Reviewed by
Evelyn
La Gourmet Box provides a monthly subscription service for those who want to experience the very best food and drink that France has to offer. As a fellow Francophile, this is a company that excites me greatly as I love French food (especially their baked goods, wines and sweets!), but it’s not easy to find authentic French produce where I live.
Alongside their monthly boxes, they also offer a range of gift baskets and there’s a choice of Spanish food and drink boxes too, so definitely check out their website for more details.
Back to their subscription box, and June sees La Gourmet Box travel through and around the beautiful region of Paris with a box filled full of the finest Parisian treats. The box arrives via courier into the UK and is perfectly presented and packaged to ensure safe arrival of all of the products inside. You may notice that there’s no information leaflet inside, but this is no mistake because La Gourmet Box want you to experience and properly taste the food and drink for yourself first, which I believe is a great idea and helps you to explore and enjoy the products as they are.
Want to see what’s inside the Paris Gourmet Box? Read on!
Brasserie Deck & Donohue Mission and Trouble #6 Golden Pale Craft Ales
I must admit that I was a little disappointed when I saw that there were two craft ales in the box, as I would have personally preferred a lovely bottle of French wine, but I do like how La Gourmet Box included these to give your taste buds something new to savour! Made from the craft brewery Brasserie Deck & Donohue, the company has been created by two young brewers who have been making beers for the past five years in Montreuil, a suburb of Paris.
This passion and talent is clear in the flavour of both of these blends with Mission being a fruitier, full-bodied, pale ale, and Trouble #6 having an altogether different taste of a more traditional farmhouse beer with a blend of four different types of grains and a drier finish. Perfect to enjoy ice cold on a hot Summer’s day like today!
Ferme des Tuiles Famille Chardon Chicken and Vegetable Fricassee in Cider Sauce
I passed this one onto my sister to try as I’m a vegetarian and she said she really enjoyed this Chicken and Vegetable Fricassee. The chicken is sourced from Gâtinais Nature Park and they have been raised in an old-fashioned way for nearly 45 years. The quality of the meat is clear from the rich flavour which is complemented with a mix of vegetables and a delicious Cider sauce.
Nathalie Macker, Au-dessus, Sur l’étagère du Haut Pear Jam with a Hint of Milly Peppermint
The French are famous for their preserves and I always enjoy discovering different flavour combinations as we don’t really have anything quite like this here in the UK. Handcrafted by the artisan Nathalie Macker, this fruit preserve is unique in that it uses only 33% of the sugar that’s usually found in similar products like traditional jams that use a minimum of 50%. Less sugar allows the fruit content to really come to the forefront and it has a more intensified flavour as a result. This all-natural jam contains no artificial colouring, preservatives or pectin, and has a sweet Pear flavour that’s made even more delicious with a hint of Milly Peppermint, a hybrid of Spearmint and Water Mint.
Les Assaisonnements Briards Meaux Pommery Mustard
Packaged in a beautiful traditional stoneware pot, this mustard has an impressive history. In 1760, Monsieur Pommery learned the secret of this original mustard made in the town of Meaux, a product with the privilege of being served at the royal table since 1632. In the present day, this mustard is still made to the exact same recipe and is much finer and smoother than Dijon, which has an incredibly powerful flavour so you only need a tiny amount to liven up any dish.
Confiseur Chocolatier Des Lis Chocolat White Chocolate Bar with Nemours Poppy Flavoured Sugar Crystals
French chocolate is some of the best in the world and this white chocolate bar is pure heaven and indulgence! The chocolatier has developed an interesting and unique process for extracting the aroma of wild poppy petals, which are picked by hand every year in June in the Nemours region. By boiling the petals with sugar in a copper cauldron, they create a concentrate that is later added to this white chocolate, recreating the subtle aroma of poppies and childhood innocence. It tastes deliciously sweet and completely different to anything that I’ve experienced in chocolate before.
Biscuiterie Artisanale Les 2 Gourmands Gatinais Honey Biscuits
Next up, I found a bag of luxury Honey Biscuits, which again, is something that you don’t see here in the UK, so it’s such a treat getting to try all of these lovely French products. Made by two young foodies who are dedicated to sustainable agriculture, they source all of their ingredients from local producers and all of their products are free of artificial colourings, preservatives and aromas. These biscuits are made with their own honey harvested in the Gâtinais area and they are so moreish!
Biscuiterie artisanal Bee Prairie Shortbread Biscuits with Brie de Meaux Cheese
The last product in this month’s box is another sheer delight and they are really something special which will wow any guests that you serve them to. These bite-sized Shortbread Biscuits have been carefully baked in bronze moulds that incorporate genuine Brie de Meaux AOP cheese. I do warn you though – once you taste one, you won’t want to stop!
