Le Bristol Hotel in Paris Has a Hidden Chocolate Factory
"Tucked away in Paris' 8th arrondissement, travelers can find one of the chicest hotels in the city and quite possibly the world: Le Bristol. The 100-year-old hotel is simply the epitome of luxury, with no detail spared across its 190 suites, glittering rooftop pool, or five dining and drinking venues, which have earned it four Michelin stars, including the three Michelin-starred restaurant Epicure and one Michelin-starred brasserie 114 Faubourg. Even the in-house Birman cat, Socrate, is as an elegant creature with bright blue eyes and a fluffy white coat just dying for a pet. And while the main floors of the hotel are exceptional, its most exquisite feature is hiding in the basement. Make your way down the staircase, through the kitchen, and another set of steps, and you'll find L’Épicerie des Ateliers du Bristol, the hotel's in-house workspace for pasta, cheese, chocolate, and bread, along with an impressive wine cellar. The main event is the hotel's in-house mill, where bakers make "100% living bread," milling their own wheat and tending to bespoke sourdough starters. This work, a hotel representative explained as I deeply sniffed in as much of the scent of the bread as possible, is an homage to the French countryside and France's rich history of breadmaking. Next door is the perfect pairing to the bread — a cheese cave housing what the hotel describes as the "very height of French fromage," including rich comté, chèvre, and camembert, all sitting and maturing to perfection in a brick-walled space lined with wood that is keeping it at the ideal temperature and humidity until it's ready to be served to you. It's a process you can trust, as it was crafted by Le Bristol’s award-winning cheesemaker, Marie-Anne Cantin, and previous chef, Eric Frechon, who led Épicure to its three Michelin stars. What would cheese and bread be without a bit of chocolate? Just down the hall, the hotel also houses a small chocolate factory overseen by chocolatier Johan Giacchetti, who creates more than 3,000 tiny sweet delights each week out of grand cru cacao, Ecuadorian Jivara, Madagascan Manjari, Caribbean Bahibé, and more, sometimes paired with Piemonte hazelnuts, marshmallow, spices, citrus, and vanilla flavors. These chocolates are served in each of the restaurants and at the bar, and are available to take home in Le Bristol Paris gift boxes so you can savor your trip just a little bit longer. Next on the tour, you'll find the pasta laboratory, Il Pastificio, overseen by chef Cristina Ternullo. The workshop area is a pasta fantasyland where nothing is considered too fanciful, extraordinary, or impossible. The Italian chef has taken all the lessons her grandmother taught her in her home city of Rome to bring here to Paris, to create new shapes, flavors, and pairings that ensure every time you come back, there's something new to try. The property has a rather impressive wine cellar set among these labs, where its sommeliers house their preferred bottles from the "elite wineries" across France and the world. According to head sommelier Benjamin Formé, who manages the wine list, you'll find primarily French wines here, with Burgundy as the strongest area focus and nearly 200 grand cru reds. This is a hotel that loves a good celebration, so of course, there are plenty of bottles of Champagne among the 110,000 bottles in the cellar. Many of these goods can also be found in the hotel's L’Epicerie des Ateliers du Bristol Paris shop, so you don't even need to stay here to come in and purchase the goods. But if you do happen to check into one of the poshest hotels on the planet, ask the front desk for a tour of its lowest level. You never know what delicacies are hiding down there." - Stacey Leasca
