A
ugustin Paluel-Marmont and Michel de Rovira are trained pastry chefs from France, but they're too
entrepreneurial to get stuck in a kitchen. Through their brand, Michel et Augustin, the partners have
embarked on a mission to bring premium, made-in-France baked goods to the everyday lives of discerning
American consumers.
This pastry chef is on a mission to make made-in-France baked
goods an everyday part of American life.
BY JULIE BESONEN
"French chefs are popular around the world, French gas-
tronomy has had a huge impact, but buying French food in
daily life? It's hard to find a French brand of dessert or crackers
here," says Paluel-Marmont, 41, speaking on the phone from
Brooklyn, having just arrived home from his monthly trip
to France.
He has a point. Other than jam, sea salt, Dijon mustard,
and cheese, French-produced specialty foods are under-repre-
sented in the American marketplace and not widely stocked in
the average kitchen cabinet or refrigerator. Their company is
making a strong play to change that, launching a "fresh French
revolution," as he calls it.
A Shared Pastry Obsession
Michel et Augustin was founded in Paris in 2004 and last year
posted $50 million in global sales based on 110 SKUs. The products
are currently sold in 23 countries. One could say it all began with a
butter cookie, but it goes back further than that. The men have been
friends since they were schoolchildren.
When they were in their 20s, they reconnected after finding
themselves dissatisfied with corporate-type careers. Both had gone
to culinary school to study the art of pastry, more for the love of it
than anything else, and they paired up to find the best baguettes and
pain au chocolat in Paris. It took them two years to visit 1,263 bak-
eries. In 2003, they published a Michelin-style handbook, "Guide
PHOTOS: MICHEL ET AUGUSTIN
Augustin Paluel-Marmont, CEO, co-founder,
Michel et Augustin
A Fresh French Revolution
producer profile
66 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com