NOUGAT CHABERT & GUILLOT

Appreciated since time immemorial, nougat is now one of the stars of confectionery. For 160 years, Chabert and Guillot have been repeating the traditional gestures necessary for its production in the beautiful city of Montélimar. The excellence of its know-how has been rewarded with the Entreprise du patrimoine vivant label.

History. The history of the nougat Chabert et Guillot is above all the history of the Chabert family. It began in 1800 with Alexandre, a pastry chef on rue Puissantour (now rue Raymond-Daujat), who made white and black nougat for the Christmas and New Year holidays. His son Ernest will succeed him.

With the third generation, represented by Charles Chabert (1888-1953), the first major transformation took place. While the reputation of nougat made in the family pastry industry grew, Charles noticed that its manufacture took a major part, to the point of relegating the sale of cakes to the background. Nougat is now eaten and offered all year round, without waiting for the Nativity. Chabert then became a full-fledged nougat maker. Rather than continue operating in the cramped premises on rue Puissantour, he convinced his brother-in-law, Henri Guillot, to provide him with the additional capital necessary to buy back the Déjour establishments. We are in 1913, and the Chabert & Guillot brand, which was then created, adopted the birth date of its predecessor in the area. The untimely death of Henri Guillot, with no descendants, kept the company in the Chabert family. Since 1991, the street on which the plant is located has been renamed Charles-Chabert Street. Pierre Chabert, who takes over, develops and perpetuates the family's work. Chabert et Guillot then established itself as the first and most renowned nougat manufacturer in Montélimar. In 1954, director Gilles Grangier, who shot Le Printemps, l'automne, et l'amour à Montélimar, chose the Chabert & Guillot factory as the setting for his comedy, with a Fernandel nougatier pattern as the star. Pierre Chabert will devote himself to the community through the professional union and the economic interest group Inter-Nougat (sale of nougat on the highway).

Fifth generation of nougat masters, Didier Chabert took over the management of the company in 1985. He will be at the origin of the company's second major transformation, that of its transition to technology. In 1987, he invested in an ultra-perfected process to produce ten tons of nougat in 24 hours. In 1992, with the help of François Roelens, mining engineer, he created the liquid nougat, called Montélimar nougat cream, positioning the nougat as an ingredient for pastries and ice cream.

In 1997, the company, a leader in the world of Montélimar nougat, wanted to expand worldwide and sought alliances with a major group. For its part, La Raffinerie Tirlemontoise S.A., the leading Belgian sugar producer - itself a subsidiary of Südzucker, the leading European sugar producer - intended to continue its investment efforts in the pastry ingredients market. Thus, on ¹ October of the same year, the French nougat leader and the European sugar leader joined forces to jointly pursue and develop many products under the brand name of the Surafti group's subsidiaries. In July 2003, Nougat Delavant joined the NCG+ group.

The products. Soft nougat, hard, dark or crunchy nougat, chocolate-coated nougat, organic nougat, nougat cream, calissons and fruit pastes.

Employment. Chabert et Guillot has 160 employees who produce 15 tons of nougat daily and a turnover of 25 million euros.