Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse, the Paris-born chocolate specialty shop from French chef Alain Ducasse, opens its first Kyushu boutique — and seventh in Japan — at Iwataya Honten on Wednesday, September 16, 2026.
The boutique is joined by sister brand Le Biscuit Alain Ducasse, a biscuit specialty shop. Alongside the traditionally crafted, artisanal chocolates, the shop brings together premium biscuits baked with a chef's approach to technique.
To mark the opening, the boutique will offer special chocolates made with amaou, a premium strawberry variety that Fukuoka is known for, alongside limited-edition cookies. An eat-in space is also attached, where all three soft-serve ice cream flavors can be enjoyed on the spot.
Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse Iwataya Honten — Limited Item
Bonbon Chocolat Découverte, Box of 6 (6 varieties) (Fraise Verveine)
An assortment of bonbon chocolats featuring a flavor created exclusively for Iwataya Honten.
The limited flavor, "Fraise Verveine," is a ganache pairing amaou — Fukuoka's signature premium strawberry — with verbena (lemon verbena), an herb prized for its refreshing aroma. The cooling brightness of verbena that lifts off the palate on first bite, paired with the gentle sweetness of amaou that unfolds afterward, comes together in two versions: Chocolat Noir (75% cacao) and Chocolat au Lait (40% cacao). Rounding out the box of six are the brand's signature "Ganache Origin" in two varieties (Madagascar and Peru), and two "Praliné à l'Ancienne" made with the Tokyo workshop's pleasingly textured house-made praliné.
Product name: Bonbon Chocolat Découverte, Box of 6 (6 varieties) (Fraise Verveine)
Price: ¥3,996 (tax included)
On sale from: September 16 (Wednesday), while supplies last
Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse — Product Examples
Découverte, Box of 15 (12 varieties) ¥7,776 (tax included)
Mendiant Noir 75% Almond / Fig / Orange Confit ¥4,536 (tax included)
Gâteau de Voyage, Box of 5 ¥2,700 (tax included)
Macaron Chocolat, Box of 3 (Framboise / Passion / Thai) ¥3,456 (tax included)
Le Biscuit Alain Ducasse Iwataya Honten — Limited Item
To mark the Iwataya Honten opening, a limited quantity of cookie and chocolate assortments popular at the Tokyo workshop will be available.
The moist, richly baked cookie dough is made generously with fragrant butter, hand-churned by artisans in France's Loire region. Chocolate from sister brand Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse is worked in, along with select Italian pistachios and hazelnuts and juicy orange confit from Soveria, Corsica.
Each bite brings together the rich aroma of butter with the character of every ingredient, for a cookie with a full, layered flavor.
Product name: Cookie, Box of 8 (4 varieties)
Price: ¥6,480 (tax included)
*Prices may change due to fluctuations in imported ingredient costs.
On sale from: September 16 (Wednesday), while supplies last
Contents:
Chocolat Noisette Caramélisé — A cookie topped with caramelized Italian hazelnuts and chocolate.
Chocolat Orange — A chocolate cookie dough topped with orange confit and 75% cacao chocolate.
Chocolat Pistache Caramélisé — A cookie topped with caramelized pistachio and chocolate.
Cookie Chocolat Coco — A chocolate cookie dough topped with pecans, almonds, and coconut.
Le Biscuit Alain Ducasse — Product Examples
Carré Pur Beurre Origin, Box of 9 (2 varieties) ¥4,860 (tax included)
Biscuit Hexa, Box of 10 (5 varieties) ¥5,400 (tax included)
Pur Beurre & Bar Céréales, Box of 20 (2 varieties) ¥8,208 (tax included)
Soft-Serve Ice Cream
The attached eat-in space offers three soft-serve flavors: a pure, fruity Chocolat made from cacao; a milky Pur Beurre with a buttery aroma; and a Mixed flavor combining the two.
Product name: Soft-serve ice cream
Price: Eat-in ¥1,210 each / Takeout ¥1,188 each (tax included)
Flavors (from left):
Chocolat — Made with couverture chocolate that highlights the flavor of cacao. Free of dairy, letting the pure, fruity character of cacao come through directly.
