Alban Guilmet

Chocolate first, pastry a step behind

Chocolate is the through-line at Alban Guilmet. The Caen house has worked as a patisserie and chocolaterie since 2011, when the Caen-born pastry chef opened under his own name, and the balance still tips toward bonbons, bars and seasonal chocolate pieces alongside the cakes. Bread and viennoiserie exist, but the case is led by composed desserts, entremets, ice creams and boxes made to be given away. Membership of Relais Desserts, the association of French pastry chefs, puts the boutique in national company rather than only a Normandy one. A collaboration with Valrhona produced a Haïti chocolate made exclusively for the house, which is the clearest sign of where the attention goes.

Two counters, one name

The Caen footprint is split. The original patisserie sits out near the Zénith, with a second boutique in the city centre for the shopping flow, and next door to the patisserie there is La Chocolaterie, a separate space given over entirely to chocolate and fitted out like a small manufacture in chocolate tones. The theatre is deliberate: a two-metre chocolate fountain runs at the back of the shop, so the material announces itself before you reach the counter. Beyond retail, the house supplies bakeries, restaurants and caterers, which explains a production scale larger than the shop windows suggest.

What to take from the case

For pastry, the named pieces show the range: Cigare and Coquelicot among the individual cakes, Petit Pot Vanille for something small, sablés amandes for the biscuit side, and, for a table, profiteroles glacées for six or a vacherin vanille-fraise. Ice creams belong to the same list rather than a summer sideline. For chocolate, a box of bonbons is the default, and the Easter and Christmas pieces are where the workshop shows off. Seasonal work runs through the calendar, with red-fruit pastries in summer and pieces made for Father's Day and the end of the school year. If the visit has to be one thing, make it chocolate: a box of bonbons, or the Haïti bar made with Valrhona, then a single pastry to eat the same day.