Scarcity dopes desire, which might be why Parisian pastry maestro and chocolatier Jacques Genin, whom many of the world’s most discerning sweet tooths judge to be the best in Gaul, has reeled in his sublime pastries. Now they’re only available by order at his shop and salon in the Marais, and his Left Bank store in the Rue Vaneau. But this little inconvenience won’t stop anyone who’s ever eaten one of his sublime Paris-Brest pastries, lime-curd tarts, or millefeuille from jumping through hoops to get one again. Genin is a pastry genius, and he puts all of his energy into his exquisite pastries and chocolates instead of P.R. and super-stardom. Stop by either shop for the world’s best caramels, chestnut-honey chocolates, mint-infused chocolate ganache, or basil-spiked chocolates. —Alexander Lobrano

Alexander Lobrano is a Writer at Large at AIR MAIL. His latest book is the gastronomic coming-of-age story My Place at the Table: A Recipe for a Delicious Life in Paris