The traditional Biscuiterie Louvat is moving into Ô Bon Pain

 

 

Founded in 1954 by Maurice Louvat, the biscuit factory is nestled at the foot of the Alps in a factory on a human scale. Behind the scenes, a team of small hands work with care and passion to create quality products for gourmets like you and us!

 

After the health crisis, Christelle Ivangine Bogey longed for a return to simplicity and a human touch. Driven by her ambition, she bought the biscuit factory and modernised it, giving it a new image in line with current expectations and closer to Louvat customers.

 

 

The Louvat teams work hard every day to create new recipes, some of them original, but always tasty. Having tasted them, the products are all excellent, but a selection had to be made in the bakery...

 

At Ô Bon Pain, you can find the famous meringues en gouttes Louvat. The recipe is simple: 24% free-range Rhône-Alpes egg whites, homemade icing sugar to avoid the starch found in industrial products and a pinch of salt! Strawberry, blueberry, lemon or orange, all the flavours are natural and made with 95% fruit. The same goes for the colourings: although Le Pélican uses more technical terms, we're talking about ingredients with colouring properties (IPC) made from fruit, vegetables and plants.

 

There are also palets made with almond powder and natural flavourings. Like meringues, they have very few ingredients: egg yolk, almond powder, sugar and flour. The aim was to create a simple little biscuit that could be dipped in tea if you wished, or eaten as is. Available in 80g and 100g for those with a sweet tooth ;)

 

 

And when it's time for an aperitif, Louvat also offers you its aperitif biscuits! Beaufort, Parmesan or wild garlic, there's something for everyone.

 

 

Le Pélican had the opportunity to discover Louvat's manufacturing secrets during a privileged visit (but open to the public! Just go to their website) and spoiler alert: everything is top-notch because Louvat shares many values in common with the house.

 

The ingredients used are sourced as much as possible in France, from local farmers and craftsmen; the Beaufort comes from the Beaufortain cellar, and the flour comes from the Moulins du Bions, 40 km from the biscuit factory.

 

Product quality is an essential criterion for Louvat, who have recently moved upmarket with their flour, switching from T55/65 flour (as found in the shops) to T80 and T110 in order to have more fibre in the biscuits. Beyond the pleasure, it's always preferable to have a sweet with interesting nutritional values.

 

Just like our teams, the biscuit factory pays close attention to the seasonal nature of its products. Red berries are harvested in summer and ground into powder for use throughout the year in Louvat recipes. On the other hand, when there is a shortage, the factory adapts, and if there are no strawberries in winter, then orange palets will be produced! They'll simply harvest more the following summer.

 

Finally, there's no waste at Louvat! The overcooked 'misses' are sold at a discount at the biscuit factory. Christelle tells us that they're still very good and go like hotcakes the same day...