Bernachon Chocolate

*This is the third of a four-part series on my trip to Lyon.

I didn’t just eat weird animal parts while in Lyon. I also tried a little bit of element 79. Go ahead and look it up in the Periodic Table of Elements. I’ll wait.

Yes, friends. I ate gold. And no, I am not implying that chocolate is gold (though it probably should be valued as much). There was actually gold on top of my chocolate. It tasted good.

There are some people, some people who know what they are talking about, who say that Bernachon is the best chocolate in France. And Bernachon is in Lyon. And I was in Lyon. So I went.

Bernachon is a chocolate maker. That means that they buy cocoa beans (from all across the world), roast them (in their kitchen), and do whatever else is necessary to make their store smell like a little piece of heaven. And they are really good at it.

They have a ton of different chocolates to try, as any self-respecting chocolate store would. Chocolate with nuts, praline, nougat, orange peels, etc. They have milk chocolate and dark chocolate. White chocolate is not actually chocolate. They have chocolate with a lot of sugar and chocolate with a little sugar. They have bars and they have candies. They also sell cakes.

I was overwhelmed while in the store. You don’t understand. The smell was intoxicating. The options were endless. People coming and going, even on a Sunday. The chocolate looked so good. There was an old lady who cut in front of me (true story). Did I mention the smell? I may have forgotten to take pictures. Forgive me.

Even so, my experience was a great one. The sales lady was the nicest I have encountered in France. I was with a couple friends, and she could tell by our accents we weren’t French. We told her our story, and she was very impressed. She was touched that we came to Bernachon chocolate on our trip to Lyon. I explained that I read about it on the Internet, through blogs and what not. She gave us each a free piece of chocolate. Here she is.

And my loot. I got a hodgepodge. Some truffles. Chocolate with carmel (at the suggestion of a blog I read). Some palet d’or. And a gift for a sister. I can’t talk about that one.

Truffles.

This one was a gift for my Mom. It was only after the fact that I read the truffles shouldn’t be kept past three weeks. I didn't have a choice. I had to eat it. Sorry, Mom. It was dark, chocolaty, smooth, and delicious.

And the gold.

This is the house specialty. Chocolate and gold. Life is fine. I bought six (they came in little boxes of three), and shared three with my host family. I think they like me a little more, so that is good. This was also the variety that the saleslady gave us for free. She was the best.

So what does it taste like? The gold? To be honest, I didn't really taste it. I suppose it is more of a visual, "this must be good because it there is gold on top of it" sort of thing. But the chocolate part was so good. It wasn't a solid piece of chocolate. There was a soft, chocolaty filling inside. It was bliss (NOT a Hershey's Bliss but the state of perfect happiness).

If I go back to Lyon, that is my first (and last) stop.