Louis Vuitton has launched Le Chocolat Maxime Frederic at Louis Vuitton in Marina Bay Sands Singapore, a dedicated chocolate store by award-winning French pastry chef, Maxime Frederic.
Opened on 7 February 2024, the shop offers an assortment of chocolates from coated hazelnuts to the Vivienne on Malle, a large interactive sculpture based on the brand’s Vivienne Music Box.
The debut of Le Chocolat Maxime Frederic at Louis Vuitton in Singapore is the first overseas branch of the brand, which started in Paris in 2022.
A native of Normandy and the grandson of a dairy farmer, Frederic extensively uses produce from his homeland in his Louis Vuitton chocolates. Eggs and milk are taken from his Normandy farm, and milk comes from friends who run a dairy farm in the same region.
Cacao is sourced from small-scale farmers in Vietnam, Peru, Madagascar, Dominican Republic, as well as Sao Tome and Príncipe.
The chocolates are then made at Louis Vuitton’s Paris headquarters in Rue du Pont Neuf where Frederic oversees the process.
The centrepiece at Le Chocolat Maxime Frederic at Louis Vuitton in Singapore is the Vivienne on Malle, or the brand’s flower mascot perched on top of a trunk. The doll pirouettes when a chocolate key is turned.
Another is the Petula, Louis Vuitton’s lion mascot, which is designed like a pinata and filled with coated hazelnuts.
Consumers can also expect pralines, chocolate bars, chocolate hazelnut spread, and non-conched chocolates, or chocolate that has not been processed through a roller, giving it a crunchy texture and bright citrusy taste.
Prices at start from S$30 for a chocolate bar to S$420 for Vivienne on Malle. Both Vivienne on Malle and Petula are currently sold out and have a waitlist.
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Frederic first partnered with Louis Vuitton on an exhibition in 2022. He is also the chef patissier at upscale Paris hotel Cheval Blanc. In 2022, Frederic was recognised with the prestigious Gault & Millau Guide’s Pastry Chef of the Year award.
Besides chocolates, Frederic has also created a savoury lunch menu for the Louis Vuitton Cafe and Chocolaterie in Paris and helped open the brand’s seasonal restaurant in Saint Tropez.
After Singapore, Louis Vuitton is planning to open a restaurant in Bangkok later this year together with celebrated chef Gaggan Anand.
Frederic joins a growing list of chefs that luxury brands have tapped as ambassadors. Gucci collaborated with Italian chef Massimo Bottura on a series of Italian restaurants around the world, and watch brand Jaeger-Lecoultre partnered with celebrity pastry chef Nina Metayer on an exclusive pastry collection.
Le Chocolat Maxime Frederic at Louis Vuitton is located at Louis Vuitton Island Maison, 2 Bayfront Avenue B1, Shop 36, Singapore 018972
Daily, 11am – 11.30pm
(Hero and featured images credit: Louis Vuitton)
This article first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Singapore
