"Chocolate making is my passion. The fascinating complexity, range of flavours and different stages of tasting give me pleasure everyday. I have created these chocolates to share with you my passion and delight..."
- Joël Durand
Truffle week in Provence would not be complete without the most popular kind of truffle in America - chocolate truffles. For chocaholics, Joël Durand is the place to visit if you are in the village of Saint Rémy, as this famous chocolate maker has achieved several prestigious accolades and is designated as one of France's top ten chocolatiers.
As soon as you enter this magnificent chocolate shop, your senses are awakened by the intense aromas of dark cocoa, rich caramel and sweet cream, and instantly you are transported to a euphoric state, best known as chocolate heaven.
Joël Durand's chocolates are renown for the handcrafted alphabet tablets, which are infused with an imaginative array of fruit, floral and herb flavors, each one designated by its own golden letters.
In front of the counter, are cases of herbs and spices that are used in creating some of the individual flavors of Joël Durand's chocolates. Some of the flavors on display were cacao beans, cinnamon bark, rosemary, star anise, cloves, lavender, licorice sticks and coffee beans. However these flavors represent only 8 of the 32 choices available.
Joël Durand works almost exclusively with ganache, which creates that magical and luscious melt-in-your mouth experience that keeps people coming back time after time for Joël's chocolates.
When you visit, the staff is quite friendly and generous, offering samples with entire chocolate tablets to entice you to bring home some of their masterpieces.
Although, they don't have to try hard, one taste and you'll instantly recognize that Joël Durand's chocolates are of superior quality, and your biggest worry will be whether you will have enough to bring home. Joël Durand recommends that his chocolates be consumed at room temperature and always within three weeks of purchase as these delicate treasures are highly perishable.
The chocolates are rich, intense and luscious, and Joël Durand's shop is well worth going out of your way for a visit if you are in Provence.
3 Boulevard Victor Hugo
13210 Saint Rémy de Provence
France
Tel: +33 4 90 92 38 25
Fax: +33 4 32 60 00 68
www.chocolat-durand.com
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35 comments:
His chocolates look delightful! What a beautiful place.
Can you feel the jealousy in this comment?! Wow - those are fantastic photos...love it :-)
This was such a feast for the eyes. We'll not speak of the envy it invoked in the soul :-). Yor photos are wonderful.
Add me to the growing list of the jealous! Loved this post, FLB. And, while I wish I could be there in person, this is nearly just as good. Wonderful photos, I can practically taste the chocolate!
what a week!
love these slice of your life posts
Christine, you are making St. Remy sound like one of the best places on Earth. Between the sound of these chocolates and your last post about the market, I'm in the middle enamored-putting it on my research list for my next travel destination.
Now that's a great chocolate shop to die for! Wish I had known about it when I was over there, it would have been euphoria for sure! Lovely packaging!
those are soooo incredible! I have always wanted to visit provence. And now I have yet another reason!
-MiniB
Oh my...what fun and WHO doesn't like beautiful choccies like that...yumm!
xoxo
What a beautiful visit, and mouthwatering photos! I have learned (after much practice) that you can't get sick from eating too much outstanding chocolate - it's all good!
Gosh...this sure is a sense awakening intense walk with u to a state of euphoric fantasy.....super chocolates...gosh am drooling with these melting moments and Joel sure knows way too well what he's doing :-))) I love chocolate at room temp:-))))
What an awesome place to be in! I won't know what to do if I am surrounded by so much chocolate ... haha Probably I'll be very selective and only go for the best, probably most expensive, too :P
My god, this place is like a baker's dream. I could get lost in your pictures alone.
I don't think it would have been very easy to pry me out of this chocolate shop.
Yummy! I think you have beautiful pictures that compliments the emotions, sights and smells described in your words!
Christine> I love his graphic logo.. really spectacular, did you take lots home to sample? There are so many wonderful flavors. I love an artist who is protective of his creations.. how cool is that that he tells you to consume in 3 weeks because they are delicate... I love a place like that...thanks for sharing!
What a great place! Thanks for all the photos--it was fun to tour with you!
That is certainly a heavenly place to visit. The alphabet tablets are so interesting! I would love to get my hands on one of those beauties!
What a way to top off a visit to the kingdom of truffles. sounds amazing - just attended the chocolate salon at Ft, Mason last week and you made me day dream of all the yummy truffles we sampled.
I would love nothing more than to spend a few weeks in his shop learning his trade !
After that visit to the market and now this. I would have to toss out my cloth and fill my luggage with these French treasures.
Mimi
I love Mimi's comment above, so cute. Clothes vs Chocolate, how is a girl to chose?
The truffles look luscious!
There is one problem with this post- I do not see a vat of chocolate big enough for me to dive into! LOL
I missed you today, we ate at Mommofukku (sp?) Oh my the steamed pork buns, my first, and lets just say I had a ball sitting at the kitchen table!!!
Everything about your truffle week in France sounds amazing! So want a chocolate truffle now... :)
Such a classy place! Ah, I'd love to be there. It seems so cozy and warm--and of course! The chocolates looks amazing!
What an amazing collection of goodness! I could spend hours just browsing!
after the charming village of saint remy, now I'm in chocolate heaven. your pictures capture the exact mood like we're there with you christine...
oh what a lovely place...the village the chocolate oh my I would want to stay forever..
sweetlife
That is just cruel to look at these & not be able to eat them!
Your photos are gorgeous and really capture the luxury of these decadent chocolates. Gorgeous!
Oh I feel like I am going to have to re-read every one of your posts before we make our trip to Paris! This sounds divine:)
beautiful photographs---I can almost smell those chocolates!
Oh, yum. Makes me want to rediscover chocolate.
Your photos are beautiful. I am still catching up on blog reading, but I love reading about your travels!
Beautiful. I will definitely keep this in mind. I will be there again within the next 3-4 years, for sure. I loved my chocolate walk in Belgium (recorded in my February Chocolate Tasting this year) and do believe I have acquired a fairly decent chocolate tasting palate. I can hardly resist and must be very careful not to over indulge. Sometimes, I just crave a really great dark dark dark chocolate ganache. YUM.
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