“If there’s no chocolate in Heaven, I’m not going” said wise writer, Jane Seabrook. Arguably providing heaven on earth, La Maison du Chocolat was founded by ‘Sorcerer of Ganache’, Robert Linxe in 1977 on the elegant and enticing, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, then nurtured under the leadership of MD, Geoffroy d’Anglejan, and Master Craftsman, Nicolas Cloiseau to see boutiques open in New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong and of course, London.
Although the sun still deigns to bear, on occasions, warmth upon our faces, it may be worth considering there are actually only 140 days until Christmas. Which is why we wanted to bring you a preview of arguably the finest of chocolatier’s festive gifts.
The most decadent of these must be the limited edition, Wreath of Wonder (pictured top), featuring delicately-turned dark chocolate holly leaves and gold-accented laurels, then hazelnuts from Piedmont and Sicilian pistachios, arranged, says the chocolatier, lyrically, as to seem ‘a breath away from colliding.’ (£1,300 per entirely handmade piece; 5kg/50cm diameter).
The Holiday Delicacies collection, meanwhile, is homage to the season’s flavours. New creations for this year include: Madagascan cacao with orange, cinnamon and moist fig, half dark/half milk exotic passion with banana and lime accents, mendiant gourmand with almond praline and candied orange, and a toast to nuts, with walnuts from the Périgord, peanuts, almonds and a glossy-binding of acacia honey. (15 chocolates-strong box for £24, 32 for £41, or most indulgently, 66 for £70).
The most jaunty gift, the Advent Calendar, features 24 individually wrapped parcels which cling from the branches of the pillar box-red tree. (£49).
Weighting just 94g, the handmade Christmas Wreath Ornament presents interlacings of dark chocolate and mendiant nuts bejeweled with a dark chocolate holly leaf brushed with edible gold. (£24).
