Cyril & the Chocolate Factory: childhood delights from French chef Cyril Lignac

‘A concept appealing to everyone’, is what French chef Cyril Lignac had in mind when he imagined La Chocolaterie, Paris’s hottest new concept store. More than a store, it is a democratic place to grab a slab and go, to stop for a hot chocolate, to sample a chocolate patisserie and shop for a last-minute gift. 'I wanted to create a luxury, artisanal offer – one that breathes quality. Every slab is hand wrapped in a fine copper foil, yet accessible to all [a slab sells for around €5]', Lignac explains.
Like macaroons, Lignac’s chocolate slabs, bonbons and bars are fun: reminiscent of childhood delights, junk food or movie premieres, they revisit popular favourites and are designed to last. Into Mars bars? The handmade fresh-butter sablé is topped with soft caramel and dipped into great quality chocolate. A Bounty fan? A handcrafted coconut-based filling enhances the junk food experience. For Chocoletti lovers, Lignac imagined slabs that contain individual chocolate cubes with decadent caramel-marshmallow, or grand cru dark chocolate with mint filling.
At the opposite of a market in which chocolatiers sell single origin slabs at a significant price, Lignac places chocolate envy at the heart of one’s daily life. 'Cyril’s brief was: think about the quality of the product first. La Chocolaterie is about a new mind-set where slabs are affordable, regressive, fun,' explains Antoine Ricardou, principal of graphic design studio be-poles. 'We wanted people to rip the packaging open. Even in the design of the slab, we made it look like an emoticon,' he adds.
A nod to Lignac’s copper cooking pans, the inner foil is metallic and particularly fine, hinting at the delicacy of the recipe and homemade chocolate it holds. Simultaneously, the choice of mat cardboard and a cheap material for the packaging was an obvious design choice for Ricardou. He chose washed-out colours and timeless typography to appeal to everyone’s inner child. 'La Chocolaterie couldn’t have been created by any other chef. It’s all about simplicity and quality', he concludes.
be-poles' Antoine Ricardou – who designed the chocolates' packaging – chose washed colours and timeless typography to appeal to everyone’s inner child
Cyril Lignac explains, 'I wanted to create a luxury, artisanal offer: one that breathes quality'
INFORMATION
For more information, visit Cyril Lignac’s website
ADDRESS
La Chocolaterie
25 rue Chanzy
75 011 Paris
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
The Sialia 45 cruiser is a welcome addition to the new generation of electric boats
Polish shipbuilder Sialia Yachts has launched the Sialia 45, a 14m all-electric cruiser for silent running
By Jonathan Bell
-
Tokyo design studio We+ transforms microalgae into colours
Could microalgae be the sustainable pigment of the future? A Japanese research project investigates
By Danielle Demetriou
-
What to see at London Craft Week 2025
With London Craft Week just around the corner, Wallpaper* rounds up the must-see moments from this year’s programme
By Francesca Perry
-
Where fashion editors eat and drink during Paris Fashion Week
Introducing the under-the-radar Paris bars and restaurants where you might spy the Wallpaper* fashion team escaping the crowds this week
By Anna Solomon
-
Fashion designer Simone Rocha on her perfect restaurant experience
Simone Rocha, among creatives invited by Wallpaper* guest editor Laila Gohar to share meaningful dining memories, recalls happy evenings at a mountainside haunt near Nice
By Hugo Macdonald
-
Embrace evenings in with Serax’s new tableware, perfect for a cosy season of dining
Revealed at Maison & Object in Paris, Serax’s tableware collections in collaboration with artists, designers and architects are sure to make you want to dine in
By Tianna Williams
-
These Paris cocktail bars are a perfect mix
Exploring the best cocktail bars in Paris, our resident drinks writer Neil Ridley discovers a perfect mix
By Neil Ridley
-
‘Moët in Paris by Allénos’ is a restaurant bursting with colour and energy this summer
The ‘Moët in Paris by Allénos’ pop-up offers a vibrant space to enjoy the best of Parisian culture with an elegant French menu and interiors designed by Charles de Vilmorin
By Melina Keays
-
In Paris, Alain Ducasse elevates the festival food experience
At We Love Green festival, the possessor of the most Michelin stars in the world has set himself a new challenge – to make vegetarian festival food something of substance.
By Craig McLean
-
The joy of AIX Rosé, sunshine in a glass
AIX Rosé, made in the sun-drenched hills of Côteaux d'Aix-en-Provence, is a dry, pale pink and aromatic, everyday luxury
By Simon Mills
-
How Debauve et Gallais and Marie Antoinette sparked a chocolate revolution
Paris chocolatier Debauve et Gallais is built on a sweet legacy, involving a chocolate coin designed to cure Marie Antoinette of her distaste for medicine
By James Gurney