Order a chocolate lily of the valley
It's hard not to have a bouquet of lilies of the valley for May 1st. Richard Sève, the Master Chocolatier, has thought of everything, with his chocolate pot deliverable within Lyon intra muros.
A real May 1st holiday
Richard Sève, master chocolatier in Lyon, has 7 stores in the region where you can buy a jar of chocolate lilies of the valley. It'll look great on the balcony, but be warned: it's entirely edible, and of course you can eat it too.Dark or milk, the inside of the pot is made with a hazelnut praline and covered with a chocolate nugget,the bell-shaped royal icing flowers (a mixture of lemon egg white and powdered sugar) will remain confined, rather than scrolling.
But the structure of Richard Sève's plant remains fragile, and cannot be shipped. So the master chocolatier has thought of the other confinees... all non-Lyonnais.es. The lucky charms of dark or milk chocolate, adorned with sprigs of lily of the valley, will ring the bells of what will be, this year, the return to work scheduled from... May 11. To order, click here
Maison Sève / Black or milk? a gourmet pocket charm
Where does the tradition come from?
The sale of lilies of the valley on the sly is forbidden, and most florists are closed... At best, sales will be strictly regulated. In the Nantes region, 70% of lilies of the valley will remain in the ground. But why do we offer lilies of the valley on May 1st? A symbol of spring, this flower was appreciated by the Celts, and symbolized the end of winter and its plagues... In 1560, Charles IX received a bouquet of lily of the valley during a visit to the Drôme region. The following year, he decided to give one to every lady at court. But it was not until 1900 that the gesture became popular, after some of the world's leading couturiers offered sprigs of lily of the valley to their staff and customers at an organized party.
No doubt other original initiatives will be launched to keep the tradition alive.
cover © Philippe Jalin
