Blondel Chocolatier

The Blondel sign first went up in 1850 at 19 place Saint-François in Lausanne. Adrien Blondel, a 26-year-old confectioner from Riex, ran the shop with his wife Louise. In 1891 the house moved to Rue de Bourg 5 and has not left. It became a family concern in 1895 when Adrien took his son Jules into partnership. Two daughters, Marie and Adrienne, served at the counter, joined later by the youngest, Suzanne. Charles swapped the account books for a confectioner's apron. Adrien handed the business to his sons in 1900, and they carried it for more than half a century. A first renovation in 1930 installed the two Belle Époque shelves that still line the shop. In 1953 the chocolatier Alain Frayssac took over, keeping the traditional recipes and the handwork. The Polli family received the inheritance in 2001, Luc first and now Bastien Polli as director. Bastien Thibault is master chocolatier. He recorded Frayssac's recipes and gestures from oral memory during the handover. The shop was restored in 2019, its first works since 1930. The powdered atmosphere of a boutique that has crossed three centuries was kept, with a portrait of Aloïs Blondel on the wall. Production is by a small team in a laboratory just behind the shop, mostly with Swiss couverture. Old-style truffes rustiques sit beside chocolats au marteau in yuzu or matcha, and the shop fills orders for personalised boxes and gift cards for anyone who asks.