Bringing a Taste of France to Mar Vista with Local Macarons

It’s hard to resist the appeal of a new booth at the , and when a French macaron vendor arrives on the scene, resistance is futile.  Les Macarons Duverger made its debut appearance at the end of October, and customers flocked to see what the French sweet shop had to offer.

According to the Duverger website, a macaron, “also called the Paris macaron, is a sweet cookie made with two almond meringue discs filled with a layer of butter cream, jam or panache filling.” 

Oddly enough, the origin of the macaron traces back to Italy, of all places. Blame it on Catherine de Medici, who brought her Italian pastry chef with her when she married Henry II of France. Note the similarity between “macaron” and “macaroni” – I’m just saying…

I spoke with Annick, who was handing out macaron samples to curious passers-by, and asked her to tell me a little bit about the company.

“We only use fresh, natural and organic ingredients. Even the colors are natural,” she said, explaining the reason why these macarons are more pastel than the bright and flashy types you see in other stores.

The company has been in business almost a year, and works out of a commercial kitchen in Culver City. Owned by Claire and Bernard, a couple from Marseille, Les Macarons Duverger brings this Parisian (Italian?) specialty to Angelinos every 4^th Sunday of the month in Mar Vista.

They also have a booth at farmers’ markets in Studio City, Atwater Village, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, and the Bank of America market in downtown Los Angeles.  

Annick offered a sample of one of their nine flavors: salted caramel, pistachio, chocolate, coffee, raspberry, praline, blueberry-lavender, passion fruit and vanilla.  She was featuring a pumpkin pie macaron – a seasonal specialty.  I tried that one along with the vanilla, and they were both delicious.  The flavors melt on your tongue with delicate grace.  The most popular flavors are blueberry-lavender, pistachio and salted caramel, but you can’t go wrong with any of these flavors.

Bags of 3 sell for $5, bags of 6 for $9.50. Larger gift boxes are available as well as catering services for weddings and corporate events. Visit Les Macaron Duverger on the web at duvergermacarons.com.

Christy Wilhelmi is well known to many local Mar Vistans as The Gardenerd. Her website and blog at  www.gardenerd.com offers  information on classes, consulting and food-garden design.