Thanks to a strong culinary tradition and top chefs like Paul Bocuse, Lyon is often referred to as France's gastronomic capital. Strengthening that moniker is the city's own Bernachon, one of the most famous chocolate makers in all of France—and the world. Started in 1953 by Maurice Bernachon, the shop is classically French in style but has a bean-to-bar approach that began well before its time.
Now run by Maurice's grandson Philippe (whose other grandfather happens to be famous chef Paul Bocuse), Bernachon is a patisserie in the front and a factory in the back. Initially, it impressed with luscious cakes, viennoiseries, and all flavors of handmade truffles and bonbons. However, unsuspecting visitors would hardly know what lay beyond the back door: a multi-room workshop with the feel of a rabbit warren (chocolate rabbit, of course). Led by a guide, I walked through a long corridor storing wooden pallets filled with chocolate hens, chocolate eggs, and other Easter-themed treats. We then passed through rooms for baking, cake decorating, and at last, chocolate making, where cocoa beans were ground into cocoa mass and eventually tempered, and where chocolatiers filled molds to create distinctive bars like the Jour et Nuit (milk and dark chocolate) and Kalouga (salted-butter caramel).
Don't Miss: Palet d'Or, a chocolate laced with gold leaf, and the President cake, a chocolate genoise with hazelnut praline, cherry confit, and chocolate shavings formed in the shape of a giant pom-pom.
Tour Information: Tours are organized by request for a minimum of eight people (in French only). I joined Chef Michel Bouit of The World of MBI culinary tours, who arranged a visit for my group.
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