WEBSITE PUBLISHER
The www.citeduchocolat.com website is the property of the Valrhona company.
Registered office: 14 Avenue du Président Roosevelt - 26600 Tain l'Hermitage
Share capital: 1,539,990.00 euros
EU VAT number: FR79435480520
Romans Trade and Companies Register (RCS) number: 435 480 520
Individual business ID number (SIRET): 435480520 00012
Telephone: +33 (0)4 75 09 27 27
Email: webmaster@valrhona.fr
Address: 12, Avenue du Président Roosevelt - 26600 Tain l'Hermitage
The person responsible for this publication is Franck Vidal, in his capacity as director of the Cité du Chocolat.
WEB HOSTING
Company: Agence NetDesign
Registered office: ZAC Valparc
Telephone: +33 (0)4 50 244 244
Email: info@agencenetdesign.com
Website: www.agencenetdesign.com
PRIVACY POLICY
The person responsible for the processing of personal data is Franck Vidal.
Under Article 3 of the French Data Protection Act of 6 January 1978, you have the right to access, correct, amend and delete your personal data. You can exercise this right simply by sending us an email or a letter.
WEBSITE CONTENT AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
The information provided on www.citeduchocolat.com is for information purposes only.
The www.citeduchocolat.com website cannot guarantee that the information on the site is accurate, complete or current. Said information may contain technical inaccuracies or typographic errors. It may be amended periodically, and changes will be incorporated in later editions of the website.
The www.citeduchocolat.com website may at any time, and without any warning, make improvements or changes to the products, programmes and services described on it.
It is prohibited to fully or partly reproduce, represent, amend, publish, transmit or alter the website or its content, by any means and in any medium whatsoever.
Any unauthorised exploitation of the site, its content, or the information disclosed on it would render the user liable and constitute passing-off, punishable under Articles L 335-2 et seq of the French Intellectual Property Code.
This also applies to the databases that may be contained on the www.citeduchocolat.com website, which are protected by the provisions of the law of 1 July 1998 on the transposition into the French Intellectual Property Code of the European Directive of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases. In this respect, any reproduction or extraction would render the user liable.
The www.citeduchocolat.com website gives access to other sites via hypertext links. As www.citeduchocolat.com does not manage these sites, it cannot control their content. Consequently, the www.citeduchocolat.com website cannot in any event be held liable for the content of the accordingly accessible sites, or for any collection or transmission of personal data, loading of cookies, or any other process with the same purpose, carried out by these sites.
This website is optimised for screens with 1024 x 768 resolution, and for Internet Explorer (version 7 or later) and Firefox browsers.
PHOTOS
Jérome Bryon/Les gens de l'atelier - Chemin du Mas rouge - 34970 Lattes
Philippe Barret - 13 Avenue du Commandant Corlu - 26260 Saint Donat
Laurent Vu - 12 Rue Raymond Aron - 75013 Paris
Quinard photographe - 26 Rue Fléchier - 13001 Marseille
Ginko Jean-Bernard LASSARA - Rue Claude Bernard - 26109 Romans sur Isère
Peter Lippmann - 5 Rue Duc - 75018 Paris
YIN - 52 Avenue des Champs Elysées - 75008 Paris
Denis Chapouillé - 4 Place de l'Amphithéâtre - 75014 Paris
Mathieu Cellard - 35 Quai Fulchiron - 69005 Lyon
Mir Photo - 38 Rue de Berri 75008 Paris
WEBSITE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
Article 1 - Application and enforceability of the General Terms & Conditions of Sale
Application and enforceability of the General Terms & Conditions of Sale
of Valrhona, a simplified joint stock company (société par actions simplifiée) with share capital of 1,539,990 euros, having its registered office at 14-18 Avenue du Président Roosevelt, 26600 Tain L’Hermitage, and being listed on the Trade and Companies Register of Romans (RCS Romans) under number 435 480 520, hereinafter referred to as “the Valrhona Cité du Chocolat” or “Valrhona” or “the Cité du Chocolat”, provides services that are delivered at its Cité du Chocolat (ticketing, pastry training courses, discovery workshops, etc.) for consumers, and which are presented on its website: www.citeduchocolat.com.
The content of the services and the training venues, dates, times and prices are presented on the website.
