Mystery Foundry
The Crown of Éclairs case file on a marble pastry counter, the first envelope among a newspaper, a map, a blue kitchen plan and a contact sheet

Case file PA-01

The Crown of Éclairs

Paris, December 1992. A two-star chef unveils his Christmas masterpiece to the press. By evening he's dead, and someone in his kitchen is ready to confess.

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Players
2–6
Time
120–240 minutes
Difficulty
medium
Age
18+

What’s in the file

  • 3 envelopes, opened one at a time
  • 27 papers: reports, letters, statements and photographs
  • About 40 pages to print at home, on A4 or US Letter
  • Hints and the full solution, read on screen

Inside the envelopes

  1. Envelope OneThe Tasting10 papers
    • Briefing letter
    • Letters × 2
    • Crime-scene photograph
    • Police report
    • Floor plan
    • Map
    • Contact sheet
    • Witness statements
    • Fax
  2. Envelope TwoBehind the Pass9 papers
    • Medical report
    • Police report
    • Letters
    • Coded notebook
    • Witness statements × 2
    • Logbook pages
    • Torn paper to fit together
    • Newspaper
  3. Envelope ThreeThe Sealed Reports8 papers
    • Medical report
    • Cut-out overlay
    • Diary pages
    • Receipts and tickets
    • Photograph
    • Logbook pages
    • Witness statements
    • Timeline sheet

On Tuesday 15 December 1992 Armand Delorme, chef of Le Fil d'Or, presented his Christmas showpiece to the Paris press and was found dead in his office that evening. His English widow cannot read the investigating judge's file, so her avocat has had it translated and sent to you. Read it for her, and tell her who must answer for her husband's death.

Content: A food-allergy reaction and one death by poisoning, off the page, no gore; champagne and cigarettes

From the file

Hold the lens over a page to read it; pull a picture and it swings on its thread.Tap a page to put the lens on it, and drag the lens to read.

A white marble pastry counter at night with a plate of chocolate éclairs, a piping bag, cocoa powder and a brass magnifying glass
Black-and-white photograph of a crown of éclairs on its board in a restaurant kitchen
Black-and-white photograph of a pastry cook taking trays of choux pastry out of the oven
Le Couvert, a Paris weekly, on the death of a two-star chef
Le Faubourg à pied, a walking map of the restaurant's quarter of Paris

Written and illustrated with the help of AI tools, from our own story, prompts and edits, and checked by us.