He has taken time to learn, nine years at Lenôtre and about eight years at Weiss, which explains how he masters his art. He is therefore largely recognized by his peers since he has been rewarded as the Best Worker in France chocolate maker since 2004.

It is in Montbrison that Philippe Bel has created his own business and, due to the lightning success of the chocolates signed with a B as Bel, with the inhabitants of Lyon, he set up, almost immediately afterwards, in the Presqu’île de Lyon, the Mecca of all the delicacies.

It is a serious and assiduous professional who knows that, to express one’s creativity at its best, one needs at first to work the most perfect products.

So, he chooses his cocoa beans from the best roasters and makes his covering chocolate by making his mixes of chocolate. He prepares his marzipan with whole Spanish almonds and the praline with hazelnuts from Rome and from Piedmont.

This gives delicious specialities which people come to sample from all over the region and which are known as far away as Tokyo. The chocolate balls filled with semi-liquid pistachio ganache, caramel and banana, with Earl Grey tea or coffee from Ethiopia or even raspberry with a touch of ginger.

The chocolate discs are stuffed with lime and basil or with green mint pepper ganache and there is also this divine chocolate with marzipan perfumed with geranium, a subtle flavour between rose and litchi. And finally, a true sin, the soft chocolate spread with tender toffee. You want some?