Gourmet products local specialties and wines Loire-Atlantique

The Coutant chocolate factory will soon celebrate its 50 years of existence in Nantes, in the gourmet district of Copernic. This artisanal chocolate factory is known for its seriousness and its quality, never denied until today. In the district, regulars but also newcomers and other tourists regularly stop in front of the attractive store. Held by the sympathetic Véronique and Laurent Carretero and their faithful team, the artisanal creations are born under the sign of the subtlety and the balance. Every month, the store window changes according to the seasons, the holidays and the news from Nantes. Among the many creations, let's mention the Muscadettes nantaises (a ganache with muscadet brandy) or the macaroons (coffee, chocolate, Grand Marnier, blackcurrant, caramel, passion, lemon, etc.). The house also makes delicious florentines, these nougatine and candied fruit palets placed on a chocolate disc. Original creations of impeccable quality. Try the home-made chocolate bites like the Duchesses (orange ganache, caramel coulis and pistachio almond paste). Created by Mr. Coutant, the Anne de Bretagne crowns (70% cocoa, raisins, almonds and hazelnuts) have become famous. One comes of course to discover the traditional chocolates house, but also the chocolates of origins (Ivory Coast, Vietnam, Costa Rica, Peru and the innovations 2022 with Uganda or Papua. Always with the surprising Equacacao directly from Ecuador from the producer to the processor! In boxes, bags or bars, we succumb to the pleasure of chocolate. The Coutant fondant (chocolate fondant with 64% cocoa from Peru, chopped roasted almonds: excellent!) is a hit. Try also the new shortbread with raspberry inserts... In summer, homemade sorbets are available for our greatest pleasure. In 2022, we can now enjoy the new Nantais Coutant cake (4 or 6 parts according to the gourmands). The little bears made of marshmallow and dark or milk chocolate were also created! Not yet 50 years old, but still very creative.

The Ferme Fruitière de la Hautière, in La Chapelle-sur-Erdre, with its 35 hectares of crops and varieties selected for their gustatory qualities, is THE ideal destination to fill up on vitamins and fruit delicacies. In the completely renovated shop, you will find fruit and vegetables grown on site, but also products processed from local production by Alexandre, Benoît and their team. Many jams, compotes, sorbets, coulis and delicious fruit juices including the new strawberry nectars and sparkling fruit juices (strawberry apple, raspberry apple, lemon apple). Among the three succulent varieties of strawberries that have been created at the farm, the Capella is always a delight for gourmets. Let's not forget the soups whose benefits are no longer to be proven. The farm also sells fresh products from small local producers (meat, cheese, yoghurts, butter) and, in partnership with a wine grower, some vintages of the Loire Valley. You can find spreads from Gourmandises de Ludo, honey from Nicolas Roux, spices and teas from Épices à ma guise, herbal teas from Mathilde Beaudoin, beef directly from Jean-Pierre Martin, foie gras from the Mitteault family (Vienne)... The farm also offers fruit compositions and fruit or vegetable baskets on order, as well as gift baskets. Offering excellent products directly from the farm is an idea to share in any circumstance. Note the Hesperides garden open from May to the end of September, ideal for a stroll! Nature at a stone's throw from Nantes.

The Talensac market is THE flagship of Nantes' commerce. This venerable institution has been in place for 85 years and is still considered THE Nantes market par excellence. To celebrate its 80th anniversary, the association has produced a beautiful book Le Bonheur est au marché de Talensac (available in bookshops) with fascinating testimonies from the shopkeepers and this great family, some of whom have been there for several generations. On the market, with nearly 200 professionals, you must discover its splendid stalls! Here you will find producers from Nantes and the surrounding area, food trades and crafts. The quality, the inventiveness, the creativity of the traders make the reputation of this covered market. It is an attraction for any self-respecting gourmet, but also for the numerous tourists who visit and fall for the quality of the products. People come for the freshness and the respect of the seasons, for the professionalism and the passion of the shopkeepers, who get up very early to offer the best: fruits and vegetables, butcher's meats and poultry with a label, country delicatessen and local products, ready-made meals, fresh water or sea fish, grocery, bakery, cheeses, pastries, Loire wines, caterers from here and elsewhere, everything is there. Even a newsstand and crêpes! Don't miss the big market at the end of the week, with basketry, florists, clothes, handicrafts. Happiness is always at the market!

