La Celeste Praline Chocolaterie Artisanale

The Window Display

"On a white marble shelf are aligned innumerable boxes, packages, cornets of silver and gold paper, rosettes, bells, flowers, hearts and long curls of multi-coloured ribbon. 

In glass bells and dishes lie the chocolates, the pralines, Venus’s nipples, truffles, mendiants, candied fruits, hazelnut clusters, chocolate seashells, candied rose-petals, sugared violets...Protected from the sun by the half-blind which shields them, they gleam darkly, like sunken treasure, Aladdin’s cave of sweet cliches. 

And in the middle she has built a magnificent centre-piece. A gingerbread house, walls of chocolate-coated pain d’epices with the detail piped on in silver and gold icing, roof tiles of florentines studded with crystallized fruits, strange vines of icing and chocolate growing up the walls, marzipan birds singing in chocolate trees…And the witch herself, dark chocolate from the top of her pointed hat to the hem of her long cloak, half astride a broomstick which is in reality a giant guimauve, the long twisted marshmallows that dangle from the stalls of sweet-vendors on carnival days."

Vianne Rocher's personal favourite

Mendiants: Biscuit-sized discs of dark, milk or white chocolate upon which have been scattered lemon-rind, almonds and plump Malaga raisins.

Hot chocolate preferences

Anouk: With creme Chantilly and chocolate curls.

Vianne: Hot and black, stronger than espresso.

Josephine Muscat: Chocolate curls and Chantilly, decorated with two coffee creams at the side.

Armando and Luc: With cream and Kahlua.

Vianne's knack for guessing what people's favourites are...

~ Monsieur le Cure/Francis Reynaud: Huitres de Saint-Malo (small flat pralines shaped to look like tightly closed oysters).

~ The bitter one: zesty orange twists.

~ The sweet-smiling one: soft-centred apricot hearts

~ The girl with the windblown hair: mendiants. 

~ The brisk, cheery woman: chocolate brazils.

~ Guillaume Duplessis: florentines, eaten neatly over a saucer in his tidy bachelor’s house. 

~ Julien Narcisse: double-chocolate truffles.

~ Caroline Clairmont: cinder toffee.

~ Josephine Muscat: chocolate almonds.

~ Lucie: white chocolate mice.

~ Armande Voizin: champagne truffles.

Roux's houseboat party

~ River crayfish, split and grilled over the embers 

~ Sardines 

~ Early sweetcorn

~ Sweet potatoes

~ Caramelized apples rolled in sugar and flash-fried in butter

~ Thick pancakes and honey

~ Spiced wine, cider and apple juice.

 

~ Music: a flute and a fiddle and some drums improvised from cans and dustbins.

March

A good month with February blowing out of the back door and spring waiting at the front. 

A good month for change..

Josephine makes dinner with Vianne after leaving her husband

~ Salad of green beans and tomatoes in spiced oil, red and black

~ Olives from the Thursday market stall

~ Walnut bread

~ Fresh basil from Narcisse

~ Goat’s cheese

~ Red wine from Bordeaux.

Preparations for the Easter Chocolate Festival

~ A giant chocolate statue of Eostre with a corn sheaf in one hand and a basket of eggs in the other, to be shared between the celebrants.

~ Delicate liqueur chocolates

~ Rose-petal clusters

~ Goldwrapped coins

~ Violet creams

~ Chocolate cherries

~ Almond rolls

~ Nests of spun caramel with hard-shelled sugar eggs, each topped with a triumphantly plump chocolate hen 

~ Piebald rabbits heavy with gilded almonds

~ Marzipan creatures

~ Cakes and truffles

~ Gingerbread bells

~ Gilded pains d’epices.

Armande's 81st birthday party

Friday 28 March, Good Friday

Table setting

Damask tablecloth with a fine lace border.

    

White Limoges plates with a tiny border of yellow flowers running around the rim.

Three different kinds of crystal glasses.

Centrepiece of spring flowers.

Napkins folded neatly beside each plate. 

On each napkin, inscribed cards with the name of the guest: 

Armande Voizin, Vianne Rocher, Anouk Rocher, Caroline Clairmont, Georges Clairmont, Luc

Clairmont, Guilaaurrie Duplessis, Josephine Bonnet, Julien Narcisse, Michel Roux, Blanche Demand, Cerisette Planpon

Party Menu

St Raphaël Aperitif. 

Salted pine nuts and tiny biscuits.

Soupe de tomates a la gasconne 

served with fresh basil and a slice of tartlette meridonale.

'85 Chablis 

Lemonade

Herb salad.

Foie gras on warm toast.

Vol-au-vents.

Elderflower sorbet.

Plateau de fruit de mers with grilled langoustines, grey shrimps, prawns, oysters, berniques, spider crabs and tourteaux, winkles, palourdes and black lobster.

Lemon wedges and mayonnaise.

Mint salad.

Champagne.

Chocolate fondue with pieces of cake and fruit.

Chocolate ice-cream, truffles and coffee with a calvados chaser.

Birthday presents

A picture of a cat in a red envelope from Anouk.

A jar of honey from Blanche.

Sachets of lavender from Zezette.

A carved oak leaf with a cluster of acorns clinging to the stem from Roux.

A big basket of fruit and flowers from Narcisse. 

A silk scarf and a silver flower vase from Caro.

A red silk slip wrapped in an envelope of crinkly paper from Luc.

A small gold locket from Josephine.

* Information derived from the book 'Chocolat' written by Joanne Harris *

"We must measure our goodness not by what we don't do, what we deny ourselves, what we resist, or who we exclude. Instead, we should measure ourselves by what we embrace, what we create, and who we include" - (Pere Henri, from the film version of Chocolat).