La cLopez confectionery turns out to be an institution Royan. Since 1977, the shops of Royan have brightened up our seaside walks with the colors of their niniches, broken wood, cartons, candy canes, nougats, sorbets, ice creams and ice-kimos.
Today, it's Maxime, the last generation of the Lopez family, who is in charge of continuing the family tradition. So let’s meet him and his ice cream and confectioner chefs.
Discovering the Lopez confectionery workshop
We take the direction of Saint-Georges-de-Didonne to find Maxime Lopez and his team in their laboratory. When you arrive, you must show white paws or rather white overshoes (as well as shirts and caps). The site is required to respect hygiene standards throughout the production circuit. On one side of the lab, we encounter Boris Lusseau, the ice cream chef. On the other side awaits us Emmanuel mounier, the head confectioner. Both men advocate work based on authenticity and tradition. They make their products with local ingredients whenever possible. They show us their know-how, a mixture of passion and experience.
How to make a good strawberry sorbet
To make its artisanal ice cream, Boris first cooks a mixture of water, sugar, atomized glucose and flour stabilizer to obtain his syrup. The stabilizer prevents the ice from crystallizing while freezing. As for the sugar, it brings the soft texture to the ice cream. The quantity adapts to the acidity of the chosen fruit. Boris crushes the strawberries to make a puree. Once the syrup and the puree are combined, the preparation is subjected to a high temperature then undergoes rapid cooling, this is what we call the pasteurization stage. Then the mix will mature. Once done, it goes into a turbine to be cooled and mixed. All he has to do is extract the ice cream. And to ensure the sensation of softness, there's nothing like a taste test with a spoon!
The ice cream can then serve as a base for desserts Lopez. Boris combines it with a homemade biscuit: meringue, nougatine, Breton shortbread, cookie or brownie. It is then a marriage of colors and flavors.
At Lopez, it’s more than 180 ice cream recipes et 55 flavors offered in store.
Vanilla is the best-seller, with more than 6% of sales. There are also more original flavors like tomato mozzarella or parmesan, created in partnership with a local restaurateur.
Among the new products, we include cardamom cherry, caramel apple and even prickly pear.
Making Lemon Broken Wood
We find Emmanuel for the creation of broken wood. It begins by assembling the different elements: water, sugar and liquid glucose. He heats everything up to 160 degrees for 45 minutes. It's a question of balance: undercooked, the broken wood will stick and overcooked, it will caramelize and therefore have a burnt taste. He then adds a few drops of aroma extracted from essential oil. Finally, citric acid helps restore the natural acidity of the fruit. Then, Emmanuel lets the dough cool, which will gradually harden, change texture and be able to be modeled. He must have time to work on it before it solidifies.
So, he shapes it by crochet and then by hand to give it the flaky texture specific to this candy. The repetition of the gesture allows air to be incorporated, which brings the satininess and lightness of broken wood. It's all in the flick of the wrist! Once in shape, the dough finishes hardening so that the chef can finally cut it with pruning shears. The illusion of broken wood is then perfect. Once in the mouth, you discover an airy and crispy candy full of taste and fragrance.
The Royan shops of the Lopez confectionery
We leave the laboratory to meet the teams from the two stores Royan.
The resort's waterfront has long been home to the original store. In 2022 and after 45 years, it moves to the city center. It was a difficult decision to make after a long family consultation. This new address better meets the needs of year-round opening. The store is thus less constrained by the seasonality of the seafront.
Among Lopez specialties, besides the ice and broken wood, the niches take an important place in the store. This Bordeaux candy dates from the end of the 1977th century. Originally, it consists of soft caramel. When the Lopez family took over the Tamisier confectionery in XNUMX, the recipe evolved. The niniches molded around a stick come in all flavors.
The second store, for its part, is located near the beach of Pontaillac since 2014. It responds to high season demands and focuses more on the sale of frozen products.
New point of sale for summer: the Palais Royan Events.
Le Palace bar offers to taste Lopez ice creams on its sea view terrace. The ice cream compositions take the name of the typical 50s villas of Royan based on their colors.
We can find the Lopez confectionery and ice cream in more than 20 resale points and delicatessens.
Lopez confectionery, a family history
I was born into sugar.
First generation – Anastasio Lopez
In 1924, Anastasio and Maria open their first confectionery in Cognac. In the summer, they already settle in Ronce-les-Bains.
Second generation – José Lopez
From 1963 to 1970, Jose and Giselle run a confectionery in La Rochelle. In 1970, they set up the “La Niniche” confectionery in Les Sables d’Olonne. Finally, they bought the Tamisier confectionery on the Royan seafront in 1977.
Third generation – Manuel Lopez
In 1989, Manuel and Catherine take over. They won numerous prizes: the prize for artisanal dynamics, the gold medal for excellence in know-how, the special mention from the jury of the National Academy of Cuisine for the book “Ice Cream, Desserts, Confectioneries”, and the title of Master Craftsman.
Fourth generation – Maxime Lopez
Maxim continues the family tradition. He is now in charge of the company. In particular, he delivers the ice cream restaurant “ The Frosted Cocotte "On Mornac-sur-Seudre run by his brother Roman. Today, 5 people make up the team in the workshop and between 20 and 30 people for the stores.
The Lopez confectionery obtains the title of living heritage company. It also receives the regional “Artisans-gourmands” label, which rewards know-how, innovation and the in-house and local manufacturing method. Throughout these years of work, the gestures remain precise, regulated to the millimeter.
THE PORTRAIT OF MAXIME LOPEZ
Let's meet Maxime for 3 questions and get to know him better:
What is your favorite place in Royan Atlantique?
My favorite place is on a boat. Enjoy the beauty of our territory from the sea. Walk along the vineyard fields and cliffs of Meschers along the Gironde estuary, then go up the coast and contemplate the diversity of the landscape, between beaches, towns and forests. Finally, finish by dropping anchor in the bay of Bonne Anse and admire the sunset offshore with an exceptional panorama stretching from the Côte Sauvage to the Cordouan lighthouse. All while tasting an assortment of local products with friends.
WHAT ATTACHMENT DO YOU HAVE TO THE TERRITORY?
I have both a personal and professional attachment to the territory. A lot of my family and friends live here. I have memories of long walks with my grandparents along the customs path where we covered the entire corniche of St-Sordelin to the seafront of Royan to enjoy an ice cream from the Lopez confectionery as a reward, outings school where my father took me to the Grande Conche beach, opposite the confectionery, to do a few passes and juggle football at sunset.
Time passes and every year I keep this feeling of being privileged to live here, from the first beautiful days of spring. Then take advantage of all the diversity of our territory before the hustle and bustle of the high season: stroll through the Royan market, go kayaking along the Seudre, taste the good products cooked by our local chefs... The Lopez confectionery is considered a institution of the territory for many of our loyal customers. Also, today I am trying to thank all these people by opening a store all year round, with the desire to connect us to downtown businesses and continue to boost activity, including during the winter season.
essential question: your favorite ice cream flavor?
My ice cream preferences change over the years. As a child, I loved mint-chocolate sorbet, then vanilla/pecan ice cream as I grew up. Today, I can't do without our Valrhona organic chocolate ice cream. It is a very fine chocolate, in which we find the power of cocoa with fruity notes, while remaining very soft when tasting. With its creamy and airy texture, it goes perfectly with our vanilla pod ice cream from Madagascar or pure pistachio ice cream from Sicily (with roasted pistachio pieces…), for a combo that is certainly classic but so delicious. Taste for yourself!
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