Queen for a Day

The past week or so, I have noticed that my boulangerie, Secco (not to be confused with Rupert’s boulangerie, you will have to ask him for the name) has been full of plain flat, round, flaky pastries. After a couple of days of watching almost every person in line buy one, and P noticing (and wanting) the crown that came with the pastries, it was time to find out more. So I asked my French tutor, who has come to be my primary translator of French culture, what French tradition were we missing?

The pastries are the “Gallettes du Roi” which celebrate the epiphany, or the feast of the kings, which happens the first Sunday (after the first Saturday) in January.

Baked inside the cake is a ceramic figurine called a fève, literally meaning, a bean (which is what were put in Gallettes long ago). The person who finds the fève is declared the king (le roi) or the queen (la reine) and gets to wear the paper crown that comes with the Gallette. Luckily, my tutor pointed out that the gallettes only come with one fève, so I might want to get two Gallettes and avoid the inevitability of one disappointed little girl.

D and I picked out the traditional almond Gallette and a chocolate one and the family enjoyed them for dessert tonight.

Pastries, prizes and crowns, what could be a nicer tradition for two little girls?

The queens

The fèves