Famed Le Chocolat Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton arrives on our shores. Marking their debut outside of their French homeland, the chocolates at Le Chocolat Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton are handcrafted with high-quality ingredients. From the Filled Heart Saint Valentine to the intricate moving Vivienne on Malle, these concoctions are inspired by the fashion house and is only made possible through the deft hands of Chef Maxime Frédéric, the award-winning chef pâtissier of the Cheval Blanc Paris. Chef Frédéric answers a few questions about what goes into his chocolate-making, Louis Vuitton, and what fans can expect in the near future.
ESQUIRE: Tell us about your chocolate-making. What makes it special?
MAXIME FRÉDÉRIC: I think that what makes our chocolates unique is the savoir-faire and manual technique, as well as the art of the raw materials and the story we’re continuing to write with Louis Vuitton. These are incredible encounters and I believe that’s what gives our chocolates that undefinable “something extra”. It’s not just about the raw materials or just about the taste—it’s actually an entire ecosystem and story of sourcing, passion and people that have taken shape, and I see that as unique and precious.
ESQ: Can you tell us about a few of the chocolates specifically? Their flavours, ingredients, etc?
MF: Our chocolates are very diverse and our goal is to please as many people as possible and for everyone to find their own happiness and satisfaction, their own little delicious moment. As a result, we have flavours that are very simple, down-to-earth. We work with very pure cocoas and cocoa origins [from] Madagascar, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, [where] each [country has] a specific, incredible aromatic bouquet. But we also work with very French flavours. We use caramel—Breton caramel—or speculoos biscuit flavours.
Then we’ll create this duality between the richness of the ingredients and the flavours from incredible terroirs around the world, as well as the French terroir. This is the magical combination that makes me so happy to be part of it all. So, there will be a lot of technical prowess in play. And that singularity typically comes in the Vivienne, which will rotate with its chocolate mechanism, but it is also in the skill behind our moulds, the Louis Vuitton Monogram, obviously. All these things taken together make me happy and it really makes this chocolate-making very precious to me.
ESQ: How does Louis Vuitton as a maison inspire you? How is this shown in your chocolates?
MF: Louis Vuitton inspires me by virtue of its history and the people who brought the company to life and keep it alive and thriving today. That’s a trait that I also see with my great-great-grandparents who were agricultures [sic] and our family farm today. Now we’re lucky to produce the eggs and hazelnuts that l use in our chocolate-making. I find this same idea of legacy at Louis Vuitton.
There’s an entire history there that has been forged and composed over the years, over time, and which has created this incredible maison’s richness and diversity. And today, that’s what we’re humbly trying to do with our chocolate-making: respecting the heritage and work of those before us, while adding our own uniqueness, our personality, our humanity, the richness of the land and of our ingredients. This human aspect is very important to me and it’s what inspires me at Louis Vuitton. At Maison Louis Vuitton, there’s a wealth created by the people, there’s a history. And these two inspire me and guide us greatly in making our chocolates.
ESQ: What’s next?
MF: The idea is still to enrich and cultivate the diversity of this chocolate-making, to be even more creative, to add even more surprising things, to bring in a fruity dimension, which is very rare in chocolate-making today—we have a little bit of that, but we plan to develop it even more and to bring our orchards into our chocolate-making as well, combining all that and enriching it, through this global gastronomic variety and culture, and French savoir-faire.
The local chapter of Le Chocolat Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton is located at 2 Bayfront Ave, B1-38/39 Louis Vuitton Island Store
Louis Vuitton has been busy of late. An ambassador announcement, a recent AW24 Menswear showcase and now, an LV-launched chocolate shop on our shores. It seems odd that the brand known for their steamer trunks would dip their toes (or fingers) into chocolate. But having taste the results, it'd seem that the Maison has another winner on its hands.
The opening of Le Chocolat Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton at Marina Bay Sands, marks the debut of the confectionary store beyond its French borders. Created and produced by Maxime Frédéric, the celebrated Chef Pâtissier of the Cheval Blanc Paris, the chocolates are made with premium ingredients in the heart of Paris.
Hailing from Normandy, Chef Frédéric draws from the wisdom of les secrets de nos vergers (the secrets of the orchards). From his farm's chicken breeds to the special hazelnut variety he cultivates, each ingredient is chosen for its distinct flavour. When not sourced directly from his farm, he opts for top-tier supplies, like milk from his friends operating a dairy farm in Normandy. Chocolates are also sourced from small-scale cocoa farmers in Vietnam, Peru, Madagascar, Dominican Republic and São Tome.
Chef Frédéric met with the artisans behind the emblematic LV trunks at the historic home of Louis Vuitton in Asnières. Seeing how the brand upholds craftsmanship, Chef Frédéric said that he saw "a lot of similarities between his work in patisseries and the work of the LV artisans". "Whether it’s a woodworker or a locksmith for the trunks. It’s about handcrafted workmanship," Chef Frédéric says, "and that’s completely in line with our work as artisan pastry chefs, bakers and chocolatiers.”
With prices starting at SGD30, these exquisite chocolates offer an unexpectedly accessible taste of luxury. Like the Damier-shaped Chocolate Tablets, Monogram Flower... even the Chocolate Bar, each piece is inspired by Louis Vuitton's iconic motifs. They bring across a sense of child-like wonderment and are as delightful as they are indulgent.
His centrepiece creations—Vivienne on Malle and the Petula—showcase his ingenuity and mastery in chocolate craftsmanship. Inspired by the Vivienne music box, the Vivienne on Malle (SGD420) is confection wonder. Made of intricate chocolate gear mechanisms thanks to Chef Frédéric's construction, a twist of the chocolate key, Vivienne pirouettes.
The Petula (SGD230), another iconic mascot from Louis Vuitton, also brings an enchanting surprise for clients. Designed like a piñata, each Petula chocolate figure is generously filled with coated hazelnuts. Whack one open and watch the contents spill out.
