Tristan Carbonatto

Can you avoid chocolate if you are born in Geneva and grew up on the Vaud Riviera? Tristan Carbonatto couldn’t. As an adolescent, the young man hesitated between the kitchen and the laboratory, but, in the end, sugar won. At Boccard de Rolle confectionery, he learned “the rigour and love for work that’s done well”. Then he joined the team at the legendary Hôtel de Ville in Crissier, where everything is beautiful, delicious, and constantly challenging at a relentless pace, leading to the gestures becoming second nature. There, Chef Frédy Girardet — the Swiss equivalent of Robuchon — racked up Michelin stars, Gault&Millau points, medals, and awards. An ambitious example, shaped by rigour and know-how.

Armed with “a global industry vision, spanning pure technique to product management”, Tristan decided to stretch his own wings. In 1998, he opened his first boutique in Bougy-Villars, above Rolle (in Vaud). The chocolate maker began churning out creations under the approving eyes of his children, who were his elected taste testers. His boutique’s speciality was rum and whiskey truffles, while his speciality at home was “spreadable chocolate, refined with lightly torrefied Piedmont hazelnuts, mixed with milk or dark chocolate” — a hit he was soon sharing with his clientele.

140 shades of chocolate
These days we find him further south, in his extensive (700 m2!) atelier-laboratory-boutique in Perroy. Chocolate lovers flock his way, led by their noses, to stock up on his caramel truffles, rêves de noisette (hazelnut dreams), pralines, feuillantines, and caramelised pistachio and hazelnut rochers. The company now offers 140 different specialities, all without preservatives, made from pure cocoa butter. Tristan personally sources his raw ingredients from all four corners of the chocolate globe, with his favourites being from Ecuador and Ghana “for their strong personalities”. But, while he is always on the hunt for the best cocoa, Tristan is just as careful with his dried fruit and seasonings: Piedmont hazelnuts and Sicilian pistachios are chosen in person on site; the same goes for the Japanese yuzu and matcha green tea, the Madagascar vanilla, and… the chillis from Perroy! Tristan only selects the best, seeing it as a chance to “understand the different varieties, appreciate the richness of the terroirs, and form lasting, trusting friendships with the producers”.

“Inspiration is everywhere: in travels, new connections, and reading”. Ideas bubble up in the middle of the night and are quickly noted. It’s important to keep track of evolving tastes, which now favour “intensity and less sugar”, and to never lose sight of what’s truly essential: harmony. “Originality for originality’s sake doesn’t make sense if there’s no pleasure”, says Tristan. “Sometimes an idea takes shape instantly. Other times it takes ten or twenty tries to reach that perfect equilibrium. The hardest part is actually knowing when to stop and say, ‘that’s enough, it’s good, we got it!’”

Noble and protean materials
For certain orders, it’s more a question of challenge than know-how. A mounted chocolate creation for a wedding? Got it. A Taj Mahal made of chocolate? Why not? The chocolate maker design moulds as required, and the entire team works patiently together to assemble all the pieces — “a work of art, where every detail matters”.

“Chocolate has a remarkable amount of malleability, it’s magical. We can sculpt it, mould it, and marry it with infinite flavours. That said, it is incredibly fragile and sensitive to temperatures” when conserving, transporting, and even designing it. “The ideal climate for chocolate is stable temperatures between 18° and 20°C”, Tristan specifies. “In the summer months, climate control is mandatory; every heat wave puts us to the test! We invested in very specific equipment and adapted our working hours, but it’s a real struggle every time the temperatures rise!”

Over time, his client list has grown to include numerous celebrities, heads of state, and royal families, including the Imperial family of Japan. An honour… and also a lot of pressure. Luckily, to combat stress there’s no better solution than chocolate. His favourite? “A simple square of grand cru dark chocolate, savoured slowly. It’s my guilty pleasure”, Tristan Carbonatto replies, with no hesitation.

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