In placing an order orally, in writing, or by fax, email or electronic data interchange, the Customer is deemed to agree fully and unreservedly to the present General Terms & Conditions of Sale, irrespective of his nationality.
Said conditions take precedence over any other document such as brochures, catalogues, etc. issued by Valrhona and which are for guidance only. No special condition can take precedence over the present General Terms & Conditions of Sale unless Valrhona gives its prior written consent.
For any online order, the Customer’s agreement takes the form of his electronic signature, confirmed by the “validation click”. This electronic signature carries the value of a hand-written signature between the parties. The Customer, by performing this two-step process, is deemed to acknowledge that he is fully acquainted with the conditions set out below, and that he fully agrees with them.
Any contrary condition set by the Customer, failing express written consent by us, shall not be binding on Valrhona, irrespective of when it was brought to Valrhona’s attention. The fact that Valrhona does not avail itself at a given moment of any of the present General Terms & Conditions of Sale cannot be deemed a waiver of its right to subsequently avail itself of said condition or of any other of the conditions.
Article 2 - Sale of Valrhona Cité du Chocolat Services
1. Ticketing and Discovery Trail
Entry tickets for the Valrhona Cité du Chocolat can be purchased in two ways: at the ticket desk of the Cité du Chocolat, at 12 Avenue du Président Roosevelt 26600 Tain l’Hermitage; or on the www.citeduchocolat.com website.
Tickets purchased at the “physical” ticket desk of the Cité du Chocolat cost a “normal” price after 12 noon or a “morning discount” price before 12 noon.
Tickets purchased on the website cost the all-day “web” price.
All prices are listed on the www.citeduchocolat.com website.
2. Pastry Workshops and Courses at the École Gourmet of the Valrhona Cité du Chocolat
People can enrol for pastry workshops and courses on Valrhona’s website (www.citeduchocolat.com) or by telephone (+33 (0)4 75 09 27 27), subject to availability and to Cité du Chocolat opening hours.
People can enrol as long as bookings for the workshop or course remain open on the Cité du Chocolat website.
Enrolment becomes final upon receipt of service payment (by Bank Card or presentation of an original Gift Voucher), on the date when the Cité du Chocolat sends a confirmation email. The Cité du Chocolat reserves the right to cancel the booking at any time if the Customer’s bank details are incorrect.
Should one or more services prove unavailable after order placement, the Cité du Chocolat shall notify the Customer as soon as possible by a telephone call, which may be followed by a confirmation email or letter. The Cité du Chocolat shall propose a new date to replace the cancelled service, subject to availability, and the Customer may either cancel his order and have any payment refunded, or agree to the proposed new date.
3. Gift Vouchers
The Cité du Chocolat also sells Gift Vouchers.
The Gift Voucher is a method of payment that its recipient can use to purchase one or more courses sold by the École Gourmet of the Cité du Chocolat, in accordance with the conditions set out below.
The Gift Voucher is issued by the Cité du Chocolat in Tain l’Hermitage, and is redeemable only at said venue. It is valid for one year, effective from the date of issue, with no possible extension or exchange against any goods whatsoever (chocolate, books, etc.).
The Gift Voucher is redeemable for the service for which it was issued.
The Gift Voucher is transferrable. It can be purchased by one person, the “buyer”, and redeemed by a third party, the “beneficiary”.
The Gift Voucher is redeemable throughout its period of validity. Beneficiaries must use their Gift Voucher number(s) when purchasing a service, online (see paragraph 1) or at the Cité ticket desk. The redemption of Gift Vouchers outside of the period of validity cannot be deemed a method of paying for the chosen service, and the ordering of this service will therefore be invoiced.
Gift Vouchers can be purchased either at the Cité du Chocolat, at 12 Avenue du Président Roosevelt – 26600 Tain l’Hermitage – France; on the www.citeduchocolat.com website; or by post to the above address, stating the purchaser’s name, the voucher beneficiary’s name, and the voucher delivery address.
For orders placed by post, you must enclose payment for the value of the Gift Voucher as listed on our website or in our presentation brochure.
Gift Vouchers will only be delivered after the full order value has been paid into our account.
