Meet Christophe Adam the Genius of Eclairs

I visited: 2 rue des Petits Carreaux 75002 Paris

Metro: Sentier

01 40 15 61 07

Open Monday to Firday from 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM

and Saturday to Sunday from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM

http://leclairdegenie.com

If you are looking for a unique éclair experience to satisfy your sweet tooth, I would recommend checking out Christophe Adam’s shops, emphatically called L’Éclair de Génie (the Genius Éclair). The chef, who was Creative Director at Fauchon, a French high end traiteur, is trying to revolutionize this dessert.

The éclair was a rich terrain of unexploited potential before Adam came along. Indeed, he has brought the pastry into the 21th century: the icing is glittery, the pastry is flamboyant, and full of decorations like whipped cream, (crèmechantilly), fruits, or meringue!

I enjoyed the yummy caramel beurre salé éclair (salted butter caramel) with marscapone and golden brown caramel bits on glistening icing. The chef’s upbringing in Bretagne shows here: his caramel is decadent, in a heavenly kind of way. Other interesting tastes included the flashy red éclair called rouge baiser (red kiss), with a chocolate cream, raspberry, and almond paste on top. I was not sure about this confection until the second bite, when I started to taste the subtle almond or frangipane taste. Other popular variations include the hazelnut éclair with its caramelized nuts and gooey caramel topping, the vanilla from Madagascar éclair with caramelized pecan nuts, or the passion fruit cream éclair with crispy raspberries on top!

His pâte à choux is particularly well-done, the products are fresh, and the portions are generous. That’s why I would say that the experience is mostly worth the 5 euro investment!