I have had many French hot chocolates both in Europe and far outside of European borders. Generally speaking, a French hot chocolate is rich, made with real, dark chocolate not cocoa powder, is slightly thick in texture thanks to both the generous amount of chocolate and sometimes added cornflour. In the best cases, it is accompanied by a small bowl or plate of thick, unsweetened whipping cream, because sweetened would turn your hot chocolate from a drink to a dessert, which would be a shame because one another characteristic of a European hot chocolate is that it is easy to drink at any time of the day.
I have never had a French hot chocolate outside of Europe that fulfilled all of those points. A bit like Mexican hot chocolates outside of Mexico, they are often created by either a) Individuals have never actually had a hot chocolate in said country or region and are just guessing or b) Simply a type of hot chocolate locals would like but presented in a more “European way” (whatever that means, since the many countries within Europe’s borders would not be more different one to the next).
Today’s particular French hot chocolate was not had in Europe at all, and the industrial road this tiny hole in the wall café/bakery is located could not be further, physically or in spirit, to Europe if you tried. Yet, I found myself not only seeking it out, but also forking out a small fortune for their take on the European chocolate (much more than most hot chocolates, including those in Europe). This particular hot chocolate was even more expensive because it was absolutely impossible to not buy a few of their pastries as well.
The JC in JC Patisserie Boulanger is Melbourne native Jonathan Camillieri who trained at Le Cordon Bleu and Ferrandi in Paris and then had stints at bakeries all across France and Italy. In 2022, he opened this beautiful bakery.
The hot chocolate was beautifully rich and decadent but not overly sweet. It had the right texture, the right use of couverture dark chocolate (a mixture of dark and milk chocolate from Callebaut) and it came with the much appreciated bowl of unsweetened whip cream. It ticked all the boxes except one (or maybe two, I would have liked a seat on a terrace where I could watch stylish people walking by with luxury shopping bags or fresh produce from the local market but my view was of a truck dropping off toilet paper to a neighbouring business). It was missing the generosity of the true French hot chocolate which are often served in a pot with one and a half to even 2 serves of chocolate in them, so that you can linger and people watch for longer. But truly, I’m not complaining.
Apart from the French hot chocolate, their standard hot chocolate is made using the Melbourne (and soon world) famous Mork chocolate so you will be satisfied either way.
JC Patisserie Boulangerie, 17 Henry St, Abbotsford, Melbourne jcpatisserieboulangerie.com Open Tuesday to Friday, 7am to 1:30pm
