Bernachon

Maison Bernachon was founded in Lyon in 1953 by Maurice Bernachon, who broke with convention by importing raw cocoa beans directly and roasting them himself at the house's premises on Cours Franklin Roosevelt - a bean-to-bar practice decades before the term existed in specialty chocolate marketing. The house's best-known creation is the Palet d'Or, a ganache made with Isigny creme fraiche prized for its silky texture. In 1975, the Bernachon and Bocuse families were joined when Maurice's son married the daughter of chef Paul Bocuse, linking Lyon's two most prominent food names. The business has stayed in family hands since its founding, now run by a third generation who continue producing chocolate in-house rather than buying in couverture, as most confectioners do.