Chocolat & Biscuit — A mix of the buttery Pur Beurre and cacao-forward Chocolat, topped with cookie chocolate pieces and a geometric-patterned 75% cacao chocolate for a balance of smoothness and rich cacao.
Pur Beurre — The buttery Pur Beurre biscuit reimagined as soft-serve, finished with crunchy スブリ pieces and a hazelnut biscuit topping. The milky finish carries a warm, toasted butter aroma.
Boutique Overview
Store name: Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse / Le Biscuit Alain Ducasse, Iwataya Honten
Address: Iwataya Honten B2, 2-5-35 Tenjin, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka 810-8680
Phone: 03-5614-5313
Opening date: Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Seating: 4 seats
About Chef Alain Ducasse
Alain Ducasse
Born in 1956 in the Landes region of France, Ducasse grew up on a farm, developing his palate from an early age in an environment rich with the land's bounty. He entered the culinary world at 16, training under renowned chefs including Michel Guérard and Alain Chapelle, before being appointed head chef of "Le Louis XV" inside Monaco's luxury Hôtel de Paris in 1988. In 1990, at age 33, the restaurant earned three Michelin stars — the first time a hotel restaurant had achieved the feat.
In 1998, his Paris restaurant "Alain Ducasse" also earned three stars, giving him six stars at once and cementing his role as a leading figure in French cuisine over the following decades. Even after stepping back from the kitchen, he has continued shaping recipes, interior design, tableware, and kitchen design, overseeing roughly 30 restaurants across 8 countries, from bistros to three-star establishments. He also founded Ducasse Education, an international institute for culinary and pastry arts dedicated to passing on French culinary traditions and training the next generation, and has developed a range of ventures in the food service and hospitality industry, including artisan-crafted chocolate, cafe, and biscuit and ice cream workshops.
Patrick Pailleux — Asia Executive Chef Chocolatier & Pâtissier
After serving as Executive Pastry Chef at Fauchon Paris and Executive Pastry Chef of the confectionery creation division at Café Pouchkine in Paris, Pailleux was appointed Executive Chef Chocolatier & Pâtissier of Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse in September 2021. Since October 2024, he has also overseen Le Biscuit Alain Ducasse, directing the chocolate, pâtisserie, and baked confection divisions along with biscuit production at the Tokyo workshop, bringing his technical skill and creativity to expressing the world of both brands.
About the Brands
Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse
A Paris-born chocolate specialty shop from French chef Alain Ducasse. In March 2018, the brand opened its first chocolate workshop outside France, in Nihonbashi, Tokyo. Cacao beans are carefully selected from around the world, and every step from roasting to finished chocolate is carried out using traditional techniques passed down over generations, at workshops in both Paris and Tokyo. Each batch is crafted slowly and carefully to bring out the character of its origin.
The brand currently shares its chocolate through six boutiques across Japan — the Tokyo workshop, Nihonbashi Takashimaya, Daimaru Shinsaibashi, Haneda Airport Terminals 1 and 2, and Shibuya Scramble Square — along with an online boutique. The Tokyo workshop is home to "Le Salon," a dessert salon offering eat-in chocolate desserts and drinks, while Shibuya Scramble Square and Daimaru Shinsaibashi offer soft-serve ice cream and drinks in their eat-in spaces.
Official website: https://lechocolat-alainducasse.jp/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lechocolatalainducassejapan/
Le Biscuit Alain Ducasse
A biscuit specialty shop opened in Paris in September 2022 by Alain Ducasse, one of the world's most renowned chefs. In October 2024, the brand made its first move outside France with "Le Biscuit Alain Ducasse Tokyo" in Nihonbashi, Tokyo. Ducasse's pursuit of flavor as a master craftsman comes through in biscuits made with uncompromising ingredient selection, skilled craftsmanship, and precise recipes designed to bring out the character of each ingredient, resulting in layered textures and depth of flavor. A distinctive feature of the brand is its use of house-made chocolate, ganache, and praliné from the Le Chocolat Alain Ducasse workshop.
Official website: https://lechocolat-alainducasse.jp/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lebiscuitalainducassejapan/
