THIS PAGE: (Below and left) In 1870 Paris, Ferdinand Hédiard selected 21 Place de la Madeleine, close to the Grands Boulevards and the new Opera House, it remains the flagship store to this day; (Right) Only the freshest fruit is selected for the Hédiard products. NEXT PAGE: The trademark Hédiard fruit jellies; A mark of handmade quality goes into each chocolate.
the place to taste Once upon a time, a man named Ferdinand Hédiard travelled to Le Havre on the northwest coast of France, where he discovered a quayside vibrant with exotic fruits. Only 13 years of age, Ferdinand was inspired by wares such as lychees, guavas and bananas – the likes of which he had only ever seen in books. These delicious wonders gave him a colourful vision of his future life: sharing his discoveries with the world by becoming a fine foods merchant. At the age of 18, Ferdinand was already thinking on an epic scale. The gourmet enthusiast headed to Paris where he set out selling his fine fruits from an old wooden market barrow under the statue of Louis XIV on the Place des Victories. Four years later and his dream had come true in the form of the first Hédiard shop on rue Dame de Lorette, Paris, selling jams, spices, vinegars, oils, condiments, mustards, biscuits, tea and coffee. His admirers came thick and fast – with enough loyal followers to take a permanent lease. He called the store the Counter of Spices and [rather than ‘from’] the Colonies, and the celebrated artist Eugene Delacroix was the first of many famous fans over the decades. Over time, Ferdinand’s yams, Caribbean cabbages, chilies and curry spices found their way into the best restaurants in Paris
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and his reputation was assured as the Parisian high society grocer. In 1870, he selected 21 Place de la Madeleine, close to the Grands Boulevards and the new Opera House, for the next boutique, which remains the flagship store to this day. It was the ideal theatre for his showmanship. A spokeswoman for the luxury brand says fruits, spices, tea and coffee were constantly on Ferdinand’s mind. “A consuming obsession for perfection upon which he – the stay-at-home traveller – insisted, with a view to sharing only the best vintages and the boldest flavours,” she adds. “Ferdinand made the brand a realm of luxury for fruit and its closely related species. With a great deal of attention, care and skill, he was able to bring out all of their natural aromas and flavours. “There is no doubt he had a magical touch. As the legend goes, his life changed radically in the port of Le Havre when he discovered exotic cargoes of fruit and spices unloaded from the ships.” At age 66, Ferdinand took his final journey, leaving the business to his daughter, Marie-Blanche, and her husband, Max Kusel. Soon after came the discovery of Brazilian fruit pastes, a high-end luxury and a clever way of preserving and transporting fresh fruit. Place de la Madeleine became
a hive of industry as Kusel and the team experimented with recipe after recipe until they were satisfied. Soon the brand was known for its unique, yielding fruit concoctions, cooked and moulded daily on the adjacent premises using fresh ingredients from the shop. Next came an ingenious way of using unsold fruit: preserve it whole, stones and all, in jams that taste as lively as the day they entered the jar. Hédiard fast became known as much for fresh innovation as fresh fruit. The third generation, Jean and Germaine Kusel, took over Hédiard in 1935, bringing with them the gift hamper and regular customers such as actors Charlie Chaplin and Marlene Dietrich, and French novelist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette. Little did Ferdinand know that his brand would soon go worldwide – first came more Parisian branches, then later outlets in Qatar, Dubai, South Korea, Barcelona, Abu Dhabi, Madagascar and Singapore. More than 150 years later and 1,200 kilometres away in the city of Monaco, the food empire continues to expand. It recently opened a 300sqm boutique in the elegant Galerie du Métropole offering the finest produce from all over the world. Alternatively, dock your superyacht and have your own personalised basket of