Were it not for the Jews, France’s trademark pain au chocolat wouldn’t exist.Fleeing the Inquisition, Portuguese Jews settled in nearby Bayonne in southwestern France in the early 16th century and established there the country’s first chocolate factories. The region’s residents quickly learnt the trade, and by the 17th century the Jews would be evicted again from what was by then France’s chocolate capital.

Next week, however, as part of its annual Chocolate Days festival celebrating the city’s 500-year chocolate tradition, Bayonne will pay homage to these intrepid Sephardi Jewish chocolate pioneers, starting May 10.

“Since we are the inheritors of the Jews’ savoir faire, it was our duty to thank them, but also to restore a historical truth: after they introduced chocolate in France, Bayonne Jewry was gradually evicted from the chocolate industry in the 17th century by the very people who had learned everything from them,” says Jean-Michel Barate, head of the Chocolate Academy and CEO of the Bayonne-based chocolate brand Daranatz.