La Halle aux Grains' 2023 buckwheat and hazelnut Yule log, a real favorite

For the second year running, chefs Michel and Sebastien Bras and pastry chef Jean-Julien Freydt unveil a Yule log at the Halle aux Grains restaurant in Paris' Bourse de Commerce. To cut a long story short, this is one of our favorites of the end of the year .

To describe our experience a little more fully, let us unveil this 2023 Yule log with Lot-et-Garonne hazelnuts and buckwheat grains, in keeping with the history of this exceptional place, which was once a wheat market. Of course, the three chefs sourced the best possible products, including a hazelnut from the South-West, the Pauetet hazelnut, renowned for its rich oil content, with a more floral, less woody taste than its cousin from Piedmont.

In detail, the log reveals itself as follows: beneath the delicate milk chocolate velvet of the hazelnut-shaped shell hides an alternation of textures: for crispness, buckwheat puffed like popcorn, a buckwheat praline and a crunchy crumble made from hazelnut powder and buckwheat flour married with hazelnut praline. For the softness, an incredibly light hazelnut mousse, an equally light cookie and a creamy filling.

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The result is a log of incredible depth, very lightly sweetened, with buckwheat bringing a real quiet strength to the whole, almost a touch of bitterness. A marvel, to put it mildly. The Halle aux Grains log is available to eat in or take away (reservation required from December 1) between December 11 and 31, 2023. The 2023 Yule log costs €75 for 8 people.