In the Graslin district of Paris, Capkao has set its sights on cocoa, bringing on board the expertise and talent of two complementary partners: pastry chef Nicolas Riveau and chocolatier Anthony Bourdillat (son of Angevin chocolatier Stéphane Bourdillat). These two enthusiasts met at the Valrhona school, where they were both instructors. The idea of this pretty establishment, which is both a laboratory and a boutique where you can discover their delicious and creative creations, was born from their experiences at fine addresses (such as the Crillon with Christophe Adam). Their Capkao brand offers a wide range of chocolate bars (including the gourmet white chocolate and raspberry), spreads, delicious beketés (little chocolate candies with corn, dark chocolate, etc.), pralines and ganaches, including Souvenir d'enfance (vanilla yoghurt ganache with raspberry confit), Original (black sesame praline with fresh ginger) and Breton (buckwheat praline). As for pastries, you'll love the creamy vanilla flan, the pavlova, the chocolate financier, and cakes with evocative names: Cap sur l'Ardèche, featuring chestnuts, or Cap sur les States au chocolat. The welcome is warm, and Nicolas and Anthony take the time to explain their know-how. Good news: in 2022, L'Atelier Capkao has just opened. Pastry and chocolate-making classes can now be booked for 3 to 8 people maximum. Count on 2h30 of sharing and conviviality. And, of course, you get to take home your own creation! Anthony teaches the chocolate classes and Nicolas the pastry classes.

À Table Traiteur is chef Didier's production laboratory, after 25 years in the restaurant business. It offers refined cuisine for corporate and private customers, by order only. With fresh produce and great adaptability, quality is the order of the day. From home-smoked salmon and elaborate dishes (chicken à l'indienne, poultry ballottine with basil...) to cocktail formulas or gourmet menus (Breton sablé with basil jelly and bell pepper cream with mascarpone, pike-perch pavé with beurre blanc or vanilla cream...), each dish is an explosion of flavors.

On the Ile de Nantes, a stone's throw from L'Éléphant, Sabrina, a naturopath by training, and her husband Grégory Lejeune, a pastry chef, have opened an exceptional patisserie. The two decided to combine their respective passions in this bold and highly successful project. The new establishment focuses on creative, healthy and natural pastries. This alternative patisserie focuses on the senses: sight, because "you eat first with your eyes", as Sabrina puts it, and taste, with gustatory flavors such as poached pears with hibiscus juice in Déli'biscus (sweet pastry, organic vanilla diplomate), the spirulina circle on organic vanilla and white chocolate chou. The creations, which are as pretty as they are tasty, are also less sweet, using only natural sugars (e.g. coconut blossom sugar) with a low glycemic index (ideal for diabetics and gourmands who need to be careful), such as the matcha green tea macaroons, with no additives or artificial coloring, using certified organic French flours, as well as non-hybridized and gluten-free flours. Délicatessaine's approach is delicate and healthy, ethical and responsible, as it favors local and seasonal products. Délicatessaine is also a tea room where you can sit down for a cup of tea or coffee. You can also enjoy home-made chocolate bars. Educational workshops to learn how to bake lighter. You can make healthy, tasty snacks for children, or prepare pastries for allergy sufferers. In fine weather, enjoy the terrace while sampling the Déli'fragola: a gluten-free pastry (shortcrust pastry, strawberry confit, peas, yoghurt mousse, burrata heart, fresh organic and local strawberries) and a great new addition in 2022, the Déli'grey: a low GI pastry (hazelnut and citrus shortbread, light Earl Grey tea mousse, soft hazelnut and citrus zest cookie, bergamot confit), a real treat!

