Cedric Pernot

Entremets, macarons and chocolate carry the counter at Au Fidèle Berger in Chambéry, the pastry shop Cédric Pernot took over in 2011. The house dates to 1832 and has stayed a pastry shop through successive generations, so the brief was continuity rather than reinvention: tradition and modernity in the same case. His motto, “faire plaisir en me faisant plaisir,” frames the work as personal craft, and his membership of Relais Desserts places it in the international circle of French high pastry and chocolate.

High pastry in the oldest boutique in Chambéry

The setting does part of the work. Au Fidèle Berger is described as Chambéry’s oldest boutique, and the building is a monument historique, so the architecture is part of the visit rather than a backdrop for display cases. Pernot is presented as the soul of the house, keeping its role as a gourmand institution while leaving room for new work.

History here does not mean museum pastry. Inherited French forms get contemporary finishes, and taste is placed above decoration. Colour, texture and shine matter, but the decor stays au service du gâteau: the room and the glaze both lead back to eating.

What the case is built from

The programme is pastry, chocolate and confectionery rather than a broad cafe menu, and the categories are explicit: Les Entremets, Les Petits Gâteaux, Les Macarons, Les Chocolats, Le Picking and Sorbets & Crèmes Glacées. Entremets are layered cakes built on mousse, cream, fruit and contrasting textures, and Petits Gâteaux are the individual versions.

Chocolate is central, since Pernot works as chocolatier as well as pastry chef, and Les Chocolats holds its own place in the repertoire. Le Picking covers small-format confectionery, and the frozen range runs to sorbets and crèmes glacées. Macarons are where his creativity shows most plainly. Seasons shape the rest, and at Noël a Christmas catalogue brings bûches and chocolate-led holiday pieces.

Choosing from the counter

Treat this as a counter-led pâtisserie and chocolaterie rather than a sit-down stop. The Chambéry shop is the Au Fidèle Berger boutique, separate from Pernot’s Challes-les-Eaux location, and the visit is built around the display: entremets to share, petits gâteaux for one, macarons, chocolates, small picking pieces and seasonal specialities when they are in production.

The atmosphere comes from the contrast between a room heavy with history and the polished modern cakes inside it. The strength of the house is haute pâtisserie, macarons, chocolate work, confectionery and frozen desserts rather than bread or brunch. Approach it as a tasting and gifting address built on pastry craft and the continuity of a shop trading since 1832.