Translated by Bethszabee Garner

For decades, there was only one name, one address, one myth: Berthillon. In the heart of Île Saint-Louis, in this Paris suspended between two banks, the discreet shop served its ice cream as one would serve a grand cru, amid the murmurs of aesthetes.

Founded in 1954, the company established itself as the absolute benchmark for high-end artisanal ice cream in France. At the time, there were few alternatives: a handful of artisans were thriving in the Alps, the Basque Country, and Corsica, but there was no network to structure the market. The ice cream maker reigned supreme in an economy that was still in its infancy.

It is undoubtedly by laying these demanding foundations, exceptional ingredients, unadulterated recipes, and respect for the artisanal process, that the company has given ice cream its letters of nobility. Each raspberry sorbet, each Madagascar vanilla ice cream is still enjoyed as a signature dish. This expertise was long reserved for an enlightened elite of Parisian gourmets.

It wasn't until the 2000s that a new wind began to blow. As French gastronomy began its own revolution, a new generation of creators, pastry chefs, chocolatiers, and independent artisans took up ice cream and propelled it into an era of rapid transformation.

In a global market where premium and super-premium ranges are growing twice as fast as traditional offerings, ice cream is becoming a territory to be conquered, a field of culinary innovation. Gone are the days of the standard scoop. Make way for sculpted textures, bold combinations, and creations infused with meaning and emotion.

From tea to cocoa, praise for detail

Alain Ducasse's ice cream factory pursues this quest for precision by sculpting its flavors like signature dishes, using raw ingredients such as ripe fruit and precious cocoa beans.

At Betjeman & Barton, Lionel Chauvin works with Enzo & Lily to transform fine teas into exceptional sorbets: Pouchkine with citrus fruits, Autumn Blend with notes of fig, Chung Hao jasmine, infused with rigor to extract all their aromatic complexity.

As for Alléno & Rivoire, their summer collection of Tahitian vanilla sundaes is adorned with apple caramel, sanded pistachios, red fruit confits, and chocolate-coated crystals. Dessert becomes a composed work of art, where birch bark sometimes replaces sugar to lower the glycemic index.

Ice cream is no longer just a summer treat. Today, it is an accessible form of luxury that celebrates pure ingredients, technical skill, creativity, and sensory memory. Each spoonful is designed as a gesture. A work of art. A manifesto.

The ice age is here, and it has never been so hot...

Jade Genin, Tokyo snow in a spoon

At Jade Genin, ice cream takes on the air of a Japanese ceremony. Inspired by kakigōri, an ultra-popular snow dessert in Japan, it revisits the French-style granita in a version without flavors or syrups, but with real fruit compotes or frozen custards, grated on the spot to preserve an extremely fine texture.

“We have a unique texture that can't be found anywhere else: very fine snow that is impossible to drink and must be eaten with a spoon. It's a dessert that combines freshness and indulgence.”

Nicolas Loiseau, when chocolate melts into ice cream

Meilleur Ouvrier de France and iconic chef at La Maison du Chocolat, Nicolas Cloiseau approaches ice cream as a refrigerated ganache, a logical extension of his universe. Each flavor is conceived as an aromatic dialogue between chocolate, fruit, or subtle pralines. “I always slip chocolate in somewhere. It's not for the sake of it: it's so that it interacts with the other flavors.”

For him, ice cream only has value if it embodies a story: “If it tells the story of our chocolate world, it's a success. Otherwise, it's just a flavor.”

Aurélien Rivoire, ice cream to the nearest degree

At Alléno & Rivoire, ice cream is served at the ideal temperature: -12°C. Aurélien Rivoire, a highly precise pastry chef, rejects stabilizers and excess sugar.

His vision? An instant, fragile, but perfectly balanced ice cream. "I remember my first real shock: emptying a vanilla ice cream machine during an internship. That texture, that freshness... nothing compares. "

Pierre Hermé, layers of flavor

At Pierre Hermé, ice cream is composed like a perfume. Each creation is based on an architecture of flavors, built in layers, between persistence and surprise. “I measure out the layers to structure the flavor. Sometimes two, sometimes three, never at random: it's an architecture. (...) I can eat ice cream in summer or winter. It's a pleasure that doesn't depend on the weather or the time of year. It's an obsession.”

An article written by Désirée De Lamarzelle, featured in issue 12 of OniriQ magazine.