13 Christmas logs to feast your eyes on!

Original flavor combinations, gourmet and artistic trompe l'oeil creations, exceptional ingredients, French pastry chefs have no shortage of audacity and talent to revisit the traditional Yule log, the must-have dessert of festive meals. From Paris to the Côte d'Azur, via Lyon and the Alps, here is our non-exhaustive selection of the most unusual Yule logs offered in pastry shops, restaurants and luxury hotels. Open your eyes wide, awaken your taste buds and enjoy!

Chocolat Sève : the most travelled

Master chocolate maker and pastry chef based in Lyon, Richard Sève has a taste for travel. Like an explorer, he travels the world in search of exceptional ingredients and products that will sublimate his creations while keeping a logbook. Inspired by his father's drawings, collages and adventure stories, Arthur Sève has created a botanical and gourmet collection for the end of the year. The "botanist" pastry log is composed of a heart of roasted pineapple in a passion fruit jelly, a Japanese cookie and a ganache with Madagascar vanilla. A tribute to Georg Éverhard Rumphius who was one of the first botanists to make an inventory of pineapple varieties.

Available for pre-order from November 12, 2022 on the internet and in stores from December 2.
Discover the Christmas creations of the Sève house (External link)

Pierre Hermé: the most Parisian

From the Champs-Elysées to the Faubourg Saint-Honoré via the Parc Monceau, for the end of year celebrations, the most famous of Parisian pastry chefs is transforming himself into a tourist guide with a resolutely gourmet tour of the capital. The "Tout-Paris" prestige log catches the eye with a magical interpretation of the Pont-Neuf and Paris. The ornate facades of Haussmann buildings are depicted with a keen sense of detail. An architectural and gastronomic piece signed by Pierre Hermé that thrills our senses with a gingerbread cookie, chocolate accompanied by a creamy caramel and fleur de sel cream, and caramelized puffed rice grains coated in chocolate: a surprisingly crunchy note!

Available from December 19 to 25, 2022
Discover Pierre Hermé's Christmas creations (External link)

Evian Resort: the most medieval

To celebrate the magic of Christmas, the pastry chef at the Evian Resort in the Alps invites gourmets on a mystical trip to the forest of Broceliande in the footsteps of King Arthur! Stéphane Arrête's signature Christmas log consists of a hazelnut praline pana-cotta combined with a chocolate cream, a soft cocoa cookie, all topped with a hazelnut and fleur de sel crunch... Gourmets will appreciate it. As for the presentation, the chocolate leaves, collected in the park of the hôtel Royal before being molded, bring a local and country touch to this holiday dessert.

Discover the Christmas creations of the Evian Resort, in the Alps (External link)

Fruttini By Mo : the most vitaminized

There is nothing like an icy and fruity Yule log to end a usually copious meal and bring sunshine to the plate... For 4 years, at Fruttini By Mo, frosted fruits are at the festival thanks to the duo composed of Marie-Laure Pollet and Ollivia Berdah. For Christmas, we succumb to the Passiflora vegan log with coconut sorbet and mango and passion fruit.

Available in stores and on the internet (delivery throughout France).

Discover the Christmas creations of Fruttini By Mo (Paris 6) (External link)

Restaurant A Noste: the saltiest

Foie gras as a dessert or a log as a starter, it's up to you! At A Noste, one of the Parisian addresses of the Maison Guy Martin, the Christmas log will be salted this year. Duck foie gras marinated in Armagnac and Espelette pepper, fresh fig chutney, thin layer of gingerbread, Armagnac ganache... An original and tasty recipe combining two dishes that are a staple of holiday meals in France signed by Guy Martin, chef of the legendary restaurant Le Grand Véfour.

Discover the Christmas creations of the restaurant A Noste (Paris 2) (External link)

Hotel Burgundy: the most literary

Pierre-Jean Quinonero, pastry chef at the Burgundy Hotel, has created a work of art in homage to Charles Baudelaire, who frequented the establishment where his manuscripts were sold after his death. The Christmas log created by the 2021 French Dessert Champion represents a collection of books whose edges are named after literary works such as Les fleurs du Mal or Le Spleen de Paris. But this is no reason to sink into melancholy. The flavors of this pastry creation restore the morale: soft cookie with chestnut flour, gianduja cocoa nibs and hazelnut praline, grapefruit and yuzu confit, creamy chocolate and black cardamom. A real treat for the taste buds!

Discover the Christmas creations of the Burgundy Hotel (Paris 1) (External link)

Vincent Guerlais : the most playful

The new "Magic of Christmas" log from Vincent Guerlais, artisan chocolatier, is said to be the best kept secret in Nantes. Before unlocking the mystery and tasting this tasty dessert, you will first have to get to grips with the Nutcracker, a 975g chocolate colossus, to be crunched without moderation! If you take up the challenge or simply lift the character, a fruity and chocolatey creation is revealed. Notes of dried fruits brought by the Nicaragua chocolate sublimate the slightly acidic flavors of raspberry and Morello cherry. As for vanilla, it will take your guests back to their childhood memories.

