AROUND THE WORLD
THE KOUING AMANN SUCCESS IN UNITED STATES
The French art of living, enhanced by its legendary gastronomy,is a data that is
frequently encountered in France as in many others foreign countries that also
appreciate our gastronomic heritage such as the "Kouing Amann" iconic pastry
from Brittany born in Douarnenez in 1860,which as been a resounding success
in the United States for 14 years.
Invented and initiated in the 1860s in the radiant city of Douarnenez in Brittany by the chief pastry Yves René Scordia
who at this time ran a bakery and pastry shop with his wife on Gabriel Péri place in the center of this radiant city,the
"Kouing Amann"
is a great cake made of puff pastry topped with sugar and butter that we enjoy tasting as a dessert
but which also goes well with tea or coffee breaks or good snacks and which also worthily represents the Brittany
gastronomic heritage that can be found everywhere in France, as in many foreign countries.Its recipe is simple and
requires 250 grams of flour for 200 grams of butter supplemented with 200 grams of caster sugar for 10 centiliters of
water, 2 pinches of salt enhanced with 10 grams of fresh yeast to make a delicious soft cake in its interior part and
deliciously covered with a thin crispy layer in parallel with its harmoniously placed caramelized.Worthily celebrated
in a competition organized every year by the chiefs pastry ' federation of Brittany whic awards during this operation
the prize for the best Kouing Amann, the “Brittany culinary pearl”which owes its nickname to lovers of its sweet taste enhanced by its simplicity of tasting also wins, and this since 2011 a resounding success in United States,initially
initiated by the French pastry Dominique ANSEL, who was the first to offer the delicious Breton pastry in his shop in New York, followed by numerous and effective press campaigns written by influential critics, which led to the
successful prescription of the "Brittany Pearl Culinary"
as was the case in the American magazine Food And Wine which
had classified the latter Years the
Kouing Amann among the 40 best recipes of all time
and which gave it its letters of
nobility alongside the croissant, another French culinary speciality also very popular with Americans, in addition
of the famous Baguette, another jewel of our gastronomic heritage, which has enjoyed worldwide success since 2022
referenced on the UNESCO representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The Expression of a French Art of Living
Helped in this by the American medias and their laudatory articles alongside promotional operations ,tasting and
prescription of local French-American associations such as Breizh America founded and chaired by Charles Kergavarat
the "Kouing Amann"
, whose success was rapid and eloquent, quickly crossed the limits of from the "Big Apple"
nickname given to the City of New York to then be cooked and sold in pastry shops in American cities like
San Francisco, Los Angeles or Miami where it represents, besides the fact that it is a French culinary product which is a
benchmark of quality in the United States,"the expression of a French art of living the famous "French way of life" that
many Americans appreciate alongside its taste of butter and sugar , its fatty and crispy outside and soft inside, complemented by its different sizes presented well suited for tastings whether individual, family or group”
Kathy Sullivan, a chief pastry in San Francisco and manager of a bakery in the city center, tells me. Flagship product French
property appreciated as such, the
Kouing Amann
has also become trendy since it has its national holiday in the United States, namely June 20th,and this has been the case since 2015 and for 14 years many chiefspastry across the Atlantic
who design and sell the delicious cake of Brittany origin do so in profitable conditions and qualitative in parallel on its
side
Bigger is Better
as Charles Kergavarat specifies with also different very American names like “Queen a man” which
is more familiar to the customers and which is also the name of a show in tribute to Freddie Mercury in addition to the
French community who lives,studies or works in the United States and who enjoys finding Kouing Amann in pastries in
proximity to their places of life and work which also represents the maintenance of good useful gastronomic
inherited from its country of origin in addition to also being the living expression of cultural wealth,historical and
gastronomic heritage of France and its influence in the United States and around the world.
Report: Gabriel PAGE
Photos Credit: Gabriel PAGE / Getty Images
