À l’Étoile d’Or

Not far from the Moulin Rouge, here, a different kind of pleasure is for the taking. The incomparable Denise Acabo, all ruddy cheeks and plaited hair, is like everyone’s favourite grand-aunt – a grand-aunt who happens to have run a tiny gourmet chocolate and candy store for some 40 years. Piled up, lined up, arranged just so and standing to attention in wood display cases and on mirrored surfaces are heaps of pastel-coloured marshmallows, cubes of pâte de fruit like little gems, artisanal Mazet pralines, jolly bergamot candies, and glorious jars of caramels from Quiberon caramélier Henri Le Roux. There’s more, of course, and Acabo is happy for customers to take their time ooh-ing and aah-ing while she regales them with tales of medieval jokesters, regional chocolate makers and marshmallow-making nuns.