La Maison du Chocolat
(French for The House of Chocolate)
From Parisian artisan to international luxury chocolatier, La Maison du Chocolat carries on the tradition of its grand classics as envisioned by Robert Linxe.
History
- 17 September 1929 : Robert Linxe was born in Bayonne, France. Apprenticeship and training at the C.O.B.A. school in Switzerland during the 1950s.
- 1954 : Marriage to Gisèle. At 28, Robert Linxe bought La Marquise de Presles pastry/confectionery boutique in Paris. He began a catering business and developed it over the next twenty years. He sold this business to the well-known Pastry Chef Gaston Lenôtre.
- 1977 : On October 26, he founded La Maison du Chocolat, 225, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris 8th in the former location of Caves Cosette.
- 1987 : Opening of second boutique at rue François 1er. The third boutique opened at boulevard de la Madeleine in 1989.
- 1990 : La Maison du Chocolat opened a boutique in New York City.
- 1994 : Opening of a boutique at rue de Sèvres and avenue Raymond Poincaré in Paris.
- 1995 : Geoffroy d’Anglejan was named General Manager of La Maison du Chocolat. The brand was established in Japan, opening in Tokyo at Omote Sando. The brand became a member of Comité Colbert. An opening at Rockefeller Center in New York City.
- 2003 : Opening of the first location in London at Piccadilly and a second opening follows in the Marunouchi district of Tokyo
- 2006 : Inauguration of new boutiques in Cannes and Printemps in la Maison Haussmann in Paris.
- 2007 : The brand celebrated its 30th anniversary. Geoffroy d’Anglejan named Gilles Marchal as successor to Robert Linxe. Openings at the Carrousel at the Louvre and avenue Victor Hugo in Paris. Robert Linxe was named Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur. Nicolas Cloiseau obtained the title Meilleur Ouvrier de France Chocolatier.
- 2008 : La Maison du Chocolat opened in Hong Kong at the Pacific Place and elements malls and opened its latest boutique in New York on Wall Street.
- 2009 : Continuation of its expansion in Hong Kong with openings in the ifc and Landmark Prince’s malls. Opening of its first boutique in an airport in Terminal 2E at Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle, Paris
- 2010 : La Maison du Chocolat inaugurated a boutique with salon de thé in the Matsuyu department store in Tokyo in the Ginza district and opened in Selfridges in London. Two new boutiques at Orly and Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle Roissy, Terminal 2 F airports.
- 2011 : Inauguration of the new concept “Boutique coffret” at terminal T2E in Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle, Paris. Shopping Malls : Lee gardens One in Hong Kong and Short Hills, New Jersey in the US. The 2011 Salon du Chocolat and the profession paid homage to the career of Robert Linxe.
- 2012 : Geoffroy d’Anglejan named Nicolas Cloiseau to succeed Gilles Marchal with the title Master Chef of La Maison du Chocolat. Openings : Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle, Paris : Terminal liaison AC - Terminal S4 - “Boutique coffret” at Terminal T2F2 in the public area. Galeries Lafayette Maison, Paris. Grand Magasin Umeda Hankyu in Osaka, Japan. The Plaza Food Hall in New York.
Robert Linxe and La Maison du Chocolat, Story of a Passion
Robert Linxe, founder of La Maison du Chocolat, dedicated his life to chocolate. Born in the French Basque region, he learned his trade of chocolatier in Bayonne before going to Switzerland to perfect his art. A visionary, who had the courage so characteristic of entrepreneurs, to open in 1977 his first boutique, dedicated exclusively to chocolate on the prestigious Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris.
He selected a location for this boutique with a wine cellar, which provided ideal conditions for preserving chocolates. He also had his laboratory in the cellar for over ten years. Nicknamed the “Sorcerer of Ganache”, Robert Linxe put his stamp of nobility on chocolate as an exceptional ingredient, in particular, the ganache. A silky blend of chocolate and fresh cream is then enrobed in a fine layer of chocolate, creating associations of subtle and delicate flavours.
Nicolas Cloiseau, Master Chef of La Maison du Chocolat
Meilleur Ouvrier de France Chocolatier 2007.
Nicolas Cloiseau, Meilleur Ouvrier de France chocolatier has worked since 1996 at La Maison du Chocolat. Robert Linxe immediately took notice of this pastry chef-chocolatier, grand chocolate perfectionist with an innate artistic sense. He created in 2000 a position just for him to craft exceptional, decorative pieces, a new discipline in the heart of creation.
