Lu Petit Écolier

Posted by in Chocolate Reviews on July 4 2010 | Leave A Comment

As I was poking about in my local Foodland supermarket a few days ago, I stumbled upon LU Petit Écolier biscuits.

Part of the attraction / interest was that these sell themselves as “European Biscuits”.
Down here in the wide brown land at the bottom of the planet, we collectively have slight tendency to think we can’t do things very well; and that stuff from Europe represents better quality and sophistication; something that’s worth paying extra for the associated cachet (go look it up). It’s also been my experience that many of the goods sold offering “European” quality have only one really special thing going for them: they come from Somewhere Else.

Anyhow, in my perverse way I found it a strange idea to send biscuits half way around the world; to then be sold with “European” as a positive attribute. Perhaps a sign that the world really is a crazy place.

A quick check found that LU biscuits come from France, and are these days a part of the giant Kraft empire; but they do have a history going back to 1846. The image of “The little schoolboy” dates back to about the same time.

If the web advertising I found this is anything to go by, LU want to stake their reputation on the Petit Écolier biscuits. The company make a range of other biscuits, but this one has prominence.

In terms of presentation, these really stand out. The biscuits are well made, cleanly formed, no excess crumbs, and the chocolate is very elegantly formed and attached (somehow) to the biscuit without making it soggy. They look really, really good.

On to the tasting. As the pack says, the biscuit is quite buttery, it has a nice texture and a similarity to a good shortbread biscuit. The chocolate (which is what we are hanging out for) although stated as “dark” is only 45% cocoa, and quite sweet.

My biggest difficulty here is getting the taste of the chocolate. By the time you have crunched the biscuit the chocolate has not really had time to melt and release flavour. What you do get from the eating is primarily a sort of richish sweetness, but the chocolate does not really have any great highlights and flavour to reach out and grab you. I tried all sorts – eating one upside down, scraping the chocolate off with my teeth. I really struggled to get a chocolate hit no matter what I tried.

In quick summary: An extremely well-presented, well-made, chocolate biscuit which will offend nobody. Because the chocolate is not as chocolatey as it could be, nor will it have chocolate lovers singing its praises or raving about it.

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Comments On This Post

  1. Stella

    Mhh…Did you ever find/try the “Côte d’Or – Biscuit Intense” ?

    It is a novelty made within the frame of an association LU/Côte d’Or apparently
    Like these, they are biscuits with a slab of decorated chocolate ontop. Although, this is the trademark Côte d’Or chocolate, of course. Exists in both milk and dark chocolate I found, and with and without crushed hazelnuts mixed in.

    I’ve tried dark chocolate and hazelnuts, and plain milk chocolate, and I found both to be very satisfying in their own way. Though, the dark chocolate -with- hazelnuts is on the sweet side, not because of cocoa content, but because the bits of nuts are sugar coated. Atleast that’s the feeling I got. It gives an amazing crunch though, and the biscuit is barely sweetened if at all. So it isn’t sickly.

    Milk chocolate was the best in my opinion…Thick, rich, creamy, and tasteful…Not too sweet either, especially since the biscuit is the same as in the dark version.

    So yes, since I know you quite like that brand, look out for these! It would be awesome to see you review them.

  2. J_ellybean

    These are loads better when dunked in a cup of coffee, from experience – the chocolate starts to get a bit melty, which releases the flavour, but the biscuit is strong enough to stand up to a bit dunking without withering away so you can get a couple of dunks before having to eat the biscuit.

    Awesome blog, by the way.

  3. David

    I have found them at Walmart. They do have a dark chocolate one with 70% cocoa. It ends up being my favorite. There is a better chance of you enjoying the chocolate flavor with the 70% one.

  4. Gavin

    I just bought a pack a few days ago from our local supermarket in Hong Kong.
    The one I got is a 70% cocoa, very tasty. The bitterness of the cocoa just linger around my taste bud in its unique way. I reckon the ratio of chocolate and buscuit is just right for me. Each pack contains two (6 pieces) sachets, and I ate a sachet in one go, can’t stop eating.

  5. nicole

    The were from France but Kraft bought Lu Le petit ecolier is now an american cooky. Also Kraft changed the recipe. They are not as good as they used to be. The chocolate used to melt in your mouth. No more.

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