À la Mère de Famille, Paris's sweetest legacy

There are few places in Paris where time feels so deliciously preserved as À la Mère de Famille. Founded in 1761, it’s the city’s oldest chocolate shop — a true confectionary time capsule, a living monument to craft, care, and quiet indulgence. Its original boutique on Rue du Faubourg-Montmartre, with its emerald-green façade and golden lettering, feels like stepping into a storybook.

My “local” boutique is on Rue Cler, in the 7th arrondissement — and it never fails to enchant me. Step inside, and you’re instantly surrounded by rows of pralines, candied fruits, orangettes, nougats, and jewel-like sweets — each one perfectly wrapped, gleaming under soft light. The air is thick with the scent of cocoa and caramel. Behind the counter sit over two centuries of recipes, each crafted with the same patience and precision that built the brand’s legacy.

What makes À la Mère de Famille so enchanting is its devotion to detail: the way each chocolate shines, how the wrapping folds perfectly, how tradition is honoured without feeling old-fashioned. As for their packaging, it's art in itself!

You taste their sweets and immediately sense the lineage — generations of hands perfecting flavour, texture, and form. It’s Parisian heritage distilled into something beautifully edible.

I absolutely adore their attention to detail — from the glint of a single chocolate to the soft weight of the box in your hands — everything whispers quality (and quite frankly, “eat me!”). Eating their sweets, I don’t just sense flavour; I sense lineage, story, memory. Each piece feels like edible art.

I am utterly passionate about "maisons" that convey a story with something delectable and turn it into art - such as Ooh La La Confectionery  - another similar maison, utterly inspired by the best of French traditions yet it's tucked all the way in Johannesburg. Founded by Karen Schneid, the brand grew from her passion for calissons, traditional Montélimar-style nougat, and anything Marie Antoinette might have adored.

Where À la Mère de Famille preserves the poetry of the past, Ooh La La reimagines it — with reinterpretation, craft, and modern luxury. Both share a devotion to ingredients, to presentation, and to that unmistakable attention to detail that makes you stop, smile, and savour. That’s what I love most about such brands — the deep story behind each bite.

If these 2 brands would ever bump into each other while walking down a rue, a firework of chocolates would certainly happen!

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