Our expertise
To stay close to local stores and know-how, À la Mère de Famille not only makes its chocolates in its factory in Chambray lès Tours, but also owns three other workshops (pastry and confectionery) that complete this production unit, where homemade recipes and exceptional know-how are constantly being improved.
À la Mère de Famille chocolatier, from factory to shop
We produce a wide range of bonbons and chocolate confectionary, driven by a deep desire to cultivate an appreciation for quality and promote traditional recipes. And also, because we are rather greedy! Once we have transformed our various beans into couverture chocolate and made our own pralines and ganache, the possibilities are endless! The result is more than one hundred of our very own recipes (we can’t bring ourselves to get rid of any) which you can find in our wide range of deluxe boxes.
The latest additions – recipes that rely on our extensive expertise, intuition and an unbridled creativity – join their mouth-watering, older cousins to form an extraordinary range of products. Amongst them, our famous praline rocher chocolates, folies de l’écureuil, florentines and dolfentines (a variation on the florentine), as well as our must-taste Montmartre palet ganache chocolates, toucans, orangettes and papillotes etc.
"This wealth of products is an expression of generosity! Here, everyone can find something they like. The idea is that everyone is welcome. This emphasis on abundance and sharing has been part of our company DNA for generations. We love introducing our customers to new flavours and they, in turn, pass down these flavours to their children or grandchildren. This is also reflected in our commitment to fair pricing."
Steve
À la Mère de Famille, confectioner.
Not content with just making chocolate, À la Mère de Famille also manufactures nearly all its own confectionery in-house. Amongst them, fruit jellies and Négus de Nevers caramels, a part of our confectionery heritage that was at risk of disappearing before being taken over by the Dolfi family. They are all made from traditional recipes, devised by the Company, including delicacies such as calisson candies, marrons glacés and a range of jellies and jams, made by carefully selected artisans. A variety of traditional bonbons, all sourced from traditional manufacturers (Bergamotes from Nancy, Bêtises from Cambrai etc.), completes the range.
With more than two and a half centuries of experience, À la Mère de Famille has certainly established itself as an expert in confectionery. The leading expert, in fact, if you listen to connoisseurs discussing the delights of our marrons glacés! These traditional tasting treats have a lower sugar content which gives them a stronger chestnut flavour, the result of a new recipe that took more than four years to perfect.
Amazing for a chestnut!
À la Mère de Famille, ice-cream maker.
A few years ago, À la Mère de Famille was mentored by a Meilleur Ouvrier de France and World Champion ice-cream maker; the result is a selection of ice-cream and sorbet recipes that are deeply rooted in tradition. Our ice-cream makers produce elevated versions of traditional flavours (vanilla, chocolate, coffee, apricot, blackcurrant, strawberry, raspberry) and the more exotic (banana, mango, lemon with lime zest, coconut with fragments of mango). But the true secret of our unique ice-cream can be found in our À la Mère de Famille shops which boast an inexhaustible variety of flavours: fragments of Calissons candy combined with pistachio ice-cream, bits of florentine mixed with chocolate ice cream or Folies de l’Écureuil added to other varieties. You’ll discover some of these delights inside our Vacherins and Esquimaux, traditional ice cream served on a stick. Our ice-cream, which is made without the use of colouring, flavouring or preservatives, is the result of traditional know-how, combined with talent and a bold vision – perfectly embodying the company’s culture. And it’s simply irresistible!
Watch our video and learn more about the Company’s expertise: Ice-cream
À la Mère de Famille, baker
Every day our shop displays are adorned with a range of candied fruit cakes, lemon, and “folies de l’écureuil” cakes, culinary treats which are perfected over a period of months by the family and its chef. These smooth, delicious cakes are all made in-house, together with our macarons which are also conceived and crafted by À la Mère de Famille. The carefully selected pistachios, hazelnuts and pine nuts, the powerful, unadulterated flavours and crisp, slightly rustic shells tantalise the taste buds. Inside, you will find a fine, creamy ganache, which enhances the natural flavour of the dried fruit. Whether it is chocolate, pistachio, hazelnut, pine nuts, coffee, vanilla or salted caramel, there is something for all tastes. The sheer choice will put you in a spin!
