If you ever find yourself in Bordeaux or on the Bay of Arcachon and feel your stomach start to rumble, you’re in for a treat. Head to a local pâtisserie* and you’ll have your tastebuds well and truly sated with the iconic Dune Blanche* pastry – a speciality of the region.

Better yet, enjoy this Chantilly-filled delight in the place of its creation, Chez Pascal in the seaside resort of Cap Ferret.

Named in honour of a beach on the Cap-Ferret Peninsula, the Dune Blanche (white dune) is a chantilly*-filled chouquette – a small choux puff topped with pearl sugar. A marriage made in heaven, oui*, but it was conceived by happy accident by Brice Lucas, the son of Pascal (of Chez Pascal) – a celebrated baker from Grand Piquey in Cap Ferret.

Returning home in the wee hours of the morning, Brice decided to make himself a snack. He filled his father’s leftover chou buns with some nearby cream, et voilà*! Culinary magic was made, and la Dune Blanche won its first fan!

Registered in 2009, the light and airy chouquette is the signature dessert of Arcachon and Cap Ferret. However, you can find les Dunes as far afield as Paris, should the fancy take you.

Just last year, several of our Chouchous* had a chance to sample the delicacy in the most propitious of circumstances - on a visit to a Cap Ferret beach while gazing at the Dune Blanche itself. Sublime*!

Photo credit: Henri Lajarrige Lombard

Les Dunes Blanches