Croissants fritters from Grolet.Calvin Courjon
It is, perhaps along with the Eiffel Tower, the most emblematic monument in France: the butter croissant is a must-have in the country's bakeries.
Its ideal texture is crispy on the outside and spongy on the inside, and you will find it in any store for a relatively affordable price.
But in recent years, the prestigious
viennoiserie
– “Viennese taste”, as this type of flaky pastry is known – has seen the growing success of
cookies
,
donuts
and other American
snacks
overshadow it, and its creators seem willing to continue. fighting for the throne.
The secret for many bakers lies in experimentation and impact on social networks, which have ensured that a neighborhood bakery in Paris has constant lines of tourists and young people eager to try the
crookie
, a combination of croissant and
cookie
dough .
“I made it to have fun, I had no pretensions,” its creator, baker Stéphane Louvard, from Boulangerie Louvard, near the Grands Boulevards, explains to EL PAÍS.
Production has gone from about 100 units a day to 1,500 and 2,200 in recent weeks, after two
influencers
talked about their
croookies
on Instagram and TikTok.
“Since then the influx has not stopped increasing, it is difficult to keep up with what has come upon us.”
In comparison, they sell about 250 butter croissants every day.
More information
The puff pastry revolution in Spain
Although the lines have been going on since the end of January, its creation dates back to October 2022. “One day we were making
cookies
and we tried putting dough inside the croissants.
We liked it and put some up for sale.
They have always been liked, but now we see a new audience that comes to look for us, especially tourists, young people and
Tiktokers
from the region.
It is what they call
food porn
, which sells well on social networks and the latter is what we find really incredible,” says Louvard, still incredulous at the media echo of his latest creation.
The 'croookie', a hybrid of croissant and 'cookie', from Boulangerie Louvard, in Paris.
The
croookie
is sold for 5.90 euros, the sum of the price of the croissant and its
cookies
.
The croissant has the chocolate cookie dough inside, slightly cooked, and two more baked flakes of dough on the outside.
“The secret is that the croissant is crispy, while the
cookie
is almost melted inside,” confides Louvard.
“We use top quality ingredients.
There are shops that are selling frozen versions and I know of other bakers who are trying to make their own, even in England or Morocco,” he says.
The truth is that some videos proposing homemade recipes are already circulating on social networks.
In a survey published by the gastronomic consultancy
Strateg'eat
on the occasion of the
Sandwich & Snacking Show
meeting ,
pain au chocolat
(or
chocolatine
, depending on the corner of France you are in) is the favorite sweet
snack
of the French (34 %), ahead of the croissant, which is in second position (28%).
But if we take into account only the data of generation Z,
cookies
come out on top among 38% of the youngest.
A trend that reflects the growing French passion for American pastry, which is gaining ground against
viennoisserie
.
“We see that
viennoisserie
always has a place in the hearts of the French, although less so in that of generation Z, especially those under 25 years of age.
Is this the end of French pastries?
I don't think so, but this does force us to have a variety of bakery products,” explains Nicolas Nouchi, founder of
Strateg'eat
, for whom the “will to exist on social networks” through notoriety is a necessity for merchants.
Croissant donut from Grolet, in Paris.Calvin Courjon
In a country where having breakfast outside the home still does not convince the majority, proposals for salty or cream-filled croissants are accessory and, for the most orthodox, a form of blasphemy.
However, the presence of these products continues to be felt after French haute pastries have opted to renew their croissants and Neapolitans.
The novelties have not stopped in recent years: from the croissant and the giant Neapolitan from Philippe Conticini - about 30 euros each -, to the croissant-buñuelo - which is reminiscent of the
xuixo
from Girona and which is sold for 5 euros in its Opera store 'Cédric Grolet Café'—by Cédric Grolet, who hypnotizes the networks with the staging of his recipes and famous guests at his workshop such as Rosalía or Pedro Alonso.
“The croissant is the base and our star product.
Regarding this, the chef proposes a new version combining it with the buñuelo to provide novelty and an urban influence”, highlights the Grolet team.
“We see a real enthusiasm from customers for
viennoiserie
.
They appreciate simple creations, full of technique and, above all, full of meaning.
In our new café we see a new, younger clientele.”
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Cedric Grolet (@cedricgrolet)
Outside of Paris, the experiments are also sweeping with the added challenge of conquering the more conservative local consumer: Louis Tortochot, voted best baker in France in 2019, became known in 2011 with his scented croissants and eventually set up a bar croissants at his two Dijon bakeries,
Du Pain pour demain
.
Here customers fill their croissants directly in the store with praline, raspberry, pistachio and other creams.
“The croissant (1.30 euros) occupies a third of pastry sales, another third would be the Neapolitan and the third would be the scented croissants (2.10 euros), of which we sell about 600 a day.
Not bad at all for a city like Dijon,” highlights Tortochot, who points out that this trendy product works best among those under 45 years of age.
Although he started this project before the
boom
of social networks, Tortochot does not disdain the influence they have on consumers.
“We are a
zapping generation.
We like to be stimulated with news and move on to something else.
That's why you have to have propositions.
In this society you either move or you die,” he says.
Croissants from Du pain pour demain bakeries.
In Bordeaux, Louis Lamour is part of that new wave of bakers who dare to test traditional recipes.
In his two stores, where the queues are constant, he offers daily the
Croichoc
(2.50 euros), with chocolate inside, and the
Beyrouthin
(2.50 euros), a croissant filled with goat cheese and spices. oriental.
On weekends he adds the
Croistache
(3 euros), with pistachio cream, to his showcase.
“Moving away from the traditional croissant, which is still the most interesting product, allows us to communicate better and give value to our craftsmanship.
The customer's perception is that the traditional croissant should not be expensive because they consume it often, they do not perceive the artisanal value even though there is a very important expense in raw materials and labor," says Lamour, who recalls that a good part of French bakeries resort to frozen croissants, maintaining a price very similar to what those who make it at home are forced to set, as is your case (1.30 euros).
“Looking for originality amuses us, it is a challenge, but above all it allows us to make people aware that they are eating a unique product.
The client is more willing to pay more for it,” he highlights.
For him, too, the networks have marked a before and after.
“I am not especially a fan of the transformation that networks impose on us, but as a businessman it is a preponderant vector of communication.
And these products attract a younger clientele and
foodies
that you cannot attract with a
baguette
or a butter croissant, no matter how good and pretty it is,” laments Lamour.
Consultant Nicolas Nouchi does not hesitate to describe this trend as a “microtrend”, which puts the most intrepid customer in a delicate position: if he wants to try it, he had better get in line quickly before the
croookie
or his substitutes arrive. be surpassed by the next viral creation.
You can follow EL PAÍS Gastro
on
and
X.