After successfully opening their chocolate pastry shop in Vertou in 2011, Stéphane Pasco, helped by his sister Isabelle in this beautiful adventure, set up a boutique in Nantes in the summer of 2019 to the delight of the people of Nantes. And to showcase the pastry chef's productions, they have created a sort of jewel case: a dark setting where the colours of delicious cakes, tasty cakes, pretty macaroons with pastel and acidic reflections are revealed, not forgetting the farandole of succulent chocolates. Taste pastries such as the Facilité, a favourite, salted butter caramel/milk chocolate mousse/salted peanuts/Brittany sand, or the Signature, a taste journey with sunny colours, vanilla light cream/ mango compote/ginger mango/coconut rock/shortbread, savour the delicacies for examplethe Pistachio-Amarena Cake, the airy and melting lightness of morello cherries, and taste chocolates such as Agapé, passion fruit ganache, a subtle sensation of eating the fruit. The expression "when art is tasted" takes on its full meaning here. Stéphane Pasco works pastry like a plastic art. And like in an art gallery, he exhibits his creations. You can admire his latest work all in chocolate in the shop window... We would eat it!

Just a few steps from the Place Royale and its fountain, Maison Grimaud proudly displays its know-how: "the art of choux pastry". The idea may seem surprising, but once you've tried it, you'll find it most appealing. The charm is quickly felt in this contemporary space where light and space have been privileged. Sofas, benches and small armchairs await you. Maison Grimaud is two rooms located on either side of an entrance in which you will discover the many cabbages to taste. Here, we come to enjoy the creations of Sébastien Grimaud, young and talented pastry chef, and his team. At lunchtime, Maison Grimaud offers sweet and savory dishes. At lunchtime, there is a nice choice of revisited gougères, accompanied by raw vegetables or soup. Generous bowls are also to be discovered, in vegetarian version, with trout or Serrano ham. For sweet tooths, choux filled with creams (Tahitian vanilla, salted butter caramel, milk chocolate, lemon meringue, tangerine, pear, coconut speculos, pistachio...) but also chouquettes, pastries such as paris-brest, saint-honoré or Fleur de sel. Maison Grimaud is also a tea room where you can have a coffee, a tea or a hot chocolate all day long. In addition to the quiet terrace, Maison Grimaud organizes brunches on Sundays with three new formulas (sweet, savory or both!) including the famous briochou: a good opportunity to come and enjoy the sweet and savory treats prepared by Sébastien. An address not to be missed.

Inspired by the opera Rigoletto, the Nantes confectioner Charles Bohu had named his cat Rigolette in homage to the jester. The feline gave its name to the sweets invented in 1902, composed of a thin sugar shell steamed filled with fruit pulp and then frosted. The 5 original flavors are still there (lemon, tangerine, raspberry, blackcurrant and pineapple), completed by those with flowers (poppy, violet, rose, hibiscus), seasonal fruits (fig, grape), or salted butter caramel or praline. There is also a range of regional sweets, such as Berlingots, Ducs de Bretagne or Pavés nantais. Nice too this P'tit Rigolo with melting chocolate and salted butter caramel!

Anyone who does not know this venerable house has never been to La Baule! This candy shop has been an institution since 1937! All the children have come to get sweets in this beautiful shop overlooking the embankment. Not to be missed: the niniches, a kind of delicious soft lollipop made of flavoured caramel, the Bauloise with salted butter caramel or the Caramanuel. The home-made ice creams and cones are amazing and the waffles are delicious. On the confectionery side, an incredible number of sweets and caramels are waiting for the gourmets. An address not to be missed!

