The Table Gourmet

Révillon papillotes are an essential French holiday tradition, consisting of assorted premium chocolates or fruit jellies wrapped in fringed, shiny foil. Each candy contains a "message" paper featuring a famous quotation, riddle, or cartoon. Founded in Lyon in 1898, Révillon is the leading "papillote" chocolatier. Legend says the candy was created in 1790 by a chocolate-maker named Papillot, whose apprentice used to wrap stolen chocolates in love letters to send to his sweetheart. Today, they are synonymous with the arrival of the Christmas season in France and are commonly used to fill advent calendars or decorate holiday tables.