Chocolate, the symbol of Easter, is a classic of Easter celebrations. Whether it's eggs, bunnies, cocottes, or other chocolate creations , it comes in all shapes and sizes. To find out more, Confiture Parisienne visited its neighbor, Master Chocolatier Christophe Berthelot, founder of Atelier C at 123 Avenue Daumesnil.
Hello Christophe! How are you? To begin this interview, please introduce yourself! How did you become a Master Chocolatier?
Hello! I am a pure chocolatier , I was born in chocolate and I have always made only chocolate. For the simple reason that I come from a family of chocolatiers , the profession has been passed down for three generations. In high school, I was already helping my father make chocolate. So it was natural that I turned to this profession. I did a classic two-year apprenticeship, and I received the first prize for the best apprentice chocolatier in France , which was the first distinction. Afterwards I had an artistic period, where I participated in several artistic competitions with chocolate, I sculpt and paint chocolate. I did 3 and I won them all, the most prestigious being the Grand Prix de la Ville de Paris . Then, I worked for several Parisian artisan houses, then in the industry. It was a great revelation .
For what ?
I was a taster, I tasted and tested before launching a chocolate production. We were looking for consistency . I tested a chocolate, 70% from Ecuador for example, and then with each production, we had to find the organoleptic characteristics of this chocolate. And I realized that we were making chocolate that always had the same taste .
How is this possible?
In fact, we mix different harvests , to always have the same taste. And I thought it was a shame to start with a natural product like cocoa and try to always have the same taste. Cocoa is a fruit . By definition, it can never have the same taste from one harvest to another, from one season to another. It's a mixture. So I promised myself that if I had the opportunity to make my own bars, I would do exactly the opposite. That's what I do now. I am also a cocoa bean selector for the Robert chocolate factory in Madagascar. That is to say, I select a harvest, sometimes even a plot, and we transform this harvest into chocolate. Like a wine. I have also been named ambassador for Tabasco chocolate .
And now I have created this little chocolate school, Atelier C.
Can you tell us more?
Atelier C is the C for Chocolate , for Cocoa , and my name is Christophe , so it was a good coincidence. It is the first French company specializing in chocolate workshops . It was created in 2014. We are here in collaboration with the Robert chocolate factory in Madagascar , which we promote. We do workshops for individuals and businesses. We continue to do them despite the pandemic, by videoconference. Rare chocolates and recipes are our two major collections.
Are there rare chocolates?
There are indeed rare chocolates , that is to say produced in very small quantities . This is the case of Brickaville chocolate , this year only 150 KG were produced, which makes it the rarest chocolate in the world . There are also "forbidden" varieties . Varieties like Cuba chocolate can be banned from export, or even disappear like Fortunato chocolate (which has since been found and cultivated). There are so few that the producer chooses only one chocolatier per country to market it. Atelier C is the only one to sell Fortunato in France, and the bars are numbered. For the recipes, we study the combinations: for example, for caramelized milk chocolate, we have real white chocolate and matcha tea from Japan...
Is white chocolate really chocolate?
White chocolate is not considered chocolate because it is primarily made of cocoa butter. Every chocolatier on the planet deodorizes cocoa butter for several reasons. So, in short, white chocolate does not taste like cocoa , like chocolate.
Chocolaterie Robert is also the only chocolate shop that makes real white chocolate with natural, undeodorized cocoa butter.
What is couverture chocolate?
Every chocolatier needs a couverture chocolate supplier. Absolutely all of them. For us, it's Chocolaterie Robert, the only one with its plantation and factory in the same country. Couverture chocolate is the chocolatier's real chocolate , the one he works with. It contains enough cocoa butter to be manageable and fluid . It's with this type of chocolate that I made my artistic chocolate creations for competitions (paintings, sculptures, etc.).
What is conching?
Conching is actually one of the final steps in chocolate making. This process, created in Switzerland, involves refining the chocolate paste and smoothing it by crushing the sugar grains. It can last between 20 hours for a short conching process and 72 hours for the longest.
Is chocolate good for your health?
My grandfather, a chocolatier himself, ate chocolate every day and passed away at the age of 104! It's a superfood . And it's selling more and more. People are eating more and more of it, it's the most anti-stress food on the planet and as you probably know, stress is the disease of the century. It has many benefits, but this anti-stress side is the reason for this increase in consumption. It's also a very complex food , there are nearly 600 aromatic notes .
Last question! What are the essential elements of good chocolate?
Good chocolate is the result of many factors. In my opinion, it depends on the choice of cocoa bean origins, the amount of sugar, the quality of the products used, and of course, the work of the chocolatier. But as I often say, " the best chocolate is the one you prefer ."
Thank you Christophe for taking the time to answer our questions.
Come now to our neighbor at 123 Avenue Daumesnil to discover Atelier C.
