With the highly anticipated reopening of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral taking place on December 7 and 8 following a fire devastating the French landmark in 2019, Valrhona is celebrating by unveiling a monumental chocolate masterpiece.

The chocolate sculpture is on display at Terminal 1 of Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport now through January 15, 2025, highlighting an exclusive collaboration between Extime Duty Free Paris, Lagardère Travel Retail and Valrhona.

Created by Baptiste Moreau, an instructor at L'École Valrhona, alongside the team from École Valrhona Paris under the direction of Thierry Bridon, this sculpture pays tribute to the iconic Gothic architecture of the cathedral. It measures 2.20 meters long, 1.50 meters wide and 1.40 meters high, and was designed in collaboration with architect Philippe Velu (Tandem company).

The sculpture, which required nearly 3,000 hours of work from design to assembly, reproduces the intricate details of the cathedral, thanks to the digitization of plans and waterjet chocolate cutting techniques performed by Hydroprocess. Sculptures, such as the gargoyles and the rose window, were handcrafted by the pastry chefs of L'École Valrhona and Baptiste Moreau.