A Cherished Actress and Activist, Brigitte Bardot’s Surprising Contribution to French Pastry
Beloved actress and dedicated activist, Brigitte Bardot also played a significant role in popularizing a pastry that has become famous far beyond the Côte d’Azur…
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“A unique tart, delicious and light despite its potentially overwhelming presence.” With her famously straightforward manner, Brigitte Bardot highlighted the intriguing paradox of this pastry, which was obscure just 70 years ago. It was a dessert that she, alongside her own rising fame, helped catapult into stardom…
The story began in July 1955, initiated by a man named Alexandre Micka. Having recently set up his bakery in Saint-Tropez—then merely a fishing village known to a select few artists—he decided to feature a treat inspired by his Polish heritage: a plump brioche dotted with sugar beads and filled with a rich layer of vanilla cream. However, the true turning point came in the following spring, when Roger Vadim arrived to film the iconic movie “And God Created Woman.” It was then that Brigitte Bardot stumbled upon Alexandre Micka’s bakery.
Charmed from the first bite, Bardot shared the pastry with the rest of the film crew and suggested a name that would become legendary: the “Tarte Tropézienne.” Following this, the tart quickly rose to fame, much like its new patron whose career was simultaneously skyrocketing. In 1973, Alexandre Micka officially trademarked the Tarte Tropézienne’s name and recipe at the INPI (National Institute of Industrial Property). Then, in 1985, he teamed up with Albert Dufrêne, a car enthusiast who encouraged him to expand his business beyond the borders of Saint-Tropez, something Micka hadn’t really considered before. Today, it is Micka’s son, Sacha Dufrêne, who oversees this Mediterranean sweet empire. With no less than 31 stores along the Côte d’Azur, he is poised to take the business international, starting with a partnership in Kuwait.
“Often imitated, never matched,” as the brand proudly proclaims, the handwritten recipe of the Tarte Tropézienne is securely kept somewhere within the company’s headquarters in Cogolin, about ten kilometers from Saint-Tropez, where it is also mass-produced before being sold in stores or shipped throughout France via their e-shop. This carefully maintained mystery continues to captivate, much like the eternal allure of its very first supporter…
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