Gift Vouchers are sent to the delivery address provided when the order is placed. It is advisable to give a full address to which the document can be delivered. The delivery times stated when the order is placed are averages, provided for guidance only, and may vary according to the destination. Should delivery of a Gift Voucher be delayed because of the postal service, the Valrhona Cité du Chocolat cannot be held liable. Gift Voucher numbers will be used as discount-voucher numbers for sales on the www.citeduchocolat.com website.
Article 3 - Prices and Terms of Payment
The price applicable to each service or ticket is the one listed on the date of booking on the www.citeduchocolat.com website.
Prices are in euros and include VAT.
Payment of the service or ticket on our website is due once the order has been validated, in accordance with the following conditions:
Any enrolment that is not paid for by this time, either by payment or by a Gift Voucher, will be cancelled.
Payment on the Cité du Chocolat booking website can be made with a bank card or with a valid Cité du Chocolat Gift Voucher. In the latter case, the purchaser or beneficiary undertakes to send us the Gift Voucher number by way of payment.
Bank cards issued by banks based outside France must be international bank cards.
Article 4 - Conditions of Cancellation
1. Right of withdrawal
Under the provisions of Article L 221-18 of the French Consumer Code, the Customer has a statutory right to a period of 14 days, starting from the date of the confirmation email sent by the Cité du Chocolat, to exercise his right of withdrawal without having to give reasons or pay a penalty, except for the cost of returning the Gift Voucher.
2. Cancellation of Cité du Chocolat services
The Cité du Chocolat reserves the right to cancel a service when the minimum number of participants is not reached, up to seven calendar days before the service provision date. In this event, the Cité du Chocolat shall propose a new date to replace the cancelled service, insofar as availability allows.
Should the Customer cancel more than six calendar days before the workshop or course date, the Cité du Chocolat shall refund prepayments made online.
In the event of the Customer cancelling six calendar days or less before the service provision date or of a NO SHOW, payment for the workshop or course will not be refunded.
Unless the right of withdrawal set out in paragraph 1 above is exercised, any non-consumption of a service decided by the Customer shall give rise to no refund, except in the event of force majeure, proof of which must be provided to the Cité du Chocolat (medical certificate, etc.).
An event of force majeure is deemed to be any external factor that the Customer cannot anticipate or control (weather preventing any travel, Customer illness, death of a relative, etc.).
3. Cancellation of Gift Vouchers
Unless the right of withdrawal set out in paragraph 1 above is exercised, any Gift Voucher not redeemed during its one-year validity period cannot be refunded or give rise to any equivalent compensation.
The one-year period mentioned above takes effect on the date when the Gift Voucher order is recorded (i.e. its issue date) by the purchaser or beneficiary.
In the event of the Customer benefiting from a Gift Voucher cancelling on grounds other than force majeure, six calendar days or less before the service provision date, or of a Customer No Show, the Gift Voucher will be considered to have been redeemed and cannot be presented again for provision of a subsequent service.
Gift Vouchers cannot be resold.
Article 5 – Customised/Group Service
To enrol for a customised group service, a specific booking request must be made to the Valrhona Cité du Chocolat.
The Cité du Chocolat reserves the right to reject this request if the dates requested by the participants are not compatible with the master schedule of Cité du Chocolat activities. In this case, the Cité will make every effort to propose another date for this service.
The General Terms & Conditions of Sale specific to customised group services are available by request from the Cité du Chocolat‘s Groups Department at cite@valrhona.fr or +33 (0)4 75 09 27 27.
Article 6 - Liability
The Cité du Chocolat reserves the right to cancel a service in the event of force majeure, and cannot be held liable for such a cancellation.
The Customer acknowledges and accepts that the supply of products for training courses is subject to market fluctuations, particularly certain seasonal or exceptional products.
Accordingly the Customer agrees that the Cité du Chocolat may make adjustments to a recipe initially planned for a given workshop or course in line with product availability. When such adjustments do not fundamentally alter the recipe or its spirit, the class is maintained and the price thereof will not be fully or partly refunded.
When market fluctuations force the Cité du Chocolat to fundamentally alter the proposed recipe, the Cité du Chocolat reserves the right to cancel the booked course and to reschedule it later. The Cité du Chocolat shall notify the Customer of said decision as soon as possible, shall reschedule the course at a later date, and shall reserve a place on it for the Customer if he so wishes: accordingly, the Customer may either cancel his order and have any payment refunded or accept the new date proposed to him.
