May 2005
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Chocolatiers
by Celia Cheng
Debauve & Gallais has been around for over 200 years but only began opening stores outside of France in 2004. The family business is in its 7th generation and they are keen on maintaining their quality and reputation. Once you taste their chocolates you will understand why. These chocolates are truly excellent and represent an artisanal tradition that delivers. From the chocolates to the packaging, logo, and storefront, even to the handling of the chocolates, you know you are getting the real deal. You are not paying for just a name. They do not rely on fancy designs or silk-screened patterns on the chocolates, but solely on the merit of its true quality. Moreover, D&G is not geared towards the sugar-crazed milk chocolate fans. D&G chocolates are dark and bitter. You can even find chocolates made with 99% cocoa. The truffles are so densely rich that you don’t really know what hit you when you eat them.
When it’s good you just know, you can taste the difference. There is no complicated method for this. Simply by going around tasting and comparing, you can tell what excellence is. An educated, trained and sophisticated palate knows the difference immediately. Marketing Director, François Belizaire, tells me how he grew up on M&M’s and how he still loves the peanut ones. True, there are different occasions for everything and sometimes you’re in the mood for the simple and common, other times you want to treat yourself to the best, to the sublime. And that means gourmet chocolates that the French royal court and public have been enjoying for centuries.
My visit to D&G can only be described as truly delightful. It is places like these that remind me of how wonderful New York is, when I can take a walk through Central Park and experience Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s The Gates(which were on display at that time) and stop in at the divine petit chocolatier, Debauve & Gallais, for a small treat to myself. Just a single bonbon or a couple of pistoles will suffice. My palate is satisfied and my soul is rejuvenated and I am ready to enjoy the rest of my walk down 5th Avenue.
