Bélisaire Boissier: Poet of Sweetness

When, at the start of the 19th century, he left his province to conquer Paris, young Bélisaire Boissier was armed only with his dream: to become a confectioner.

It was in 1827 that he invented a new glazing technique, giving rise to the first recipe for the Marron Glacé, and fulfilled his dream by founding Maison Boissier.

His first shop, built on Boulevard des Capucines, was such a success that the house quickly opened "Boissier" boutiques on the finest Parisian streets: Boulevard de Courcelles, Avenue Raymond Poincaré, Avenue Marceau, Avenue Victor Hugo and Avenue des Champs-Élysées.

Fashionable ladies flocked there to satisfy their sweet tooth. Buoyed by this success, Bélisaire married one of his employees, Anne Antoinette Barbier, who assisted him in growing his business. Devoted to fine craftsmanship, together they worked to perfect their reputation among a discerning clientele.

From the imagination of the ingenious confectioner came the now-famous "bonbon Boule": these pretty, smooth, fruit-filled spheres brought Boissier into our confectionery heritage. These pretty, smooth, fruit-filled spheres were the favourite treat of fashionable ladies, who savoured them while flirting during intermissions at the theatre and the Opéra. After creating the Montmorency cherry version and the Grasse rose petal version, Bélisaire Boissier went on to imagine the mint version, as well as jasmine and exotic fruit flavours such as pineapple, which was favoured by the bourgeoisie and became, above all, "the sweet of the theatres".

Luxury & Sensuality

It was in 1857 that Bélisaire decided to pass on his house to Cyrille Robineau, a young visionary who invested in a business he knew to be thriving and already a heritage name. This entrepreneur contributed even further to the prosperity of Maison Boissier by developing new products, while also refining the packaging and decoration of its shops. He enlisted the services of the greatest luxury artisans, such as Maison Songny, to offer exquisitely refined leather and silk boxes and bags. His heirs would go on to call upon the finest illustrators to design promotional posters and boxes: these designs are still used today, notably on surprise packets, including those by Jacqueline Duché.

A great lover of books, which he collected, Cyrille Robineau, like his predecessor, maintained close ties with their authors at the end of the 19th century. Boissier products are referenced time and again in literary works and other artistic creations: in the writings of Alexandre Dumas fils, Émile Zola, the Goncourt brothers, and the painter Gustave Émile Couder. The Parisian confectioner embodied luxury and sensuous pleasure for all.

It was a tradition at Maison Boissier, during the New Year season, to name a sweet after that year's success. It was a consecration and an honour for an actress or a theatre to have a Boissier fondant named after them! In 1863, Maison Boissier invented the "Salammbô", a new cream-filled petit-four named after the heroine; oblong in shape, filled with pastry cream, then glazed with sugar. Originally, it was decorated with chopped pistachios placed at both ends of the Salammbô, which was glazed with caramel. This little cake owed its name to Reyer's opera, based on the novel by Gustave Flaubert, which was a great success at the time. Today, the spelling is simplified to "Salambo".

In 1867, in Le Figaro: Boissier was named the favourite confectioner of the imperial upper class — "the sweets of the empire", Princess Mathilde's papillotes, the caramels of the Petit Prince.


In 1879, Marie Duplessis, muse and companion of Alexandre Dumas (who drew on her for La Dame aux Camélias), bought her chocolates and sweets from Boissier for the theatre.

The Sleeping Beauty Awakens

The story could have ended there for this house, dormant since the end of the 20th century, but its acquisition by the founders of the Salon du Chocolat, Sylvie Douce and François Jeantet, brought the sleeping beauty back to life on 14 February 2000: a beautiful Valentine's Day gift for these lovers of exceptional products, who were determined to preserve a gastronomic heritage.


Since its revival, Boissier has worked hard to preserve its unique artisanal know-how by blending tradition and modernity. Its natural, premium confectionery preserves the authentic flavours of its ingredients. Over time, the recipes have been reimagined to diversify the range and offer unusual, innovative creations suited to devoted customers and to a new clientele alike. Likewise, the boxes and packaging have been reissued based on rediscovered Boissier archives (a collection of around 3,000 collector's items from the brand).


Maison Boissier thus offers Candied Chestnuts (Marrons Glacés) in a range of terroirs (Ardèche, Piedmont, Campania, Cognac, Chocolate, Vanilla, Williams Pear and Rum), the famous Boule sweets (Cherry, Lemon, Lime, Orange, Blueberry, Rose, Violet, Poppy...), not forgetting the Froufrous, the Perles Célestes and many other products that have become iconic.