This post is one of many documenting my week in Paris, a present to myself for graduating pastry school in the fall of 2012. Every moment was spent eating and one post wasn’t enough. It’s now a short novel. Kidding. I hope.
Staying in an apartment a mere couple of blocks from Patrick Roger’s chocolate shop was such a treat. Every time I passed by I was tempted to press my face up against the window to admire these chocolate hippo sculptures. Patrick Roger is the artist behind these creations. He treats chocolate like a raw material that can he transforms organically into life-size models or with incredible precision to make truffles and bars.
Inside the shop, all the walls are “painted” with a textured chocolate-colored material and I wanted to lick them, Willy Wonka style. I really like the archaeological feel of the shop.
Here is a panoramic shot of the two hippos from inside that extend the length of a counter at least 10 feet.
I was really impressed with the packaging, particularly this individual box with a magnetic closure that opens up to reveal the “Savage” chocolate orb. It was so fancy I felt obligated to consume it in several bites to really savor it. I can’t remember the exact ingredients in this particular orb but it was creamy and citrusy.
I also purchased a chocolate bar that comes in a sleek black logo tin that is even more beautiful inside with the colorful lining. I selected the Haiti 75% dark chocolate as I’m partial to semi to dark around 65-70%. Before leaving the shop I was offered a sample (they give samples in Paris?) of a praline bar that was a revelation and I’m still kicking myself for not going back in and buying several or case. The praline interior was similar in texture to that of Crunch bar. I guess that will be for the next trip.
I visited in the fall so I shared a few seasonal chocolate creations in my Autumn in Paris post.
Patrick Roger (multiple locations but the one I visited was in the 6th arrondissement)
108 boulevard Saint-Germain
75006 Paris