Just who is Jacques Genin? For many many years, he had a small little studio of a production space which, when I visited him, had 2 enrobing machines and barely enough space for two people to pass each other sideways. Today, he finally has his own shop on Rue de Turenne near the metro station Filles du Calvaire.
Having originally been a chef and owning his own restaurant, he fell in love with chocolates and switched to the dark side. Prior to having his shop, he made chocolates for the best restaurants in Paris and the occasional foodie who knocked on his window. Finally, after so many years of hearing about him, I finally got to taste his chocolates. Even though we had spoken a year before at his old production studio, he declined my offer to buy a kilo of caramels and a kilo of chocolates. This is not a problem now!
10 Euros for a box of 9 chocolates from Jacques Genin seems a little cheap, compared to the prices charged by other ‘big names’. Packaged in a slick, modern-looking aluminum box with a minimalist design, you wonder if he makes any money at all. I would have gladly paid 15 Euros for this, considering it is Jacques Genin.