A little way from the town center of Les Sorinières in the South of France, Olivier Grimault (OG) and his team have set up their gourmet laboratory here. What a sublime surprise to discover his creations of pure cocoa butter chocolate bonbons. With recipes as original as they are affordable. The boxed chocolates (platters) are a real eye-catcher, with their varied assortments and timeless, original flavors. We're talking about chocolates filled with refined ganaches, classic pralines and puff pastries, intense dark chocolates, varieties with a wide range of spices (pepper, vanilla) or refined flavors (tonka bean, lime, blackcurrant...). Everything is sublimated and blends well once transformed, accommodated in the hands of the master craftsman. Chocolates that invite us to travel, between Tanzania, Venezuela, Vietnam, Ghana, Papua New Guinea, Grenada... Try the Maen Hir speciality, a unique blend of 72% cocoa beans (from Santo Domingo and Mexico), or the Pavé soriniérois, a box of small chocolates with flaky praline and caramelized almonds. Indulge yourself with mendiants, grignotines, Crousty'nuts, Croq'télé or Crousty pop's. Olivier Grimault makes us melt with pleasure with homemade confectionery, fruit jellies, Taga'boum, Geli'fizz, marshmallows and other names that make young and old alike dream of indulgence. The spread here is called Goûter de Paco with milk and hazelnuts - a must! or the "flaky" version, or "caramel with fleur de sel", or the new "cocoa bean slivers". And don't forget to try Tatie Thalie's delicious sweetness.... Have you tried the new Soriniérois chocolate fondant? Divine dark chocolate to share and make people happy! Add to that the chocolate sculpting talents and chocolate courses, the super-reasonable prices, the warm welcome and the free parking, and you'll know why this place is well worth a visit! Don't forget the "food truck glacier" for your events, whether professional or private, which is available for sweet and original desserts or snacks! Speaking of ice creams, here they're 100% homemade and to die for! Chocolate mint, macadamia vanilla... Iced verrines with tangy flavors, evasion, Montélimar, are original desserts to offer! New in 2021, for chocolate addicts, subscription formulas for sweet boxes: "la Créat ' Box" for 3, 6, 9 or 12 months, with a box representing a patchwork of homemade sweets - you should have thought of that! Taste our new products: Manabi 72.5% le Cameroun 71% and 100% grands crus!

Since its opening in June 2019, the craze for this fine patisserie has continued to spread... The clientele that throngs behind its tempting window display has made it a sure bet. Julien Merceron, the pastry chef from the Ritz, and Gérard Porte, the artisan florist, cultivate art and beauty. Here, everything awakens the senses: pretty cakes titillate the eyes, tickle the nostrils and delight the taste buds. We're eager to discover the new 2023 cakes, such as Mathilda's apricot and almond cake, or the strawberry-basil tart. You'll love the melt-in-your-mouth flavors of Pain d'épices au miel et chocolat, and the seasonal freshness of Tarte aux agrumes et kasha. What a pleasure it is to watch these marvels being made live through the laboratory windows, from which delicious caramelized aromas emanate! We salute the eco-responsible approach of working with rigorously selected seasonal products, most of them local. In addition to the divine pastries, you'll be tempted by other delicacies like the appetizing chocolate bars, such as the crunchy one topped with caramelized pistachios or the exquisite one with candied oranges. And let's not forget a few delicatessen products: jams, ciders, wines, teas and coffees... Let yourself be carried away by the aestheticism of these artists... as if on a swing..

