Historical baker gives a taste of the past

‘La Fleur des Délices’ historical bakery was set up in 2009 by Camille Lelièvre, a young baker passionate about history.

Based in Caen, Normandy, and working mainly at festivals, Camille uses recipes, methods and ingredients from the 14th to 19th centuries.

She said: “To knead my pastry and grind my spices takes time, but I do it out of respect for the product – a pastry kneaded by hand will always be better than that mixed in a machine because it has been treated without violence. And it makes for a more intense taste as a spice quickly loses its flavour if it has been ground for too long.”

Camille gets her older recipes from original writings from the 14th and 15th century. “Through time, pastry has evolved according to trends, discoveries, novelties. The pastry of the 14th century is very different from that of the 17th and that of today is different again. What is interesting is to see the evolution through history to understand why this or that ingredient appears or disappears.”

Camille also has outfits to fit different periods. “My costumes are made by my mother, who is also passionate about history. She does the same job as I do but in the field of costumes.”

So does she have an all-time favourite cake?

“This is a very difficult question, as every century contains little gourmet wonders,” she said.

“But if I have to pick only one, it is the orange pie of Pierre de Lune that dates from the 17th century.”

You can sample Camille’s work at:

– The 31st medieval festival of Bayeux (14400), Until July 2;

– Château de Canon, Mézidon-Canon, (14270), meeting on a theme of 17th century pâtisserie, July 14 and August 3;

– Medieval festival at the Château de Falaise (14700) August 12 and 13;

– Cider and Dragons festival at Merville-Franceville-plage (14810) September 16 and 17;

– La Fête du ventre in Rouen (76000) October 14 to 15.