We know him for his trompe-l'oeil desserts and his breathtakingly designed pastries. But also for its Christmas log with its distorted silhouette, its hulled strawberry tart or its barely garnished king cake. And this fall, Cédric Grolet once again almost suffocated the canvas. No more sweets this time. Here, it is indeed with a sandwich that the pastry chef alienates Internet users.
For the past few days, in Cédric Grolet's shop, it has been possible to buy a special “end of year” sandwich for your lunch break. But not just any sandwich: a slightly elaborate ham and butter. Chestnut flour bread, shavings of black Périgord truffles, slices of Comté, chiffonade of Paris ham, pickles and butter, of course. Price of the little treat: no less than 30 euros. Oops, is that stuck in your throat?
“So it’s possible to make a butter ham more expensive than that of the SNCF”
In France, the average price of a ham and butter sandwich is 3.80 euros. It can climb around 5 euros in the Paris region, but not much higher. Except at Cédric Grolet’s. But then what justifies such a price? The exceptional products found inside your sandwich, no doubt. Indeed, the Périgord black truffle alone only costs 1,180 euros per kilo for a first-class product, according to Truffière des Mérigots. Chestnut flour bread is also more expensive than wheat flour bread, as is artisanal Paris ham compared to industrial ham.
“We’re walking on our heads, 30 euros a sandwich”, “Is there gold in it or what?” For a large majority of Internet users, Cédric Grolet goes too far. “So it’s possible to make a butter ham more expensive than that of the SNCF”laughs an Internet user on TikTok. “At this price, I eat even the crumbs”, “It’s the most expensive butter ham in France.” But if only the sandwich was the size of half a baguette…
Second problem? “The bread is tiny”comments one of his subscribers under his TikTok video. “You pay a lot of money to have 1/5 of your sandwich unusable”chants another, denouncing the shape of the bread.“That’s a sample sandwich.” Too small, so we understand that. “In three bites it’s finished”, “That’s a butter pigeon, it’s not the same”, “it’s really very small”…
With this luxury creation, other Internet users denounce the prices charged by the pastry chef: “For having tasted his products! I find it overrated and very expensive! It's not within everyone's budget. There's work behind it, I'm not saying otherwise, but no authenticity and sometimes tasteless… “
“Everything is well balanced in the sandwich, it’s quite elegant. It’s completely validated!”
TikToker @vanessaV tested it, and she completely loved it. “The bread is very good, it goes really well with the truffle”confides the young woman facing the camera. “The truffle is really very good. It has nutty flavors which are well marked, it has quite warm and quite rounded notes. Everything is well balanced in the sandwich, it's quite elegant. It's completely validated!”
Not many of them are of the same opinion, many stopping at the price of the sandwich. But still! “It's the first time I've had a good taste”, “it made me want to taste it”, “It looks exceptional”,… “In reality, 30 euros is not gigantic expensive. You buy this to discover and because it's Grolet you don't eat this every lunchtime and then the 30 euros are there when it comes to going to McDonald's.. After all, everyone manages their wallet as they see fit.
