Michel et Augustin Sablés Aperitifs Pur Buerre et Sel de Guérande

This is an extremely buttery crispy snack. Little biscuits that perhaps look as though they should be sweet and not savoury. Perhaps that was the problem. The reluctant taste testers were not expecting a tomatoes and chilli in a snack that looked like this. So I'm thinking this wasn't popular because the little aperitif biscuits looked all wrong... for how they ought to taste.

I wonder how the taste test would have gone had I employed a blindfold?

It is intriguing how we expect a "crispy snack to taste savoury and a "biscuit" to taste sweet. If the "biscuit"tastes savoury we find it hard to cope. Which is silly.

An interesting snack.

Michel et Augustin Sablés Apéritif au Beaufort AOP et Pointe de Poivre

Another little crispy snack discovered in another French motorway service station and luckily when I had the choice of two different flavours from Michel et Augustin I chose the right one. Because we have already tried the Pitas au Romarin.

This is basically a little shortbread biscuit flavoured with Beaufort cheese. It's a delicate flavour but rather delicious, and the texture is very nice indeed. I thought this a very tasty snack and Guardian des Bisses taste tester who happened to come round agreed.

I noticed that you can buy these crispy snacks at Co-op City in Sion (in Switzerland) but then I read the website and discovered that you should be able to buy these crispy snacks in England, including quite close to where we live in North London. And in English this savoury snack is called  Mini Savoury Shortbreads Beaufort Cheese with a pinch of salt. I shall have to look out for them.

The website micheletaugustin.com features all sorts of weirdness including how to graffiti a cow design with lichen and moss; which appears to be quite a thing on YouTube (who knew?), and fascinatingly you can move all the little articles around like one of those flat plastic puzzles we always got in our Christmas stockings. That's under the Random Acts of Kookiness section.

Croquez la vie!

Incidentally they also make cookies (biscuits) and, coming soon, mousses.

Michel et Augustin Petites Pitas au Romarin et Pointe de Sel

Now I nearly didn't buy this interesting packet of crispy snacks because I don't like the British style of Pitta Chips. However, because the reluctant taste testers and I had never tried anything made by Michel & Augustin I plunged in and bought a packet anyway.

And guess what? Delicious.

I think all the reluctant taste testers were impressed, even Slightly Red Haired Bristolian who didn't think she liked rosemary. Oh, but Tech taste tester said he found this crispy snack dry and dusty. Well, OK, but most of us were quite happy.

A very fine crispy snack, so much nicer in my opinion than the nasty thick UK pitta chip (I know Tech taste tester disagrees with me on this) and a beautiful salty, rosemary taste. I have to admit there are a lot on broken bits in the bag, but I guess that's because the texture is so thin.

So we can find out more about Michel et Augustin on their website. They seem to have a banana farm. Or maybe not. And operate in Paris, Lyon and New York. Augustin is the one with the hat and they seem to make a chocolate mousse. Interesting combination.

The packaging tells us: Notre Aventure: gourmand ET souriante, pleine de peps, de projects fous, et surtout HUMAINE. Vous, le livreuer, le bananier qui pique du nez, le commerçant, nous; chacun a son mot à dire faire grander l'aventure.

The Chef and I tried this crispy snack with a dip. This tastes great but the pitas are so thin that if you aren't careful they break with a glob of dip on.... so much licking of fingers.

Tasty.