Royaume de la Chantilly’s renowned logo is featured prominently above the entrance, in bright red lettering, flanked by a blue crown and the royal emblem, the fleur-de-lis. Founded in 1917, Royaume de la Chantilly, (“Kingdom of Chantilly”) is certainly considered royalty by the Marseillais when it comes to their signature specialty: fabulously fluffy, perfectly sugared homemade whipped cream.
Over 100 years ago, Joseph Ganteaume opened the first store on rue Longue des Capucins not far from the old port. Before refrigeration, people would go to what was then called the BOF, meaning beurre, œufs, fromage (“butter, eggs, cheese”) on a daily basis to purchase dairy products. Joseph passed along the business to his son in law, Paul Reynier, who continued to build and expand the store. Today, the family brand is known and loved by generations of Marseillais.
The original store on rue Longue des Capucins has since closed, but the third and fourth generations of the family have built a Marseille empire, now operating four other stores in the city. Building on the humble beginnings of the BOF, the stores now carry a multitude of products such as pasta; French, Corsican, and Italian charcuterie, as well as baked goods and cookies, wine and beer, but the big draw is still the fresh dairy products: Echiré butters which you buy by the slice, eggs and cheeses, and of course the chantilly (whipped cream). A long-held tradition in France, on weekends, holidays, and birthdays, the tradition of serving chantilly with your favorite fruit or pastry continues.
We stopped by the flagship location in Place Sébastopol, to speak with Catherine, third-generation owner and the founder’s granddaughter, and her son, Stéphane Thibon. The mother-and-son team run the shop and tell us the Sébastopol store was opened by Catherine’s father, Paul, in 1982. “We have four stores here in Marseille. My mom and I work together here, and my aunt, Michèle Reynier, has another store in Camoins. My cousin, Carine and her husband, Romain Michel have a store in Redon. Together with my family, we want to develop a family franchise of the Royaume De La Chantilly brand. And next year, we’ll open the first franchise outside of Marseille,” Stéphane tells us about future plans to expand.
Because Catherine ran the shop, Stéphane practically grew up here, coming into the shop every day after school for un gouter (an afterschool snack, usually sweet). He says he has many fond memories here and one of his favorites was the sweet, whipped treat. “I would come here every day after school before we went home for dinner. I loved eating the chantilly when I was a kid, and especially, I loved it frozen. It’s like ice cream.”
Scanning the room, we see a large display case that spans the length of the room and is loaded with cheeses from all over France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Holland, and Greece. There is fromage blanc (a popular white soft cheese, similar in taste to a cottage cheese, but without the curds) in a large tub that you buy in spoonfuls, and artisanal yogurts.
They stock over 135 different cheeses, including a large selection of chevres (goat cheese) as well as Crottins, Camemberts de Normandie au lait cru, Rocamadour, Pélardon, Roquefort, Picodon, matured Comté cheeses, Gruyères Suisse, Appenzeller, Beaufort d’été, Parmigiano Reggiano Provolone, Tome du Sud-Ouest, Raclette cheese, Emmental, and truffle cheese, to name a few of the mouth-watering options.
Stéphane speaks lovingly of his city and the neighborhood. “I love Marseille because you have the energy of a big city, but you’re also very close to nature. I like this neighborhood because we have a lot of choices here. We have the market, two boucheries [butchers], we have a boulangerie [bread store], a primeur [vegetable stand], two poissonneries [fish stands], and a Corsican épicerie [grocery] just in this one little square,” he says. “We have two types of clients. During the week, it’s people from the neighborhood, and they come in to buy cheese or jambon [ham] for their apéro or pasta for dinner in the evening. On the weekend, we have a lot of people that come in from other areas surrounding Marseille to shop at the market and to our store to buy the chantilly.”
We make a few selections – a soft goat cheese and Corsican Brocciu to make beignet de fleurs de courgette (fried zucchini flowers) and of course, a few scoops of the chantilly. We then ask Stéphane about his favorite way to eat and serve the famous treat. “When I have friends come to my house, we always bring the chantilly and serve it simply with fresh strawberries. When the strawberries are in season, we have a very busy time with people coming in and buying the chantilly.” It can also be served with chocolate fondue or coulis de fruits rouges (red fruit sauce) or with peaches. Another classic is the chantilly with choux (puff pastry).
As we bag up our goodies, Catherine adds that during World War II, her father would travel to the Alps to get butter, eggs, and milk because dairy products were difficult to get, and return to Marseille to supply his shop. She says that the locals pronounce it chan-ti-li, “comme de Marseillais.” Stéphane adds, “People come from an hour away just to get the chantilly. That’s proof that it is very good.” We agree; their whipped cream is a true delight.
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Published on July 29, 2024
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