There once was this great reality show that followed some young French pastry chefs to see who would become the best. I watched every episode numerous times, and still follow most of the contestants on Instagram (they all have done really well!). One of the hosts of the show was Christophe Adam, a pastry chef who spent years working in famous restaurants until, in 2012, he set up his own shop. He does one thing, and he does it very well. Eclairs. Eclairs have a choux pastry exterior, filled with pastry cream and then topped with decorations. The options are mind boggling. He makes them in every flavour imaginable. He also releases a new “collection” with different flavours and decorations every season. 

There are a few shops around the city. The one in the 4th, for example, carries a much larger selection of eclairs than this one. This one is the only one with a café and the café sells a range of hot chocolates. There is no menu, at least there wasn’t when I visited, so you need to ask the staff and then hope they will tell you all the options. They seemed to be telling each customer different options and I only got the full story because I asked a LOT of questions. I then wrote them all very carefully on a piece of paper and then mistakenly put that piece of paper in the recycling bin when I got home. 

The options change based on the seasons. They used to have these chocolate petal water lilies filled with passion fruit and raspberry that opened up when hot chocolate was poured around them. At Christmas they had one flavoured with cinnamon with a giant marshmallow Christmas bauble on top. For a while he had a dessert that looked like a hot chocolate mug but was actually made out of tiramisu. I tasted one made with dark chocolate and salted whip cream which was really delicious. The salt was just enough to completely confuse and intrigue my taste buds but also to balance out the sweetness of the chocolate. It came with a straw which wasn’t really necessary, but fun. Overall great hot chocolate. If you aren’t against having a coffee every once in a while, they also have a Dirty Coffee which is an espresso topped with mascarpone cream and chocolate. 

As mentioned, there are a few shops around the city, but also around the world, in China and throughout the Middle East.  

Éclair du Genie, 122 rue Montmatre, 75002, Paris. Its open Tuesday to Sunday 8:30am to 7pm