ORBIS city intelligence

Buying in Grenoble: The Walnut, and Three Chocolatiers

Everything on this page is sugar, and three of the four work chocolate. The thing tying them together is a nut. Noix de Grenoble carries its own protected appellation, which is unusual and tells you how seriously the region takes it.

Le Chardon Doré: the walnut is the whole proposition S1

Chocolate built around noix de Grenoble is what this house does, rather than using the nut as a garnish. Ask which pieces carry the appellation nut rather than a cheaper substitute.

Note that Le Chardon Doré and Au Chardon Bleu are separate businesses with similar names. Give the full name when asking directions or booking anything.

Chocolaterie Bochard: ask for L'Impératrice by name S2

A city bonbon in France is made by one house and then imitated elsewhere. Asking for L'Impératrice by name is how you find out whether a shop is the original.

Ask how long it keeps and whether it travels. Buy it late in the day, since a signature bonbon is rarely built to survive a long journey.

Thierry Court – Les Petits Bonheurs: technique you can see in the finished piece S3

Neo-artisanal is a register rather than a tradition, so expect the technique to be visible. Ask for the gift boxes, which are the strength of this house.

Ask what is seasonal on the day rather than choosing from a standing list. Ask about boxing if the pieces are going into a suitcase.

Au Chardon Bleu: the generalist, since 1989 S4

This is the all-round pâtisserie of the four, working across the range rather than specialising. Use it when you want variety in one box.

Ask which items are made on the premises, because in a general house that question separates the interesting shelf from the ordinary one.

Buying L'Impératrice at Bochard and a walnut chocolate at Le Chardon Doré is the pair that makes the trip specific to Grenoble rather than generically French.