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Prior to opening up his own chocolate boutique, Jacques Genin worked out of a small workspace supplying high-end restaurants and hotels in Paris with his decadent chocolates and caramels. His products weren’t previously sold to the general public so his name wasn’t known to those outside the restaurant industry. However, since opening his boutique in 2008, Jacques Genin has been known as one of the must-visit chocolate destinations in Paris.

Located in the Marais, Jacques Genin has a very unassuming exterior – we nearly walked right by it! The interior is a different story – it’s incredibly elegant and modern. You’d never guess they were selling chocolates in here!

The interior

Half of the space is the boutique where their chocolates, caramels and pâte de fruits are sold. The other half features a tearoom where you can sit and enjoy a cup of coffee and made-to-order mille-feuilles. I love how spacious their tearoom is – with a handful of tables, they’re very well spaced apart without that cluttered, claustrophobic feel you get from most Parisian restaurants.

A small tearoom also has its down sides though as we waited half an hour for a table. It was worth it though!

The interior

The thing we came here for was their famous Mille-feuille which is made to order. There are three to choose from – chocolate, vanilla and praline. We ordered a chocolate (8.5€) and a vanilla (8.7€). In hindsight, we probably could’ve just shared one since the portion was quite large and we had just come from eating crepes for lunch down the street.

Chocolate Mille-Feuille

There’s a large spiral staircase in the space which leads up to the kitchen where all the magic happens. Ten minutes after ordering, we watched as a server carefully walked down the stairs with our tray of goodies.

Vanilla Mille-Feuille

Having eaten many mille-feuilles on our Paris, we can safely say this was the best we had. I loved the flakey puff pastry and loved how the filling didn’t ooze out of the dessert after being cut into. Both the chocolate and vanilla fillings were rich, creamy and oh-so-delicious. But if I had to choose, I’d go with the vanilla… since the portion is quite large, I found the chocolate to be a bit much (keep in mind, I’m someone who doesn’t like my desserts too sweet).

Chocolate Mille-Feuille

To go with my mille-feuille, I ordered a Café Crème (5.5€). The price was equivalent to approximately $7.50 in Canadian dollars.

Cafe Creme

I’ve never paid this much for a coffee before but I guess you’re paying for the privilege to sit here. I’m just glad each drink comes with two chocolate truffles. After a bite of these truffles, you’ll know why Jacques Genin is so famous!

Chocolates

Don’t even think about leaving here without some Caramels. Growing up, the only caramels I knew of were those brown stick-to-your-teeth cubes you’d get for Halloween. Trust me, these are in a completely different league. They’re buttery, smooth and simply melt in your mouth.

Caramels

There are many flavours to choose from. We tried plain, coffee, chocolate, mango passionfruit and almond. While I have only positive things to say about each, my favourite were definitely the mango passionfruit and coffee.

You pay by the weight for these caramels – they work out to about 1€ each. Not exactly cheap for these little bites but don’t make the same mistake we did. We only purchased a dozen which only lasted us two days… I really regret not purchasing more!

As you can tell, an experience at Jacques Genin is not a cheap one. But, like most good things in life, you get what you pay for!

At a glance:
• A high-end chocolate boutique with a tea room
• Jacques Genin – self-taught chocolatier who, prior to opening this boutique, only supplied high-end restaurants/hotels with his products
• Located in the Marais with an unassuming exterior
• Known for one of the best mille-feuilles in Paris – they’re made to order!
• Also famous for the caramels around (1€ each) – don’t leave without getting some of these
• Products are pricey but well worth it

Ratings (out of 5):
• Food: 4.5 stars
• Service: 4 stars
• Atmosphere: 3 stars



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