The Maison Deslandes, are two excellent bakeries in the east of Nantes: one at the foot of the church of Toutes-Aides, the other on the road to Sainte-Luce-sur-Loire. Jacques Deslandes, this baker-pastry cook, from father to son, succeeds in associating traditional know-how and creativity. Here you can enjoy breads, focaccias, pastries, sweets and chocolates. Whether it is the Tradition bread, the chef's baguette, or the Heloise, baked throughout the day, quality is at the rendezvous. You can choose among the special breads: ciabatta, fig, corn, walnut, Nordique (malt flour, rye sourdough, barley, wheat, yellow flax, brown flax) and for the holidays: the Stollen (brioche bread with raisins, almonds, candied lemon). Wholemeal, cereal or woodcutter breads are also available. The Deslandes house also offers pastries that are as beautiful as they are delicious, such as the marbled squares, puffed and crunchy granules coated with chocolate or caramel. Crack open the Craquelet and its three chocolates or the Croquant (chocolate cookie, vanilla heart, dark chocolate and Plougastel cookie with nougatine), without forgetting the Délice aux fruits rouges (almond cookie, crunchy, vanilla cream, muroise, flaky praline) or the classic and formidable Gâteau nantais. You can prefer the reductions (miniature pastries) or the mignardises, fruit sweets (kiwi, red fruits, lemon, pineapple, orange) or chocolate! In addition to this wide choice, made difficult by the quality of the products, there are macaroons (about ten flavors), new apple squares, chocolates, beggars, florentines which also complete the palette of this pastry-baker-chocolatier. For the catering part, the Deslandes house offers a nice range of special sandwiches (chicken, chicken curry, Nordic chicken, Nordic salmon, ham and cheese, tuna, Serrano ham, vegetarian, cheddar, dried tomatoes... in the bread of your choice) and the "pièces montées" for private events.

La Boutique des Éleveurs offers an authentic experience of quality products and personalized service: French meats, fresh fish from the Guilvinec fish auction, fruit and vegetables, cheese by the slice, a wine cellar with 250 references, rotisserie, snacking during the week, hot bread all day long! Located between Copernic and Talensac, this is the place to go to stock up on the essentials, with fresh produce and everything you need for everyday life, all in one place! Open 7 days a week until 8 p.m. (Sundays until 1 p.m.), the store is an alternative to the market! A great value address in the heart of Nantes.

The story began almost 50 years ago, when Joseph Maillard planted his hectares of strawberry fields. In 1975, the first jams were put into jars. Since then, the Fraiseraie's quality and reputation have never wavered. Producers of strawberries with recognized taste qualities, they have imagined a unique concept around strawberries and fruit, and have developed varied and delicious products: sorbets, frozen desserts, jams, syrups... So don't be surprised by the queue outside the store, and enjoy the crêperie-tea room!

And four! Four springs that Kaf and Chok exhale the delicious and subtle scents of coffee just roasted in Sainte-Pazanne. A true invitation to travel the world, Kaf and Chok takes us from Colombia to El Salvador, Mexico, Indonesia, Tanzania and Ethiopia, Congo or Peru. All this while remaining on the spot. Guided by the powerful and gourmet aromas of coffee that escape from the shop, you will not hesitate to push the door and come and meet Marie and David. In an authentic and warm setting, between coffee bags and pallet furniture, you will enjoy listening to David talk to you with passion about his coffees. Homemade teas, herbal teas and chocolate bars are also available in this place where exoticism and friendliness smell good.

It is a charming piece of England that has taken its place near the Parc du Grand Blottereau, a sweet taste of England, our English friends will say. And this sweet taste of England is skillfully created by Steve and Laëtitia, two cooks who manage perfectly to make us travel across the Channel without leaving Nantes. Steve is English and Laëtitia, his wife who officiates in the dining room, has lived for many years in England where she gleaned her mother-in-law's recipes. Today, they adapt the recipes and make a number of succulent, typically English pastries: millionaires (biscuit, caramel, chocolate), two chocolate brownies, lemon meringue tart, cheesecakes, light banofee, lemon curd muffin, scones, pear-hazelnut-chocolate cake, carrot cake... It's a real treat! At Christmas time, don't hesitate to taste the mince pies (magic tarts of which only a few ingredients are delivered here: raisins, apples, oranges, lemons, almonds and cognac). For your receptions, parties or brunches, you can also call on their catering service, personalised according to your desires. Finally, there are plenty of fine products in the delicatessen: organic jams from the jam garden in Vritz, coffees roasted by "Un Grain une Feuille" in Carquefou... a so sweet address! The tea-pastry shop also has a restaurant for lunch, and coffee, 3-in-1!