“It’s [chocolates] part of my childhood memories,” shares Jaeger-LeCoultre Made of Maker and chef chocolatier Mathieu Davoine with a grin when quizzed about his first memories of chocolate. Just like Davoine, millions around the world have their first memories of chocolates firmly etched in their childhood. From the first curious, nervous nibble to an almighty mouthful, chocolates encapsulate the magical trifecta of taste, emotions and memories.
For Jaeger-LeCoultre, foraying into the realm of chocolate is an extension of its creative endeavours under its Made of Makers program, bridging La Grande Maison’s values of creativity, expertise, and precision with individuals from disciplines outside of watchmaking. While venturing into gastronomy is not foreign for the Made of Makers program, charting territories in chocolaterie marks Jaeger-LeCoultre’s maiden foray. Not one to shy away from experiments, the Geneva-based Davoine’s approach to chocolate-making pairs tradition with avant-garde techniques, with a dash or two of his otherworldly imagination and creativity. The result is an exceptional take on chocolate that titillates the senses through a visceral combination of visual, flavour and texture.
The 1931 Polo Club at Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Watches and Wonders Geneva booth.
Jaeger-LeCoultre’s partnership with Davoine was formally introduced at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2025, where the chef chocolatier invited guests on an experimental gastronomic journey that pays homage to the origins of the iconic Reverso through La Grande Maison’s theme — 1931 Polo Club. Davoine’s four creations, Harmonie de Chocolat, Galop des Bois, Éclat de Caviar and Douceur du Cavalier, took visual inspiration from the world of polo and incorporated ingredients from Jaeger-LeCoultre’s spiritual home, the Vallée de Joux.
“The Vallée de Joux comprises the mountains, open valleys, prairies, and forests. The first thing that came to mind was to work with mushrooms and forest fruits without necessarily thinking how we would put them all together,” remarked Davoine when asked about the elements that went into his creations in our interview with him in Geneva at Watches and Wonders.
This July, Jaeger-LeCoultre will be introducing the Atelier d’Antoine educational programme in Singapore at its Marina Bay Sands boutique. Celebrating the exclusive launch, guests will have the unique opportunity to attend the Reverso Discovery Workshop and savour Davoine’s chocolate delights which promise to offer an immersive and holistic experience into Jaeger-LeCoultre’s watchmaking universe. The launch event will take place between 10 July – 20 July 2025, visitors can discover more about the experience here.
Your journey with chocolate began long before this collaboration. Can you share your first memories of chocolate and how they shaped your passion for it?
It’s part of my childhood memories — coming home from school and having a square of chocolate with bread, which French schoolchildren do. I first encountered chocolate as a material to work with when I started my professional training as a baker. There are so many ways to handle and experiment with it, and I can say that was when I fell in love with chocolate.
You originally started in baking and pastry before specialising in chocolate. What was it about chocolate that captivated you and made you dedicate yourself to this craft?
Baking and pastry making can be somewhat routine. It’s very repetitive and feels almost like working on an assembly line. On the other hand, chocolate is a material and a product in its own right, with numerous ways to approach it. Of course, you can taste and enjoy its flavour, but you can also admire it in many other ways, such as sculpting a beautiful chocolate sculpture out of it or melting it as a beverage.
Your approach to chocolate-making is often described as both experimental and artistic. How do you view chocolate as a medium for artistry?
There’s both a visual and tactile aspect to it. First, we start with its liquid form; we touch and taste it, and we approach it with all of our different kinds of instincts.
Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Made of Makers program celebrates creativity and craftsmanship across various disciplines. How does it align with your philosophy as a chocolatier?
It was an approach to the flavour aspect but also an approach to Jaeger-LeCoultre’s 1931 Polo Club. I wanted to explore the possibilities that could highlight the different values of chocolate in the context of the 1931 Polo Club.
The relationship between watchmaking and chocolate might not be immediately obvious, yet both require precision, patience, and creativity. How do you see these two worlds intersecting?
First of all, Switzerland is the land of watchmaking and chocolate. Now comes the topic of precision. Obviously, in watchmaking, assembling the various components that go into a watch’s mechanism or complication requires high precision. It’s similar in chocolate making, where we pay attention to temperature and timing; it’s a highly precise process to achieve the [desired] results. Then comes the subject of craftsmanship. It’s about working with your hands and about the things you can create with them. Although watchmaking and chocolate making are two distinct crafts, they’re part of the same world of craftsmanship.
For this collaboration, you’ve crafted a series of chocolate delights inspired by the Vallée de Joux. Could you take us through the elements that guided your choices?
The Vallée de Joux comprises the mountains, open valleys, prairies, and forests. Right away, the first thing that came to mind was to work with mushrooms and forest fruits without necessarily thinking about how we would put them all together. And then, of course, there’s the pollen, hazelnuts and other ingredients that are abundant in Vallée de Joux.
The Vallée de Joux
Of course, numerous experiments were conducted to determine which ingredients and flavour combinations would work. To give you a little backstory, I was offered a jar of honey after my first visit to the Jaeger-LeCoultre manufacture. I thought that was interesting, but since pairing chocolate and honey is something relatively familiar, I decided to take it a step further by working with pollen.
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso is a watch defined by duality and its two dials. Do you see a similar sense of duality in your chocolate creations, whether in flavour, texture, or visual presentation?
You don’t get it often, but it’s true: on one side, you have flavour, and on the other side, you have the visual aspect.
You’ve challenged preconceptions of chocolate with unexpected ingredients like mushrooms, olives, and pollen. How do you know which boundaries to push and which to hold back?
I have no limits; nothing holds me back, but sharing a pastry or chocolate is a matter of involvement with others and a shared experience. Our goal is to surprise people when they look at the menu and for them to remark, “This actually works, and it’s good”, upon tasting it.
You’re preparing for the Culinary World Cup in 2026 and the Culinary Olympics in 2028. What does that mean for you to be representing Switzerland?
First of all, it’s an honour to be selected for the team. Similar to all other challenges, this allows me to push myself to the very top level internationally. And then, of course, there’s the competition with other countries, as well as the encounters with them to experience their food culture and see where Switzerland stands among them. For me, it’s an opportunity for growth, both personally and professionally.
To end on a light note — if you could only eat one type of chocolate for the rest of your life, would it be dark, milk, or white chocolate?
Milk chocolate. It’s a childhood thing for me to eat milk chocolate. You can have them all day long because nothing is overwhelming about it. It’s just really pleasant and easy.
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