Celebrated on January 3, the Epiphany feast, better known as the “galette des rois” is one of the most famous French traditions. If many of us celebrate it each year by tasting the classics or the most original galettes, its history still remains a mystery for many of us...

The story

All occasions are good, as we know, to taste this traditional cake composed of frangipane cream trapped in puff pastry. Traditionally consumed throughout France at the time of the epiphany, it is present all January in the windows of bakeries and pastry shops. Impossible not to note it!
According to custom, families meet on the first Sunday of January to taste this pancake in which is hidden a bean. For the more purists, whoever finds the bean will offer the cake the following year! But where does this tradition go back? What are its origins ?

The tradition

Contrary to what one might think, the origins of the galette des rois do not come directly from the Christian religion and from the arrival of the wise men to the baby Jesus.

Let us project ourselves into ancient Rome during the Saturnalia festivities which took place towards the end of December to celebrate the winter solstice. The seven days of celebration began with a “round and golden in the sun” cake dedicated to the soldiers.
The soldiers drew lots for an unfortunate slave who would be condemned to death but who, before that, would have the right, for a day, to make all his wishes come true.
So that the drawing of lots was not biased, a child would sit under the table and distribute the shares. That of the slaves having the bean was elected " saturnalicius princeps In other words, king.

The tradition disappeared for a time before reappearing in the XNUMXth century when the French church associated it with the feast of the epiphany to prove the divine character of the child Jesus with the arrival of the Three Kings.

The ritual, however, is not quite the same. The cake is divided into as many parts as the number of guests plus a part called "the poor man's part" or "the absent part". It was intended, as its name suggests, either for the first beggar who would come knocking on the door, or kept for a brother, a sailor or a soldier.
Tradition persists the innocent judgment of the child placed under the table to award the portions of the pancakes ...

Evolution of tradition

If the tradition persists, some details, however, have been changed.
The bean, initially, was a real bean, therefore a legume. It was replaced over time by plastic or porcelain figurines.
Previously, far from being crowned king and seeing his desires come true for a day, the one who pulled the bean was above all the one who would have to pay a tour to all the other guests!
It was therefore better not to pull the bean and for that, cheating was obviously required!

The most beautiful creations, classic or revisited ...

At Hubert Cloix, we have clients with talent and boundless imagination ...

 

And we can't resist the urge to also share two little nuggets with you ...

If this article made your mouth water, we have succeeded! Go to a craftsman to order and then taste your galette des rois! You will eat it with the satisfaction of knowing all its history. And we with the satisfaction of contributing a little bit to the making of these nuggets with our machines… Not bad is not it ?