The Cité du Chocolat’s services (courses, workshops, etc.) involve the Customer’s active participation at times. He agrees to be careful and to adhere to the health and safety instructions given to him by the Cité du Chocolat so that the workshop or course runs properly.
The Cité du Chocolat cannot be held liable for any harm or loss of personal possessions brought by the Customer. At the end of the workshop or course, any Customer wishing to reproduce a recipe proposed by the Cité du Chocolat does so under his own responsibility and subject to compliance with Valrhona’s intellectual property rights and with the provisions of Article 8 below. It is incumbent on him to ensure that no risk arises from preparing the recipe or from consuming the products that he acquired himself. The Cité du Chocolat cannot be held liable for the result of a recipe made by the Customer, under his own responsibility, on the grounds that it had previously been proposed in a course.
The Cité du Chocolat ensures that its documents or files reproduce the main information enabling the Customer, in conjunction with the teaching dispensed by the École Gourmet of the Cité du Chocolat during the workshop or course, to make the recipe proposed during it.
The Customer may take away the cakes, pastries and chocolates made during the course or workshop in order to consume them outside of the École Gourmet of the Cité du Chocolat, under his own responsibility. These cakes, pastries and chocolates must be kept chilled and eaten quickly. The Cité du Chocolat cannot be held liable for any harm arising from the consumption of cakes, pastries and chocolates prepared in one of its teaching kitchens and eaten off the premises.
The Customer is bound to notify the Cité du Chocolat’s members of any potential allergy he is subject to. Should he not mention said problem, the Cité du Chocolat declines all liability in the event of an allergic reaction to one of the products or ingredients used.
Article 7 – Intellectual Property
The documents published by our departments are intended for individual use, and cannot be reproduced or distributed. The Customer undertakes to not produce any copies of, and to not distribute in paper or electronic form, without the Cité du Chocolat’s written consent, the content of the recipes or booklets provided within the scope of the service. Unless the holder of the protected right gives prior written consent, any other use constitutes passing-off and is punishable under the French Intellectual Property Code.
All of the content available on the www.citeduchocolat.com website (in particular the texts, pictures, videos, photos, sounds, music, software, recipes and more generally all types of data) is protected by the French Intellectual Property Code.
Valrhona holds the copyright covering all these items. Valrhona also holds the rights recognised by the French Intellectual Property Code in respect of the producer of databases, under Articles L 341-1 et seq of the French Intellectual Property Code.
Any full or partial reproduction, representation, adaptation, translation, distribution, broadcast or transfer to another site of these items is prohibited without Valrhona’s prior written consent.
In an exception to the above, the following are authorised:
• reproduction, representation and publication of the content items on the www.citeduchocolat.com website for the purposes of illustrating a press article, subject to written consent from the communications or marketing departments of the Cité du Chocolat or of Valrhona.
• reproduction, representation and publication of the recipes proposed by the École Gourmet of the Cité du Chocolat for wholly private or non-commercial use, subject to respecting the paternity of the recipe by stating at the bottom of the recipe distribution or presentation medium, in a visible and legible manner, the words “recipe by the École Gourmet of the Cité du Chocolat”.
The denominations the Cité du Chocolat, the École Gourmet of the Cité du Chocolat, Le Comptoir Porcelana and the logos of these entities and of the proposed products and services are brand names filed and registered by Valrhona. Using them requires the prior written consent of the Valrhona Cité du Chocolat or of Valrhona. Creating a hyperlink to a page of the www.citeduchocolat.com website is subject to the prior written consent of Valrhona’s communications department. In any event, such a hyperlink must be sufficiently clear and be preceded by the denomination “Valrhona Cité du Chocolat services” and the address of the www.citeduchocolat.com website. Valrhona reserves the right to delete the link if the source website is contrary to the editorial line of the www.citeduchocolat.com website.
Article 8 - Confidentiality and Personal Data
The information collected when a service or ticket is booked undergoes computer processing intended to ensure the booking is better monitored. The Cité du Chocolat takes care to keep these data confidential. They are not communicated to any business partners or other third parties without the Customer’s express prior consent.
