A bean to bar chocolatier
The hallmark of À la Mère de Famille is the rigorous, direct selection of raw materials, which carries with it the entire history of cocoa and chocolate. For the Dolfi family, happy owners of the House, there can be no enhancement of the sweet heritage here, without taking into account the conditions of production over there.
Responsible and rigorous sourcing for exceptional couverture chocolate
One of the key ingredients used by the chocolatiers, who work alongside the Dolfi family, to create their delicious couverture chocolate, is cocoa. This chocolate-obsessed family, maintains direct contact with a selection of hand-picked farmers, visiting them in the field, in Ecuador or Madagascar, ensuring that the beans are grown in accordance with precise specifications, both in terms of quality and social conditions. So, the company decides on everything from its “single origin” recipes made with beans from different regions – each with its own distinct flavour – such as Haïti, Madagascar, Sao Tomé, Ecuador and Peru, to cocoa bean blends.
A journey through the cocoa plantations
Close relationships with producers
We constantly aim to improve the quality of our products and build deeper relationships with farmers, which is why we prioritise, and try to develop, direct supply chains to source our cocoa beans and dried fruit. We go into the field to identify partners with whom we work closely, most of whom have been with us for years.
In this way, we can check that we share the same values, that the farmers are working in good conditions, that the plantations are well maintained and that the entire process – from the harvesting to the drying of beans – is carried out with the utmost care, resulting in distinctive, flavourful cocoa beans.
"Our approach to the sourcing and selecting of raw materials, namely cocoa beans, is the area in which we have most evolved. Because we want to distribute our profits fairly, particularly when it come to the farmers, we buy our cocoa beans directly from local cooperatives in, for example, Haiti, Madagascar or Peru. This approach also allows us to maintain full control of our product, ensuring excellent quality."
Jonathan
A journey through the cocoa plantations
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A cocoa flower
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Cocoa
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Harvesting the cocoa pods
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Steve, co-owner of company
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Fresh cocoa beans in pods
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Fermentation vats
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Fermenting the beans
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Jane, co-owner of company
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Sébastien Harault, our head chocolatier
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Drying the cocoa beans
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Dried beans ready to leave
Tours factory and the importance of preserving local expertise and know-how
The cocoa is processed, praline prepared, and chocolate bonbons produced in our large factory, fitted with traditional and high-tech equipment, using a clever blend of innovative and traditional techniques, with final products then dispatched to be sold in our shops. Some techniques, such as scraping vanilla beans and filling novelty Easter chocolates are highly technical and require traditional skills. As such, they can only – and will always – be done by hand, rather than machines, something that is unusual in the luxury food world, where many activities are outsourced.
This culture of sourcing and selecting high quality products, which has been a hallmark of our company for more than 20 years, is best illustrated by our praline, which we make ourselves, from start to finish. The mixture contains French hazelnuts, almonds and pistachios from Sicily, and dried fruit, all of which are carefully and lovingly selected. The fruit and nuts are roasted, caramelized and crushed by hammer at the family factory in Chambray-les-Tours, near Tours, and then processed in a one-hundred-year-old mill before being turned into amazing praline used to make chocolate bonbons.
Plantations and the environment
In our view, it is essential to choose a farmer who respects biodiversity and uses agroforestry practices: growing a variety of cocoa trees alongside other trees and crops on the plantation and managing natural resources - practices that help ensure the future of the land, resulting in exceptional, aromatic cocoa beans.
Caring for the beans every step of the way.
Ensuring proper on-site care, at every stage of the process, is critical: harvesting the pods when they reach maturity, overseeing fermentation and drying, in accordance with specific requirements, the final checking and sorting of beans before they leave the plantation etc.
Social commitments
Our quest to find intense flavoured cocoa beans is also informed by common human-centred and social values, values that we hold dear. It is impossible for us to preserve and promote our pastry and confectionery heritage here without taking account of the production conditions elsewhere - a caring approach which, together with its emphasis on transmitting values and its passion for fine chocolate, embodies the company spirit.
"We make our own couverture chocolate, using a blend of high-quality cocoa-beans which lends it its unique character. Other chocolatiers will often use the same supplier and so end up with the same flavours. In today’s sugar-demonizing climate, we have made it our mission to promote and share the true taste of good chocolate."
Sophie
