Reviewed by
Evelyn
To celebrate the famous ‘Made In France’ show in Paris this month (an event which showcases the very best of contemporary French entrepreneurship), Bonjour French Food have specially curated November’s box to honour five very young French companies, whose products are of course, all made in France. I think this a great idea and an inspiring theme for a food box to do. I love supporting small businesses and new startups, so I couldn’t wait to see what was inside!
Granomy Muesli Aperitif (RRP €6.50)
I often eat muesli for breakfast, but this muesli is quite different from what I usually have because it’s savoury! Made with 100% natural ingredients, this vegetarian savoury muesli is recommended as a healthy snack, and it can be used as a topping for salads to give it a crispy twist. It sounds like something that shouldn’t work, but it does, and it adds a great crunchy texture that contrasts nicely with softer salad leaves. I’ve also been enjoying eating this as an afternoon snack to keep my energy levels up. Although it’s savoury, it doesn’t taste all that different from regular muesli, it just doesn’t have that sweetness from honey or sugar in it.
This muesli is made by Granomy and Bonjour French Food’s order for this month’s box was the first to be created from their brand new workshop in Montreuil which has only been open since October.
J’aime Boc’Oh La Confiture de Kiwi (RRP €5.20)
Food waste from supermarkets has been a topical issue in the UK for a while now, so it’s great to see French companies helping to spread the word about this subject too. This confiture is made by J’aime Boc’Oh who received funding from the public via a crowdfunding project to set up their company in Savoy. They employ people who are vulnerable and have fallen on hard times, helping them back into employment with local support and resources. But that’s not all – all of their products are made from ‘ugly and disqualified’ fruit and vegetables which have been rejected by supermarkets and other mainstream shops for retail sale. So they’re essentially saved from being sent to landfill, and instead are made into delicious produce such as this Kiwi confiture.
I’ve never tried anything like this before as jams in England are relatively boring with their choices, but I really liked this! It’s tangy as you’d expect from a Kiwi base, but there’s a sweetness that stops it from being too overly tart. Lovely on some toast or used in baking.
Fils de Pomme Cidre (RRP €3.50)
Cider is a favourite weekend drink for me, and I enjoy the proper farmhouse made stuff, rather than the kind that they sell in the local off-license (the ones that give you a terrible headache the next day!). This French Botanical Cidre from Fils de Pomme is made from certified organic apples which are harvested very near their own cider house. It’s 5.5% vol, gluten free, low in calories and has no added sugar.
Taste-wise, it’s lightly carbonated with a slightly sweet, yet crisp and refreshing flavour. Definitely something that I would buy again if I found it in the UK!
Beef It Beef Jerky (RRP €4.90)
Beef It are the only beef jerky company whose recipe is 100% made in France. They use the famous Charolais beef sourced from Bourbonnais, where the cows are red label certified, and they’re fed a nutritious diet free from GMOs. This beef jerky is flavoured with a special Sweet Ginger blend and is free from artificial preservatives and gluten.
I passed this onto my jerky-mad housemate as I’m a vegetarian and he loved it, commenting on it’s ‘full flavour and high-quality beef’. He eats a lot of this stuff as a pre and post-work out snack, as it’s high in protein and has said this one is a ‘new favourite!’. 
Sinepix Fondant au Chocolat (RRP €9.50)
The fifth and final product in the box that I pulled out was a packet mix for a chocolate fondant cake. The founders of Sinepix came up with these easy to use kits when they discovered that they both had an intolerance to gluten, and with the rise in awareness of this amongst the public, they decided to go into business making gluten-free products.
This cake mix is also organic (certified by the AFDIAG), and looks super easy to make. All you need to do is add melted butter and three eggs to the mix, then bake it for 20 minutes. I can’t wait to make this – it looks delicious on the packaging!
This month’s box from Bonjour French Food is my favourite from them yet – I’d love to see more products like these that are organic and gluten-free in future boxes!
By Mary 
