#L atelier du chocolat windows#

Musée Basque et de l’histoire de Bayonne is a modernized space housing the history and culture of the people of the region. Musée Basque et de l’histoire de Bayonne has quite an interesting collection of Jewish artifacts. We found our most substantive Jewish Basque connection on a day trip to nearby Bayonne. Jean de Luz, a mid-size town on the Atlantic coast that is part of the French Basque, where we had rented an apartment.

On the morning of our visit, a young man, soon to be a bar mitzvah, was just finishing his practise session on the bimah, which gave life to the building.įrom Bordeaux, we traveled by train two hours southwest to St. A 2007 brochure given to us on our visit, History of the Jewish Population of Bordeaux, dates the synagogue back to the 1880s, the land for it having been a gift from the city. Our sightseeing there included a visit to the Grand Synagogue of the Gironde, located in central Bordeaux, serving a Jewish population of 1,100.

Rather, Bordeaux is the capital of the neighboring Aquitaine region. Our journey started in Bordeaux, France, which, strictly speaking, is not part of the Basque. The Basque country comprises southwestern France and northeastern Spain. On a recent trip to the Basque, my husband and I learned a great deal about the strong Jewish presence that formerly existed in the region. Inside Bordeaux’s Grand Synagogue of the Gironde. Community milestones … awards, honours, weddings, releases.Play tackles Israeli/Palestinian conflict.The treats of Bayonne's ' L'Atelier du Chocolat (External link) ' can be found in some thirty shops in France, including the historic Bayonne store.Search Search for: Archives Archives Recent Posts.Come along and get a taste of Bayonne's fabulous chocolate! For more information: Meanwhile, here is the latest invention planned for early 2020: a new criollo-based tablet, the rarest variety of cocoa in the world, which Bayonne's 'L'Atelier du Chocolat' cultivates in Mexico, thus participating in its preservation. You can also taste new flavor specialties, like dark chocolate spiced up with Basque Espelette pepper, or white chocolate with vanilla, almonds and cranberries. Here, learn to recognize the grand crus that the chocolatier puts together as an oenologist, like the homemade 'kiretsa' (70% cocoa, a unique blend of beans from Ecuador, Sao Tome and the Ivory Coast) and the 'extra kiretsa' (97% cocoa, or chocolate from Madagascar). Want to dip your fingers in the chocolate pot after this mouthwatering visit? Young gourmets (4-12) are welcomed to get hands-on in a fun workshop: decorating a goodie or painting a fish.īayonne's 'L'Atelier du Chocolat' opens the doors of its tasting area to all visitors. Today, if most chocolatiers have merged with industrialization, Bayonne's 'L'Atelier du Chocolat,' like the companies that form Bayonne's Academy of Chocolate, carries on the tradition of hand-crafted chocolate. Soon, it made the city famous: in 1809, the chocolate of Bayonne appeared on the first gastronomic menu of France! An academy for traditional chocolate These were Spanish and Portuguese Jews, who fled to Bayonne to avoid persecution, importing the secrets of the transformation of the cocoa bean to France in the 17th century.Īt the time, chocolate was a popular luxury product among kings and queens, starting with Infanta Maria Theresa of Spain, who introduced it to the Court after her marriage with Louis XIV in Saint-Jean-de-Luz in 1660.

#L atelier du chocolat windows#

Ganaches, pralines and other soft toppingsĪll week long, from Monday to Friday, through the windows of the workshops, enjoy watching chocolate artisans prepare ganaches, pralines and other soft toppings in a true goldsmith work in the tradition of the first chocolate makers in Bayonne. The visit is a true journey through the history of what was first an Aztec and Mayan drink before reaching Europe via the Spanish conquistadors on a maiden voyage into the mysteries of chocolate making.