About Loc Maria
- Based in
- Lanvallay, near Dinan, Brittany, France
- Founded
- 1920 (Gavottes factory)
- Known for
- Gavottes crêpes dentelles
The Gavottes story starts in Quimper in 1886, when Marie-Catherine Cornic left a crêpe on the griddle too long, rolled it up and found it crisp and light. A biscuit factory opened in 1920 in Quimper's Loc Maria district, where pastry cooks rolled each crêpe by hand. Machines took over the rolling in 1950, and production moved to a new factory in Dinan in 1962.
In 1990 Gavottes became part of the newly formed Loc Maria biscuit group, and the crêpes have been made in Lanvallay, near Dinan, since then. The range has since grown well beyond the original pure butter crêpe.
Crêpes dentelles are eaten with coffee, beside a bowl of fruit or crumbled over ice cream.
Loc Maria questions
What is a Gavottes crêpe dentelle?
A crêpe dentelle is a very thin Breton crêpe, cooked until crisp and rolled up on itself. Dentelle is French for lace, a nod to how thin and delicate the crêpe is. The result is light, crunchy and golden, eaten like a cookie with coffee or tea.
What is feuilletine?
Feuilletine is what pastry cooks call crisp crêpes dentelles broken into flakes: crunchy, mildly buttery pieces mixed into praline, a paste of caramelized nuts, and other nut pastes to add crunch. Gavottes' own recipes use the broken crêpes in a hazelnut praline, as the base of a no-bake cheesecake-style dessert and in frozen parfaits. At home, press a few into a cake or tart base.
