Baked goods and sweet treats

Every dedicated French cook has her ‘little black book’ of bought-in treats and accessories that make her meals special. Top-quality chocolate is still bought mostly at individual chocolatiers. It is a tradition to give beautiful boxes to friends and neighbours at Christmas. And at Easter, chocolate eggs, bunnies, chickens and, oddly, lobsters, are bought from local shops. Industrially made versions are thankfully confined to the bigger supermarkets.