One sweet minute!

Some like to make them last, while others devour them in a single bite; but all agree that they are the stars of the festive season. Made of chocolate or fruit paste, papillotes are sweets that come wrapped up for the winter in elegant silver paper, which we always enjoy peeling off and smoothing out. As the story goes, they appeared for the first time in Lyon, on Rue du Bât d’Argent to be precise, around the year 1790.

On that street was a sweet shop, owned by a certain Mister Papillot. One day, he noticed something odd. Some of his creations were mysteriously disappearing. Rather than just shrugging it off, he conducted an investigation that led him to the culprit. One of his shop assistants was pinching the goods. The young apprentice had fallen in love with a mademoiselle living nearby and was gifting chocolates to his sweetheart, after carefully placing them in paper wrappers along with passionate love notes.

Nicking chocolates and wrapping them in words of love? It is an adorable story, but confectioner Papillot gave his love-struck assistant the sack nonetheless. Not only that, he also pinched his ex-employee’s idea and made it his own. Instead of sweet nothings, he decided to wrap his sweets with amusing anecdotes. The ‘papillote’ was born and the rest is local history: these sweets went on to become synonymous with the festive season in the Capital of the Gauls.

Where to find them?
Look out for Voisin, a confectionery considered to be one of the leading authorities on the authentic papillote, with 21 outlets in Lyon and the surrounding area. You can also find them at chocolatiers and even supermarkets.
chocolat-voisin.com