GINGERBREADBread for health!

Burgundian speciality

Gingerbread

Along with blackcurrants and mustard, gingerbread is part of Burgundy’s gourmet trilogy.

Gingerbread House in Beaune

Bernard Loiseau quote

In this honey-coated cookie, the great chef Bernard Loiseau saw “a bread of health”, and exclaimed “It’s the terroir and the product! It’s the whole of France and my beloved Burgundy!

From China to Burgundy

Gingerbread has been known since ancient times, but its contemporary recipe appeared in China under the name Mi-Kong in the 10th century. A great traveler, it formed part of the dietary rations of Genghis Khan’s hardy horsemen and was passed on to the Arabs. It was during their stay in the Holy Land that the Crusaders appropriated it and brought it back in their luggage. It is said that this cake, called “Boichet” in the Middle Ages, was introduced to Burgundy by Duchess Marguerite de Flandres on her marriage to Philippe le Hardi…or perhaps it was brought back from Courtrai by her grandson, Duke Philippe Le Bon.

Gingerbread from Dijon

Place Carnot, Beaune

Gingerbread

by Mulot et Petitjean

It was with Bonnaventure Pellerin, a “gingerbread seller and cabaret owner” in Dijon in 1702, that the word “gingerbread” first appeared. Renowned for its delicacy, it soon found a gourmet following, and there were as many as 12 factories in the Côte d’Or.

Mulot et Petitjean is the last remaining house of Dijon’s master gingerbread makers. It occupies a superb old timber-framed house on Place Bossuet in Dijon. In Beaune, you’ll find the famous 100% artisanal gingerbread and specialties like nonnettes (gingerbread rolls with a jam-filled center) or glacé mince, sugar-glazed gingerbread, in a pretty Mulot et Petitjean boutique, place Carnot.

In the kitchen: sweet and savoury dishes

Gingerbread is a bit like Proust’s madeleine for the Burgundians, evoking childhood, memories, tenderness… It’s particularly popular in winter during the Christmas holidays.

In cooking, it goes perfectly with many foods, both savory and sweet, such as foie gras, goat’s cheese, chicken, trout but also figs, or rhubarb. What would you say to a gingerbread toast accompanied by a scoop of gingerbread ice cream, surrounded by prawns?

Become as sweet as honey!Mulot & Petitjean gingerbread house

Practical information

Address

1, place Carnot, Beaune

Maison du Pain d'épices

Mulot et Petitjean - Beaune

for local products