The information that the web user communicates when using the www.citeduchocolat.com website undergoes computer processing intended to ensure the customer relationship is better monitored. The Cité du Chocolat takes care to keep these data confidential. They are not communicated to any potential business partners or other third parties without the web user’s express prior consent.
The collected information can be used by the Cité du Chocolat to subsequently make sales offers to the web user and to keep him informed of the products, services and events proposed by the Cité du Chocolat or by Valrhona.
The www.citeduchocolat.com website and the file of data collected from it are registered with the French Data Protection Authority (CNIL) under number 752139.
In accordance with the French Data Protection Act of 6 January 1978, amended in 2004, the web user has the right to access and amend information on him, and may exercise said right by writing to: La Cité du Chocolat Valrhona, 26600 Tain l’Hermitage, France.
Article 9 - Legal Notices
Access to the www.citeduchocolat.com website and use of its content are subject to the conditions below. Accessing and browsing the website constitute unreserved acceptance of said conditions.
The present terms and conditions of use may be amended at any time. Once amendments are published, they are deemed to have been accepted by the web user using the site should he place an order after said publication.
Article 10 - Website Content
The Cité du Chocolat makes every effort to offer the website’s users high-quality information that is accessible under optimal technical conditions.
However, it should be noted that the information and recipes are provided for guidance and information only.
The result of a recipe depends largely on the skill of the person making it. Making a recipe proposed by the École Gourmet of the Cité du Chocolat on its website is the responsibility of the user or third party who makes it. It is incumbent on said parties to ensure that no risk arises from the preparation of the recipe or from the consumption of products that he has acquired himself. The Cité du Chocolat cannot be held liable for the result of a recipe made by the user under his own responsibility, on the grounds that it was provided on the www.citeduchocolat.com website.
Despite all the care paid to the content of this website, the Cité du Chocolat cannot guarantee that the information on the site is accurate, exhaustive or current, or that it complies with the web user’s intended use thereof. Consequently, the web user acknowledges that he uses said information under his sole responsibility.
Article 11 - Technical Operation of Website
The Cité du Chocolat website is accessible at all times.
Access to all or part of the website may be suspended or stopped in the event of force majeure, computing problems, problems relating to the structure of telecommunications networks, technical problems, or for maintenance purposes, without it being possible to deem the Cité du Chocolat liable.
Article 12 – Governing Law – Disputes – Jurisdiction
The present General Terms & Conditions of Sale are governed by French law.
Any claim relating to a service of the Cité du Chocolat must be made in writing, by email or by telephone to the customer service department of the Cité du Chocolat, 12 Avenue du Président Roosevelt - 26600 Tain l’Hermitage – France, cite@valrhona.fr, +33 (0)4 75 09 27 27. The information given on the www.citeduchocolat.com website may be used as proof of communications between the parties, of bookings made by the Customer, and of transactions between the Cité du Chocolat and the Customer.
Furthermore, under the provisions of Article L 612-1 of the French Consumer Code, the Customer has the right to seek recourse free of charge to a consumer affairs mediator with a view to amicably settling his dispute with the Valrhona Cité du Chocolat. To this end, we guarantee to the Customer actual recourse to a consumer affairs mediation scheme, and within this framework, the Customer may refer his case to the consumer affairs mediator (currently being appointed).
It should be noted that, under Article L 612-2 of the French Consumer Code, a dispute may not be examined by the consumer affairs mediator when:
1° The consumer cannot provide evidence of having made a prior attempt to resolve the dispute directly with the business through a written complaint, in accordance with the process possibly stipulated in the contract;
2° The request is manifestly baseless or unreasonable;
3° The dispute has been examined previously or is being examined by another mediator or by a court;
4° The consumer has filed his request to the mediator more than one year after his written complaint to the business;
5° The dispute does not fall within the mediator’s remit.
In such cases, the mediator notifies the consumer within three weeks of receiving his application that he has rejected his request for mediation.
Article 13 - Customer Service
You may contact the Cité du Chocolat using the details below:
- By post: Cité du Chocolat, 12 Avenue du Président Roosevelt - 26600 Tain l’Hermitage
- By email: cite@valrhona.fr
- By phone: + 33 (0)4 75 09 27 27