Hey Local Guides!
Are any of you as obsessed with bread as me? Bread is one of many, many reasons I love visiting Paris. Amazing fact: 32 million baguettes are eaten daily in the country of France. But for someone like my husband, Josh who has a gluten allergy, a trip to France—proud home of baguettes, croissants, tarts and profiteroles—can be daunting.
Even though I don’t eat a gluten-free diet myself, I love to scout out gluten-free places so Josh can enjoy local foods when we’re traveling. Josh was diagnosed with Celiac disease about 10 years ago, so he has to be pretty careful with what he eats. It’s easy for him to monitor meals at home, but having a food restriction gets tough when we travel. Before we went to Paris, I used Google Maps to research popular gluten-free bakeries and restaurants. My search brought me to the best gluten-free bakery in Paris: Boulangerie Chambelland located at 14 Rue Ternaux.
If you haven’t fallen in love with Paris, you will after eating at Chambelland, which is just a few blocks from the Parmentier metro stop between the 3rd and 11th Arrondissements. In normal bread, gluten in the wheat helps the dough stick together. That’s why gluten-free bread, lacking that binding agent, tends to be dry and crumbly. Chambelland, however, has developed a secret recipe for bread with the most spectacular crust, consistency and crunch. The restaurant serves other items like soup and coffee, but the bread is their crown jewel. It’s chock-full of nutritious goodies like figs, sunflower seeds and hazelnuts. Because they use such a unique combination of gluten-free flours and ingredients, the bread has a nice outer layer that yields an audible and oddly satisfying when you bite down. If you are gluten-free and happen to be in Paris, this boulangerie will become your home away from home!
Chambelland fulfilled my lifelong fantasy of sitting in a cozy French cafe with nothing to do other than enjoy a warm mug of coffee and a platter of fresh bread, fruit preserves, local honey and salted butter. It’s also so much fun to actually share food with Josh! It’s totally heartwarming to see his eyes filled with child-like delight as he bites into one of their famous gluten-free chocolate chip cookies and marvel earnestly at its crunchy consistency.
Chambelland is serious about avoiding contamination with gluten. So serious, in fact, that they built their own mill in Haute-Provence where they produce their own flours, made from rice, buckwheat, sorghum and millet.
I know I’ve been writing obsessively about their bread, but if you’re hungry for a more substantial meal, they do serve up lots of other gluten-free options like soups and sandwiches. Bu whatever you order, you have to leave room to sample a few of their pastries for dessert.
Highly recommend these items:
- Brownie Cookie/brookie
- Chocolate tart/tarte au chocolate
- Chocolate chip cookie/biscuit avec pépite de chocolat
- Apple tart/tarte au pomme
- Lemon meringue tart/meringue au citron
- Poppy seed cookie/biscuit aux grains de pavot
- Coconut macaroon/macaroon au coco
- Cream puff with Chantilly cream/chou avec creme Chantilly (below)
- Chocolate cookie/biscuit au chocolat
- Sugar bread loaf/pains de sucre
- Dough with sugar pearls/chouquette
Yes, I’ve tried each and every pastry above and honestly the reason I don’t have photos of all of them is because I was more focused on eating them. Sorry. Again, everything on their menu is gluten-free and everything is amazing. There are lots of wonderful boulangeries and sweet shops in Paris with gluten-free options, but Chambelland is simply a cut above the rest.
What about you, Local Guides? I need to know where to try next time I’m in Paris!