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Nicolas Giorgi
Published on
Nov 12, 2024 at 6:02 a.m.
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From the entrance to his clothing workshop in Francières (Oise), sweet scents of cocoa tickle your nostrils. “I am in the middle of infusing my Madagascar vanilla which will be used to garnish the little marshmallow bears in my Advent calendars,” explains Laetitia Boudra, 35 years old. It's been five years now since the young woman opened her own artisanal chocolate factorybaptized “Praline Stopover” in order to delight the taste buds of gourmands.
It is in an outbuilding of his own house, nearEstrées Saint-Denisthat this globetrotter decided to install her manufacturing molds.
It is therefore behind the bay window of her manufacturing workshop that we join her. It is here that she handcrafts her fine pralines or hazelnutsses fruit jelliesses marshmallows in the shape of a cat's paw, but also some niche products, such as praline 100% Vegan for people lactose intolerant.
Enfant, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory nourished his imagination
As a child, Laetitia imagined bathing in Mr. Wonka's chocolate fountain. She, who worked in the tourism sector for a long time, successfully took the plunge into professional retraining.
Since childhood, I dreamed of creating a chocolate factory. However, my family wanted me to follow an academic path. Chocolatière, that scared them, because it didn't look serious enough. My journey has been full of challenges!
It was therefore in the greatest secrecy that she prepared her CAP of chocolatier-confectioner in parallel with his activity as a sales executive for a car rental company. “My friends were delighted. They were able to test all my creations during this period,” she smiles.
Successful reconversion
In 2019, she is ready. And nothing, not even the Covid-19 pandemic, will be able to hinder its meteoric rise. Laëtitia is today facing growing demand, despite the spectacular rise in cocoa prices over the past two years.
On the other hand, for the chocolatier, it's a bit of a rush all year round…
There's really no stopping. You have Christmas which you have to prepare for in September, then comes Easter, Valentine's Day… It's really only summer when orders decrease.
Unlike industrial confectioners, it sweetens “just enough”
From fruit jellies to chocolate bars including pralines, all of its delicacies share one thing in common: they contain little sugar.
“Eating well is important to me. There is up to 5 times less sugar in my chocolates than in store-bought ones. »
However, having your own business is no easy task for this mother of two children. Between product shipments to four corners of France and even beyond – “I was ordered chocolates from Oman” – the accounting and making of its chocolates made from cocoa beans from Ghana or from Papua New Guineahis days are busy.
Chocolate boxes for businesses
Thanks to the European Leader fund, Laëtitia was also able to invest in a state-of-the-art tempering machine, which allows her to save precious time during the chocolate melting process. It has also established partnerships with companies wishing to offer personalized chocolates to their employees for the holidays, such as Arte or Lafarge, and also works with the Plaine d'Estrées urban community.
The particularity of its sales system is that everything goes through its website. “I don’t have a store, even if some of my products are sold in a few points of sale, such as Ad sat services, in Estrées-Saint-Denis.”
As a nod to her former life in tourism, Laëtitia's boxes of chocolates present old world mapsfor a taste journey from the moment you discover its package.
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