Jean-Paul Hévin, Chocolatier

Maître chocolatier Jean-Paul Hévin has been wowing Parisian chocophiles since he opened his first shop on the Avenue de La Motte Picquet in 1988. Since then he’s added two others, one on the rue Vavin in the 6th and  another on the rue Saint Honoré. At all of them you’ll find some of the city’s finest chocolate—Hévin is a fanatic for the quality of his ingredients—transformed into some of the most imaginative shapes in town. It’s hard to beat the charm of his coeur en dentelle, a lacy webbing of chocolate in two parts that forms a heart-shaped box for filled bonbons. Or his adorable chocolate stiletto—the perfect gift for a fashionista with a sweet tooth. Other specialties include chocolats dynamiques, with such unusual fillings as chiles, Szechuan pepper and tonka beans. All three shops also offer luscious pastries, sorbets, cooking chocolate, cocoa and imaginative edible gifts. Hévin has always been an innovator: he converted the upper level of his rue Saint Honoré shop into a bar à chocolat, serving unusual hot chocolate drinks at different times of day between noon and 6:30 pm. The “energizing” version contains banana and hot pepper, the “Zen” version adds green tea, and the “aphrodisiac” hot chocolate is fragrant with ginger and spices.

23 bis ave de La Motte Picquet, 7th. Métro: Ecole Militaire. 01.45.51.77.48

3 rue Vavin, 6th. Métro: Vavin. 01.43.54.09.85.

231 rue Saint Honoré, 1st. Métro: Concorde/Tuileries. 01.55.35.35.96.

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Originally published in the December 2007 issue of France Today; updated in October 2012

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