You may remember an earlier post of mine raving about one of my favorite chocolatiers, Diane of Maison Bouche. Was I excited to see their new Spring line of chocolats! Divine!
"For 'Les Fleurs,' I've always admired Grandville, who was a celebrated artist of 19th century France. His "Court of Flora or Les Fleurs Animées" shows flowers personified. The collection is redolent of the spirit of French Romanticism."
"For 'Botanicals,' I wanted a spring collection with beautiful floral images. I found them in 19th century hand-painted Botanical prints. I'm constantly amazed at how wonderful flowers are and this is a homage to their loveliness."
"For 'Couture et Confections,' I love love love the fashions of 18th century France - the tall wigs, the attention to detail people put into their attire, the richness of the fabrics, the colors. It was so wonderful!"
"For 'Marriage a la Mode,' I wanted to recreate the lavishness of early 19th Century Royal weddings with the tiered cake, precious jewels given to the bride from all over Europe, the ornate invitation, the beautiful clothing and the fairy tale feeling surrounding it all. These items would have been printed for the world to see. But I also wanted the Collection to appeal to couples getting married today, because we still carry on the same traditions."
I don't know what I love more about Maison-Bouche chocolat, the packaging or the flavors. I discovered this Bay Area company over a year ago in a local shop. What struck me first was the French-looking colorful packaging.
Maison-Bouche was the name given to the kitchen services of the 18th Century French Court. It included the kitchen services for the king, his family and the selected aristocracy accorded the privilege of dining with the royal family. The Maison-Bouche was supplied by the extensive gardens at Versailles, in addition to other royal gardens and those growers sanctioned by the Court.
These tasty chocolates are as good as they look. In flavors such as Fleur de Sel (crunchy sea salt from Brittany), Pamplemousse Rose, Basilic au Poivre, Fleur d'Oranger, and more. These flavorful bars come in Noir and Lait.
They also carry yummy Fleur de Sel (salted) caramels...
...and Langues de Chats, "cat tongue" chocolat!
You can find Maison Bouche at these retail locations or on their website, here.
