At Geneva’s Most Prestigious Watch Fair, a Chocolatier Challenges Convention

Today, Swiss luxury timepiece brands, alongside international retailers and horological aficionados, descended upon Geneva’s Palexpo for the annual Watches & Wonders trade show—a showcase of new releases from many of the biggest names in the business. Joining them was chef Mathieu Davoine, who arrived to the convention center for a different sort of debut. Davoine, the head chocolatier at the haute pâtisserie Othmane Khoris, designed a chocolate tasting menu for Jaeger-LeCoultre’s 1931 Café. Though we may all be familiar with Swiss chocolate’s rich reputation, Davoine’s creations defy expectation.

The chocolatier, a member of the Swiss Culinary National Team, set to compete in the 2026 Culinary World Cup, was commissioned by Jaeger-LeCoultre to investigate the artistry behind chocolate as part of their Made of Makers program. Davoine developed four unique pieces, incorporating unexpected ingredients from Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux, along with a beverage from the frequently discarded cacao pod pulp. His intention was to use 100 percent of the pod, and push sensorial boundaries by crafting optical illusions that trick the senses.

“Chocolate is so complex and so variable,” Davoine tells Surface. “It can take any type of form—you can sculpt it, you can paste it, it can be liquid or solid. It evolves through time and it’s entirely ephemeral.” Davoine’s degustation begins with the Harmonie de Chocolat, an appetizer of layered dark chocolate mousse. It continues with the Galop des Bois, a crisp blend of chocolate, vanilla, fruits, hazelnuts, and porcini mushrooms. This is followed by the Éclat de Caviar, a marriage of chocolate and black olive tapenade, with shoots of Vallée de Joux fir trees; it’s served in a tin and reminiscent of caviar pearls. Finally, there’s the Douceur du Cavalier, Davoine’s take on the petit écolier, though incorporating pollen and meadowsweet jelly.

The surprisingly refreshing beverage, which tastes of banana and lychee, isn’t a pairing component, but a palette cleanser used between bites. “I didn’t know right away that it was going to be a four-course menu,” Davoine says. “It came during the testing process as we went through the individual blends. It became clear that it would be more interesting to present it like a cafe gourmand, a beverage with desserts alongside and an evolution of flavors. The order was very well thought through.”

As for the olive tapenade (a step beyond olive oil, which the chef says is commonly used in chocolates) and the pollen (which he arrived at after thinking about the way honey is sometimes included), Davoine says his inspiration came first from images of the Vallée de Joux, and the forests and prairies of the famous watchmaking region. “The idea of the flavors that I was seeking came to me, then I went looking for them,” he says.

All four chocolates allude to elements of the Reverso wristwatch and its origins in the world of polo. It was part of the challenge that came with the commission. The Made of Makers program, now in its fourth year, has been designed to ask “what is art?” and underscoring that, “is watchmaking an art form?” Davoine, like others selected for the series over the years, is highly skilled and unconventional—though he’s the first to sculpt an experience from the many states of chocolate.