One of my favorite websites to visit about the love of food and all sweet things in Paris is David Lebovitz's, "living the sweet life in Paris". In his long list of Paris wonders I found "the best candy shop in Paris". It is called, A l'Etoile d'Or. One day some of my favorite visitors asked if I could take them to this wonderful shop. This shop is run by a grown woman in pigtails by the name of Denise Acabo. She has to be one of the sweetest women in Paris - in more ways than one. On this first visit Ms. Acabo saw the instant love for what she sells in her shop as soon as we walked through the door. She then gave us the grand tour of all of the special things sold in her "golden star" shop. Madam Acabo specializes in all of the best quality products direct from various regions in France. She tells tales of each of these classic candies explaining how they were produced and even the history behind these sometimes unusual things: Calissons, Bergamottes, Graines d'Anis, caramels (like none I've ever enjoyed), traditional nougat, and of course chocolate. One of the great chocolate specialties she has in her shop is creations from Bernachon. This is one of the few chocolates in the world located in Lyon that still makes the chocolate completely from scratch. So many of theses wonderful creations are made from recipes centuries old. Madam Acabo took great pleasure in explaining where each originated and how they were made. You’d be amazed, we were.
The grand finale for me was when she opened the large glass case of specialty chocolates in the center of her shop. There were too many wonders to behold. On my first visit I left the store spending many more euros on chocolates then expected. Later in the day I would use my chocolates almost as a bribe to get information. I've been back to the l'Etoile d'Or shop - down the street from the Moulin Rouge - nearly five times since the holidays.
Denise Acabo’s love of what she sells is inspirational. She explains how much she loves good things and good food. She spoke of only wanting things of the highest quality in her life. I saw proof of this over the weekend when I spotted her at my favorite food market in the city. The Sunday “Bio”/ organic market located on the opposite side of the city from where I live. This market has some of the very best food in the city. I try to make the effort to go there when I can each week. When I saw Madam Acabo there this past weekend I felt like I saw a movie star. I wanted to run up to her to say hello, but I just stood back to watch her in the action of shopping for the good food she spoke of loving.
So many people have written about Denise Acabo already. I just couldn't resist.
L’Étoile d'Or
30, rue Pierre Fontaine
75009 Paris
