Admitted, macarons and sweets are maybe not so healthy and we at the Quan are normally in for more nutritious stuff, but it is also important for us human beings to enjoy life. And visiting Ladurée in Paris my friends, is enjoying life. It is a late Saturday night when we try to enter this amazing ‘Maison de Macarons et salon du thé’, as the Ladurée family calls its house of sweet luxury and there is still a que standing in front of the counter, which is starting at the Champs-elysees. Where? Outside at the Champs-elysee! Hello, it is 22.30 hrs on a saturday night. Why are people standing outside on the Champs-elysees waiting in a never-ending que just to buy some macarons and cakes? Worse, what are we doing there?

The moment we enter this top-notch sweet treat however, we realize that the praise of Ladurées’ fame all over the world is justified and we are not as crazy as we thought we were. The counter is full of the best ever macarons and cakes and the waitresses behind it are very friendly and speak all the languages we want (French, English, German, Spanish). Even when one is waiting in a que, this establishment breathes quality and serenity.

But before we go on, what is a macaron and why is everybody talking about it lately? A macaron is the new hip in sweets, originally born in Italy but now widely claimed by France and made famous by yes; Ladurée. It is a sweet meringue-based confection made with eggs, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond powder or ground almond and coloring. A macaron is commonly filled with ganache, butter ream or jam filling, sandwiched between two biscuits. Macarons can be found in a wide variety of flavors that range from raspberry, vanilla and chocolate to the new foie gras, matcha.  At the counter of Ladurée we find hundreds of them in many variaties.

After we do our sweet shopping at the counter, we take our (big) bag with delicious treats, look at the windows and find out that Ladurée offers more than macarons and marvelous cakes. This brands shop (because that’s what it definitely is), which was founded in 1862 (!) by Louis Ernest Ladurée, also sells chocolate, perfumes, key chains  and many more brands souvenirs.

But let’s not forget that it is also a thé house. When we enter the terrace, we see that every table is taken and waiters are running everywhere. At the end of the counter they opened a new bar, which has amazing coloring and lights and shows that Ladurée isn’t all about nostalgia. Chairman of the Ladurée company David Holder, who recently opened the doors of two new ‘Maisons de Macarons et salon du thé’ in London (in Harrods and in Covent Garden), is capable of combining new trends with classy old school design and delicious taste. Ladurée is not only situated in the heart of Paris, it is no doubt, Paris at it’s best.

LaDurée, 5 Avenue des Champs Elysées 75008 Paris
website   www.laduree.com