Discover the Christmas creations of Vincent Guerlais, artisan chocolatier in Nantes, Pays de la Loire (External link)

Restaurant Akrame: the most arty

"L'homme qui tombe de haut" (The man who falls from above) is the title of the Christmas log proposed by chef Akrame and his pastry chef Killian Le Houérou. A reference to the famous work of contemporary artist Daniel Arsham, exhibited on the ceiling of the Akrame restaurant in Paris. An immaculate dessert with exotic flavors: smoked coconut mousse, white chocolate vanilla infused with tonka bean, coconut water jelly and coconut praline and lime zest. What to bring a dose of sweetness and freshness at the end of the meal.

Available until December 25, 2022.
Discover the Christmas creations of Akrame Restaurant (Paris 8) (External link)

Château de Berne: the most Provencal

It's olive season in Provence! So why not subtly marry green gold and chocolate? This is the challenge taken up by Éric Raynal, pastry chef at Jardin de Berne, the restaurant of Château de Berne, a Relais & Châteaux hotel (one Star and one Green Star in the Michelin Guide) located near Lorgues, in the Var. With a Joconde cookie with olive oil and lemon, a creamy black olive oil filling, a crunchy lime and black olive confit, and a chocolate and green olive oil mousse, this Yule log offers a concentration of southern flavors. The visual in the shape of a vine makes the tasting even more surprising.

Available for pre-order from mid-November on the internet, to be collected at the Château de Berne on December 23, 24 and 25.

Discover the Christmas creations of the Jardin de Berne, in Provence (External link)

Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme: the most elegant

Delicate, pure and airy, the Christmas log offered at the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme imitates to perfection the drape of the fashion designer Jeanne Paquin, considered one of the pioneers of French Haute-Couture, whose workshops were located on rue de la Paix, at the current location of the Palace. The pastry chef Naraé Kim dares by combining the pear with a hazelnut cookie and a hazelnut paste fermented for 3 months, chocolate mousse and a light pear eau de vie cream. A log with style and character!

Discover the Christmas creations of the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme (Paris 2) (External link)

Maison Lenôtre: the most mountainous

Etienne Leroy hasn't lost his touch since winning the World Pastry Champion title in 2017. As the new head of sweet creation at the iconic Maison Lenôtre, the pastry chef brings back memories of his winter evenings spent by the fire in the Vosges mountains with a trompe l'oeil creation of incredible precision. A mountain chalet made of dark chocolate, milk chocolate and marshmallow serves as a showcase for a log made of Bourbon vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, fleur de sel, melting caramel and hot milk mousse. A gourmet creation evoking the magic of a Christmas in the mountains under the snow.

Available from December 16, 2022.
Discover the Christmas creations of the Lenôtre house in Paris (External link)

The Lutetia : the most art deco

A symbol of the art deco movement, the Parisian palace Le Lutetia cultivates its style by offering an elegant Yule log worthy of a work of art that embraces the shapes of its very special architecture. After the amazement of the eyes, comes (finally) the time of the tasting. The pastry chef Nicolas Guercio is daring in combining truffles with the traditional flavors of chocolate and praline. The result is as good as the visual with a creamy dark chocolate mousse, a crunchy cocoa paste, a hazelnut dacquoise, a creamy milk chocolate and a flowing praline with dark Périgord truffle.

Available in limited edition and only on reservation by phone until December 22, 2022, to be collected on December 23 and 24, 2022.

Discover the Christmas creations of the Hotel Lutetia (Paris 6) (External link)

Terre Blanche Hotel Spa Golf Resort: the most enveloped

Huts on a Christmas table, nothing very original. The ones imagined by Jérémie Gressier might surprise you, however. For the end of year celebrations, the pastry chef at Terre Blanche Hôtel Spa Golf Resort, located in the Côte d'Azur hinterland, is proposing two Christmas logs in the shape of giant papillotes to share with the family.

Red or yellow, it's a question of color and flavor. The first will delight chocolate and jasmine lovers with a cocoa nib crunch, a jasmine-infused chocolate cookie, a roasted cocoa bean praline, not to mention a chocolate mousse from the Duplanteur factory and a touch of local jasmine. The second creation is an invitation to "winter" on the French Riviera and smell its fragrances with citrus marmalade, tangerine gel and a light mousse with orange blossom from Vallauris.

Available from December 15, 2022 to January 05, 2023.
Discover the Christmas creations of Terre Blanche Hotel Spa Golf Resort, on the French Riviera (External link)