoned with a touch of milk. Discover the Kubaly bar from Nicaragua with its natural vanilla notes, the Paquibato from the Philippines with its fruity notes and the Anamalai from India with its spicy flavours, not forgetting the boxed set of Grands Crus ganaches.

11 Route de la Taillée, 85690 Notre-Dame-de-Monts

New opening in April 2022: 5 Place Aristide Briand, 85300 Challans

www.20no rd20sud.com

• La baleine à Cabosse

It was during a trip to Colombia that Claire Hollender and Aurélien Ducloux discovered the taste of chocolate. This taste was to be a determining factor in their choice of life, as they devoted themselves to processing cocoa. Self-taught, they learned the gestures and stages of production before setting up shop in France in November 2017. "Being a bean-to-bar chocolatier allows you to discover the diversity of chocolate tastes in connection with the terroirs from which the beans come."

We go for the Mexico La Rioja 70% bar, a white Porcelana with tart raspberry notes, the Cordoba from Colombia 76% with woody, fruity notes. On the milk side, we taste the sobacha milk bar and the black milk bar, an Idduki cocoa from Kerala in India, very spicy and softened by the addition of a touch of milk.

213 rue Paradis, 13006 Marseille

www.laba leineacabosse.com

• Encuentro

Candice and Antoine Maschi discovered cocoa 12 years ago in the Dominican Republic. Self-taught, they trained in the country and opened their first Manufacture. Back in France, they began working on their bars in a tiny, windowless laboratory in Montreuil. In November 2021, they moved into a 600m2 former Manufacture in Lille. "For us, tablets are the purest form of chocolate flavor expression. We don't mix crus, vintages or origins, and we only make dark chocolate."

Let yourself be carried away by the Pérou 70% bar, with its fruity, tangy, naturally buttery notes, and by the Congo 70%, very round, with notes of dried bananas, tobacco, cinnamon and no acidity. To make your choice, try the 5 origins box.

26 rue Félix Faure 59350 Saint-André-lez-Lille

www.choc olatencuentro.com

Chewy leaves

• Bonnat CHOCOLATE

A journey to discover all the facets of the subject of chocolate: geopolitical, cultural, scientific, technical, historical and, of course, gourmet, with 80 recipes, including 30 from Maison Bonnat!

By Stéphane Bonnat, Julien Bouré, Elisa Montiel-Welti, Editions La Maison, 479 pages, 120€.

• Chocolate according to Bernachon

The history of a family of chocolatiers and 80 emblematic recipes, including the famous Président.

By Stéphane Deligeorges, Editions Glénat, 248 pages, €45.50

• Cacao et Vanille, Pralus

The love of an island: Madagascar, a story of scents and tastes, vanilla and chocolate and the Malagasy adventure of François Pralus and Laurence Cailler, vanilla ambassador, combined with 40 sweet and savory recipes combining the two ingredients.

By François Pralus, Laurence Cailler and Ingrid Astier, Editions Noesis Agnès Viénot, 222 pages, 29,90€.