Biscuits and Confectionery

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biscuits_confiseriesWake up your taste buds!

Biscuit factories began to appear in Nantes in the 17th century, supplying crews on long voyages with sea biscuit. Sugar was imported from the West Indies in the 18th century, and represented more than half of all commercial trade through the port of Nantes at the time.

In 1866, the son of a Nantes confectioner created the “Petit Beurre”. The success of this biscuit made his name and that of his wife, Lefèvre-Utile (LU), known all over the world. The Biscuiterie Nantaise also became famous, with its celebrated BN biscuits.
Brightly-coloured tetrahedron-shaped boiled sweets, berlingots de Nantes were created at the beginning of the 19th century and are available in seven flavours. Another Nantes speciality, rigolette was invented by the confectioner Charles Bohu in 1902, who named it after his cat. In La Baule and Le Pouliguen, the Niniche lollipop has been a great success every summer since 1938.

Bicuiterie Nantaise and Petit Beurre LU
A favourite in France and the UK, LU Petit Beurre all-butter biscuits were created in Nantes 160 years ago. It is a romantic tale : Jean-Romain Lefèvre and Pauline Utile fell in love, married, and started making biscuits. The name, LU, combines their initials. The chocolate-covered biscuits with a ‘Little Schoolboy’ logo have been produced since 1922.
With 136 steps, the tower of the former Biscuiterie Nantaise factory in Nantes is now a tourist attraction, as is the factory itself, revamped as a very trendy arts centre.
For more information: www.petitlu.fr
Sweet berlingots sweets in Nantes
Grow up in Nantes and you grow up sucking a berlingot, a boiled sweet that dates back to medieval times. Shaped like a little pyramid, these come in a variety of cheerful colours : green, red, orange and yellow. Buy these bonbons at Maison Gautier-Debotté, a lovely old sweet shop in Nantes.
For more information: www.gautier-debotte.com
Or try a rigolette...
Invented over a century ago by Charles Bohu, the rigolette is another local favourite. Made with real fruit, they come in five flavours : pineapple, blackcurrant, lemon, raspberry and mandarin. Find them at «les Rigolettes Nantaises», another charming shop.
For more information: www.les-rigolettes-nantaises.com