Home > Who we are … l’esprit délifrance

Who we are … l’esprit délifrance

From "wheat" to "plate" :

We are very unique.
Alongside the miller Grands Moulins de Paris (1919), mother company, Délifrance is part of the cooperative grain group VIVESCIA.

This means we are able to control the entire value chain: upstream with the selection of wheat varieties, to produce the Grands Moulins de Paris flours, and downstream with our network of franchised restaurants, with the support of our unique Ecole de Boulangerie & Pâtisserie de Paris, who trained more than 12,000 French or foreign bakers since 1929.

We are French bakery experts.
Key figures : 400 stores in 15 countries

Savoir-faire

Délifrance has acquired a unique savoir-faire. Our products are prepared using the traditional techniques of French artisanal baking.

Délifrance’s restaurants are veritable open bakeries, where the art and the science of baking are revealed. By watching the bakers and chefs baking bread and preparing sandwiches up close, you get a glimpse of the work that goes into the bread you are about to enjoy. You are immersed in the aroma of warm bread, and can see its crust cracking as it comes out of the oven.

This passion for bread is symbolised by an architectural feature in each new Délifrance restaurant: a honeycombed glass wall dedicated to the glory of this delicious and fragile product, with its delicate and complex structure.

Ingredients

Selecting our ingredients is at the heart of our savoir-faire. We create each recipe using top-quality wheat, in the tradition of French baking, by favouring the use of Grands Moulins de Paris flours.

We are offsetting the carbon emissions of our Délifrance Héritage range (viennoiserie and bread) with a reforestation project with WeForest.

We are supporting the farming industry to promote environmentally friendly farming through Vivescia’s Respect’In wheat.

Sharing our expertise

Via the Ecole de Boulangerie Pâtisserie in Paris, we are able to teach our savoir-faire to tomorrow’s bakers, students from across the globe.

When it first opened, in 1929, The Paris Bakery and Pâtisserie School was built next to the historic Tolbiac mill. In 1996, it crossed the Seine, moving to the Bercy neighbourhood and is now located in a listed building; a 2000 m2 former wine storehouse.

The Paris Bakery and Pâtisserie School has seen over 12,000 French and foreign apprentice bakers like Liang pass through its doors since it was founded, some of whom went on to share their baking expertise with Délifrance around the world.

Inspiration

Since opening their first shop in 1984, Délifrance has created the market for bakery-restaurants and has become the no. 1 French baker abroad.

The inspired brand boasts an appetizing and varied range all over the world: sandwiches made to order, salads, soups, and hot dishes served with a glass of wine…

All the ingredients are there for sharing a good meal and a good time; morning, noon and night. The recipes are prepared by well-known chefs and combine typical French gastronomic products with local ingredients; blending flavours together to create new experiences.