• Born in 1974 in Lannion (22)
• 1991 CAP Pastry Chef, Chocolatier, Confectioner
• 1993 Brevet de Maîtrise Pâtissier, Chocolatier, Confectioner
• 1994 Military Service, Pastry Chef in the officers’ mess
• 1995 Pastry Chef for an artisan
• Dec. 1996 Chocolatier at Maison du Chocolat
• 2000 Named Decoration Atelier Manager
• 2001 2nd prize Trophée Pascal Caffet
• 2003 1st Prize Chocolate at the Concours Gastronomique d’Arpajon
• 2005 1st prize in the Artistic contest of World Chocolate Master
• 2007 Lauréat with the title Meilleur Ouvrier de France chocolatier
• 2011 named Manager of the Creation Atelier under the supervision of Gilles Marchal
• 2012 named Master Chef of La Maison du Chocolat
List of boutiques
In France and worldwide
PARIS
• 225, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 • Tel. +33 1 42 27 39 44
• 52, rue François 1er, 75008 • Tel. +33 1 47 23 38 25
• 8, boulevard de la Madeleine, 75009 • Tel. +33 1 47 42 86 52
• Printemps de la Maison, 2nd floor, 64, boulevard Haussmann, 75009 • Tel. +33 1 42 82 61 77
• 19, rue de Sèvres, 75006 • Tel. +33 1 45 44 20 40
• Galeries Lafayette, 40 bd Haussmann, ground floor of the Lafayette Maison department store, 75009
• 120, avenue Victor Hugo, 75116 • Tel. +33 1 40 67 77 83
• Carrousel du Louvre, 99, rue de Rivoli, 75001 • Tel. +33 1 42 97 13 50
• Aéroport de Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle, Terminal 2E-2E public area -E porte M-2 liaison AC • Tel. +33 1 48 62 02 20
• Aéroport Orly Ouest Hall 2 • Tel. +33 1 49 75 11 10
CANNES
• 87-89, rue d’Antibes, 06400 • Tel. +33 4 93 94 44 70
LONDON
• 46 Piccadilly, W1J 0DS • Tel. +44 207 287 8500
• Harrods, 87-135 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, SW1X 7XL • Tel. +44 207 730 1234 - Ext: 3379
• Selfridges and Co, 400 Oxford Street, W1A 1AB • Tel. +44 207 318 3341
NEW YORK
• 1018 Madison Avenue, NY 10075 • Tel. +212 744 7117
• 30 Rockefeller Center, NY 10020 • Tel. +212 265 9404
• 63 Wall Street, NY 10005 • Tel. +212 952 1123
• The Plaza Food Hall, One West 58th Street, NY 10019 • Tel. +212 546 5499
NEW JERSEY
• The Mall at Short Hills, 1200 Morris Turnpike, Short Hills, NJ 07078 • Tel. +973 379 5065
HONG KONG
• Pacific Place, Shop 246, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty • Tel. +852 2522 2010
• Elements, Shop 1025, First Level, Elements, 1A Austin Road West, Kowloon • Tel. +852 2196 8333
• ifc mall, Shop 2006, Podium Level Two, 1 Harbour View Street, Central • Tel. +852 2801 4880
• Landmark Prince’s, Shop 109, 10 Chater Road, Central • Tel. +852 2801 4122
• Lee Gardens One, Shop B03A, 33 Hysan Avenue, Causeway Bay • Tel. +852 2907 2002
• Festival Walk, Unit LG2-21, 80 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon (opening mid 2013)
TOKYO
• Marunouchi : New Kokusai Building 1F - 3-4-1, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, 100-0005 Tokyo • Tel. +81 33201 6006
• Omotesando : 3-10-8, Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku - 107-0061 Tokyo • Tel. +81 33499 2168
• Ginza : Matsuya Ginza 1F - 3-6-1, Ginza, Chuo-ku - 104-8130 Tokyo • Tel. +81 33562 7707
OSAKA
• Umeda Hankyu : Kakuda-Cho 8-7, Kita-Ku, Osaka 530-8350 • Tel. +81 66361 1381
Sites Web
• www.lamaisonduchocolat.com
• www.lamaisonduchocolat.fr
• www.lamaisonduchocolat.co.uk
• www.lamaisonduchocolat.co.jp
• www.lamaisonduchocolat.us