La Bêtise de Cambrai finally has a book on its history!

The story began with a discovery, a prioriharmless. “ One day, while having a drink together, we found a box of Bêtises from a manufacturer we didn’t knowsays François Tiry. We said to ourselves that nothing had been done on the subject and that it would be fun to write a book on it; Cambrai is only known for its Bêtises! »

Like an initiatory quest, François Tiry and Nicolas Ladrière spent four years to gather the necessary documents to write their work. In the end, there are 144 illustrated pages which retrace the history of one of the most famous French sweet specialtiesthe Stupidity of Cambrai, from the 19th century^e century to the 50s – “ we did not want to evoke the contemporary history of Stupidity ».

A careful investigation

From auction rooms to private archives, from original documents to old directories, “ we did not imagine the mass of information that we were going to findconfides Nicolas Ladrière. We did a lot of research but we also had some big strokes of luck! » Like this collection of boxes of junk bought at auction or these family portraits of one of the original makersrecovered in the extremes from an old attic.

The authors also found the trials, of 1889 and 1903between the two original manufacturers Despinoy and Afchain. Because the Bêtises de Cambrai is not just a delicious minty confectionery decorated with its golden fillet, it is as much official documents surrounding a “bell tower quarrel” as it is legends passed down from generation to generation. “ These are all pieces of a puzzle that we discovered and put together to understand the history of the Bêtises de Cambrai. Nothing so precise has ever been done on the subject; because today, each Cambrésian has their own truth about the authorship of candy. »

Who is the creator, does his name come from a manufacturing error, why so many quarrels and mystery surrounding a piece of candy… Through a careful investigation, François Tiry and Nicolas Ladrière attempt to answer all these questions. “ This book is a gap that needed to be filled in Cambrai ; finally the Stupidity of Cambrai has its history! It is a work in homage to the two original confectioners and to all the other confectioners who made Bêtises in Cambrai. » And which have contributed to its notoriety well beyond the borders of Cambrésis.

The work published by François Tiry and Nicolas Ladrière is illustrated with ten unpublished historical documents linked to the making of Bêtises de Cambrai (invoices, patents, trials, etc.) and numerous photos evoking their history and through them, the history of Cambrai and the evolution of commerce. Because talking about Bêtises de Cambrai is also talking about the beginnings of confectionery, advertising and marketing, with these posters and decorated metal boxes that we find in the book which is illustrated with photos by photographer Pascal Gerard. “ There were dozens of drafts before arriving at the final presentation of the book, and more than forty hours of graphics on it », Explain the authors.

The work is published in 1,700 copies. An exhibition on the Bêtises de Cambrai will also be offered from September 2025 and until early 2026, at the Labo de Cambrai.

Released October 12. Book on sale at the usual points of sale and at the Cambrai tourist office. Price: €29. Information: [email protected] or [email protected]