Let’s all raise our glasses to Gaspard, Balthazar and Melchior – the three kings who traveled to meet the newborn baby Jesus more than 2000 years ago. Their visit (Epiphany) was the occasion that gave rise to the galette des rois, a delicious treat that the French consume on (or around) January 6. Clotilde Dusoulier tells us that a classic French galette des rois is “a flaked pastry pie filled with frangipane, a butter-rich, smooth mixture of crème d’amande (almond cream) and crème pâtissière (pastry cream). A tiny trinket (fève) is hiding within each cake, and whoever is lucky enough to eat the slice containing the fève is pronounced King (or Queen) for a day.
When we asked Clotilde and other contributing advisors to crown their own king, the baker of their favorite galette des rois, they chose Christophe Vasseur of Du Pain et Des Idées.
Five Great for Galette des Rois
- Du Pain et Des Idées – Christophe Vasseur makes his galette without any artificial flavors – just a pure crème d’amande with sugar, butter, egg, almond and a touch of Grand Marnier.
- Jacques Genin – A very close second to Vasseur, Jacques Genin serves a smaller version of the galette in his Marais tea salon, in addition to the larger take-away version.
There was a three-way tie between the following:
- Poilâne – Galettes here often have special flavors (last year featured myrrh & frankincense), and contain particularly beautiful fèves.
- Hugo & Victor – Selling a classic galette as well as one flavored with bergamote
- Dominique Saibron – This year’s collection of buttery galettes are flavored with almond, pistachio or (the latest) orange blossom.
Runners up (in order): Des Gateaux et du Pain, Pain de Sucre, Gérard Mulot
On the fence: Jean-Paul Hévin
Rejects: Arnaud Delmontel
About our process: For each topic, we begin with a little research to identify options. We then ask our readers, by posting a question in the forum, to offer additional suggestions. From that discussion, we compile a list of candidates and ask our panel of contributing advisors to rank their top choices and identify any rejects. Their rankings are weighted, analyzed, and compiled into a new Five Great post every week. Runners up are places who received more positive votes than negative comments. Those places “on the fence” received an equal number of positive and negative votes. Rejects are places that received only negative comments with no positive votes.
Related Links
- François-Régis Gaudry says the galette at Du Pain et Des Idées is “absolument fabuleuse” but winces at the price. [L'Express] Franck Pinay-Rabaroust interviews baker Christophe Vasseur about Gaudry’s comment and about what qualities make a great galette. [A Tabula] Camille Malmquist shares her tasting notes in English. [Croque Camille]
- Ann Mah ranks her favorite galettes in 2010 (Eric Kayser is her king), and Clotilde Dusoulier shares a recipe for making homemade galette des rois [Chocolate & Zucchini]
- Bruno Verjus shows the skill that goes into making one of Jacques Genin‘s galette des rois. [Food Intelligence]
More delicious Five Great lists:
- Five Great for Dinner in Montmartre
- Six Great for Wild Game
- Five Great for a Box of Chocolates
- Five Great with Kids
- Five Great for Groups
- Five Great for Vegetarians
- Five Great for Ice Cream
- Five Great for Outdoor Dining
- Five Great Places for Oysters
- Five Great Places for Sunday Dinner
- Five Great Steak Frites
- Five Great Baguettes
Great recon and recommendations. I would hop on a plane just to have a quick galette des rois (or 2 or 3…) today, if I could!
I should be embarrassed to say it, but I’m not, that after a great cake from Dalloyau yesterday, I got one for Colette today from our crummy/crumby Banette, one will see if the feve is up to her standard.
I had a slice of Jacques Genin’s galette des rois this afternoon as I dropped by to say Happy New Year, and while I’m still brushing a thousand airy crumbs from my sweater I wonder how galette could ever get better than this.
Maison Kayser’s galette with the pistache filling but if given the choice Clotilde’s homemade galette still warm!
My wife went to Jacques Genin this afternoon asking for a galette. They told her she needs to call tomorrow morning and order one and there is a possibility there won’t be any available. Strange?! Or is there a VIP list?
I like ParisByMouth, but this article was kind of a let-down.
Went to Jacques Genin (and bought some nice stuff, admittedly), but was told that the GdR’s are only done on order, and available for pick-up the next day.
Then found a Poilâne and saw some nice-looking GdR’s. Picked a 2-person one up for 10 euros. Got home and cut a slice only to discover that it’s just pastry. No filling. No frangipane (not even fragrance!) Pretty surprised at how they think they can sell some puff pastry with sugar dusted on top for a tenner. Disappointed with PBM for recommending them.
Dear Lewis and David,
This policy at Genin (this need to order ahead) is brand new and probably related to the same staffing shortage that caused him to temporarily suspend making all individual pastries.
As for Poilane, they are now selling (and we admit this seems strange) a version with filling, and a version without filling. Lewis, I imagine that you unintentionally snagged one without filling. I’d be bummed, too.
Restaurants and bakeries are not static, they change their offerings (and their hours, prices, and just about everything else) regularly. We do our best to keep up, often with tips from our wonderful readers.
Thanks for the update PBM, sorry if I was a bit aggressive but I was really frustrated I must admit.
Your efforts to keep on top of everything worth eating in Paris are most definitely appreciated, and I’m off to explore my new quartier thanks to your recommendations! Have a lovely weekend.