Blog :: Holly Herrick :: A Sweet Bite of Paris in Charleston

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Third generation chocolatier and French native Christophe Paume and his business partner/wife Carly have brought a beautiful gift to Charleston. Opening their first store, Christophe Artisan Chocolatier-Patissier, nearly a year ago in Mount Pleasant, the young couple opened a second shop by the same name on King Street two months ago.

In so doing, they've brought a gorgeous bit of France home to roost in Charleston. The French take food and chocolate seriously. It is an art form for them, a way of nurturing body and soul. Paume makes chocolates more beautiful than I've ever seen in France - including the exquisite work of Pierre Herme - or anywhere in the world. His tempered delights receive hand-painted splashes of color from bright orange to deep lavender. They look like polished gems lined up in the tiny, ever-so-French shop on King Street, that charming Carly oversees. She'll hand-pick chocolates for you and delicately arrange them just so in their gorgeous red or chocolate-brown boxes.

But what to pick? An Earl Grey infused dark chocolate ganache painted robin's egg blue with tiny dots, lemon puree in a milk chocolate ganache painted sage green with pale brown speckles, or the lavender caramel with a dark chocolate shell wrapped around homemade caramel infused with lavender? Those are just three of over twenty choices, then there are the truffles and the chocolate sculptures. Of these, my particular favorite is the delicate, deep mauve pump trimmed with burgundy, the female shoe and chocolate lover's dream come true all in one tempting, beautifully wrapped, edible package.

Even non-chocolate crazies (and until visiting here, I counted myself as one of them) have to appreciate the labor of love and pure, unadulterated talent that is poured into each one of these beauties. It's an inspiration just to walk into these shop(s) and imagine the master alone, at work, in his chocolate factory, preparing each gorgeous chocolate. Then there is that first bite. It's like falling in love for the first time - sweet, heady, rich and beautiful.

Christophe Artisan Chocolatier-Patissier

375 N. Shelmore Boulevard
Unit 1B, Mount Pleasant

365 1/2 King Street, downtown Charleston (across from Five Guys)

www.christophechocolatier.com

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Reprinted with permission from www.hollyherrick.com

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