And Hédiard created grocery delights...
If FerdinandHédiard would have been a woodworker, the delicate grocery would have been totally different! Eugène Delacroix, Colette, MarlèneDietrich or JeanCocteau, for over 150 years, rare are the ones who have not tried and yield to the smells of spices, fruits or coffee or the Hédiard house. An epic of a PierreLoti kind...
Birth of a calling
FerdinandHédiard was about to run a total different career which would have deprived us of exotic and spicy specialties. Cinnamon and vanilla touch, a revolution at the time when thyme and laurel where the ones to spice the meals. By fortune, it was in 1832 at the Havre as a woodworker, that the young Ferdinand arrives and discovers the products of the boats. The legend says his life changed there : bananas, guavas, mangos, avocados...in brief, he discovered 170 years ago these exotic and rare commodities.
The meeting point of all
From the humble chariot of the four seasons, place des Victoires, to the very first shop ("Comptoir d'épices et des colonies") rue Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, the "business type" of the young man, there has been an elevation and has worked wonderfully. His customers include, since 1854, quality food lovers such as Eugène Delacroix. The shop becomes then the important place of
A souk place de
In 1880, 13 years after its large success during the Exposition Universelle, Hédiard decided to settle its "Comptoir des colonies et de l'Algérie" place de
Succession and changeover
This could have been deadly for the House, but however, when Max Kusel took his stepfather's business (when he died in1898) he initiated plenty of inventions who stayed in the house's traditions. Fruit paste of Brasil, homemade jams, greek "dulce de leche", indian "mango chutney", Rhum of the islands with different peppers, the Hédiard of Max Kusel, and later his two childs was reinvented every day. New habits, new space and decoration, the successors were not scared to make changes. Colette and Marlène Dietrich, then Cocteau and Tristan Bernard, all the big names were seduced by the "Hédiard style".
Amazingly tasteful
After a few crisis that couldn't be avoided, and which inspired the changes of the house, Hédiard has made its glorious entry in the 3rd millennium, by its international influence. With its exceptional vine cellar, the luxurious grocery counts on its authenticity, its long-lasting, and tasting discoveries. What an incredible task to always impress and constantly have to surprise our senses! Hédiard certainly deserves the Price of Taste!
