The long opening hours – from 6.30am to 8pm – makes Chocolat the place to go in Gassino for everything from breakfast to evening drinks. The pastry chef Simone Salerno is from Siena in Tuscany and moved to Piedmont a few years ago with his wife Alessandra Porta, who helps him run this bar-patisserie. Simone’s chocolate is French-inspired and he pays great attention to the presentation of his products. The petite patisserie is evolving constantly and recipes change with the seasons in combinations that include chocolate, bergamot and red berry fruit, for example, and lemon and hazelnut. Then come éclairs, chocolates, macarons and, at Christmas, panettone, always crated with a touch of originality. Breakfasts are particularly lavish with a number of different takes on the croissant, from classic French to coffee and mango cream-filled to Italian-style cornetto. Simone’s latest passion is his speciality bread, a limited daily production of ½ kilo mini-French loaves studded with pumpkin and sesame seeds, Taggiasca olives, blueberries, onions and dried tomatoes.
***
