Variety is the spice of life. It’s why we have seven different bon bon flavors and why we take great pleasure in helping brides and grooms design custom wedding favor boxes that capture the spirit of their special day. 

When Pascal and I got married, long before the idea of bon bon business had ever been conceived, we had chocolates at both our wedding dinner (in Manhattan) and our wedding reception (which followed six months later in Wilmington). My friend Jannette bought us white chocolate Eiffel Towers to serve as favors to the twenty guests who attended our actual wedding. When it came time to plan for the reception, we decided to buy more white chocolate Eiffel Towers, but pair them with liquor-infused truffles that we would put in favor boxes at each place setting.  They would also double as placecards for our guests.

Our wedding colors were lavendar and white, which were determined by Pascal. He wore a suit instead of a tuxedo to our small, intimate wedding, and chose his tie at Thomas Pink. I told him that whatever tie color he chose would determine the color scheme for our wedding.  Et voila!

I bought favor boxes online and lavendar silk flowers in the wholesale district of Manhattan, and spent weeks creating handmade gift tags, the backs of which I dipped in glue and then white glitter. When we started assembling the boxes, they didn’t look nearly as lush as I wanted them to look. Something was missing–poufs!! I decided that we needed an organza pouf under each silk flower. The poufs had to be sewn by hand, and I recruited my long-suffering friend Cory (who has been roped into a million crazy jobs like this at Dupray family parties) to sew poufs which I would then glue along with the silk flowers to each favor box. After many delirious hours (and many hot glue gun burns), the boxes were finally assembled.  Then, because I simply couldn’t leave anything to chance, we went through the 120-person guest list and tried to determine which of the four truffle favors each guest would like best. At the time, I didn’t consider myself to be a Bridezilla, but as I tell this story, I’m thinking I may have to reconsider…

What I know for sure is that my first serious favor-making experience taught me a lot in preparation for the bon bon business. Since then, we’ve made thousands of custom favors (our largest order to date was 650 for one event), and I’ve learned what to do and what not to do. I also try to caution do-it-yourself brides against taking on this task. It seems quite easy, but it’s much harder than it looks.  Our last do-it-yourself bride delegated the assembly of her favor boxes (which she purchased independently before consulting us) to her parents who put every last one of them together backwards. They all had to be re-folded so that the bon bons wouldn’t fall out the bottom! At just $3 per completed favor box with one bon bon nestled inside, it’s more than worth it to leave the work to us professionals!

Here are is the wedding favor that started it all followed by favor boxes we’ve recently created to match the themes and the moods of three very different events:

Before Ratatouille, there was Anatole.

Although I do not yet have children, I have a good-sized collection of children’s books that grace my personal bookshelves. Some of them I acquired thanks to very fortunate connections (friends who worked in children’s publishing); some of them were gifts; some I bought for myself; and some are from my own cherished childhood collection. With a love of children’s books and a passion for all things French, one would think that I would have already met the legendary Anatole. But I hadn’t.

Several weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of enjoying lunch at the home of my friend, Joan, a retired librarian who has been introducing me to wonderful books for the past twenty years. Our lunch was an intimate affair – I thought the only guests would be me and my mother. Turns out the dining room was set to accommodate Joan, my mother, me, and an entire village of French mice. Joan made a delicious lunch of quiche and salad and savory muffins. As she finished her preparations in the kitchen and plated our food, she encouraged me to read aloud a children’s book that had been carefully placed in front of my chair on the dining room table.

The book, by Eve Titus, starts like this: "In all France there was no happier, more contented mouse than Anatole. He lived in a small mouse village near Paris with his dear wife Doucette and their charming six children – Paul and Paulette, Claude and Claudette, Georges and Georgette." I instantly fell in love with our fictitious guests!

Anatole is an honorable mouse, and when he realizes that humans are upset by mice sampling their leftovers, he is shocked! He must provide for his beloved family – but he is determined to find a dignified way to earn his supper. He goes to work at the Duvall Cheese Factory, leaving tasting notes to guide the cheesemakers in their work – "good," "not so good," "needs orange peel" - and signing his name. When workers at the Duvall factory find his notes in the morning, they are perplexed – but they realize that this mysterious Anatole has an exceptional palate and take his advice. Soon, thanks to Anatole, Duvall Cheese Factory, is making the best cheese in all of Paris! They would like to give Anatole a reward – if only they could find him…

This year marks Anatole’s 50th anniversary. And it is truly a classic, still fresh and charming and utterly delightful. I see so many possibilities for this wonderful book; I’d love to organize a reading of Anatole followed by a basic lesson in French cheeses. It would be great fun for both children and adults. Eve Titus wrote several books about the adventures of Anatole, and I cannot wait to read them all!  I thank my friend Joan for a wonderful lunch and for introducing me to a new friend. Anatole may be the smartest mouse in the world, but Joan is the sweetest woman.

As for me, I’m inspired to take a break. I think a little snack of crackers and fromage is in order…

You might think that all of our customers are women who enjoy watching afternoon soap operas while lounging on the sofa eating bon bons. Man, oh man… would you be wrong!! We have lots of male customers, and these guys are manly men! Ex-marines, carpenters, surfers, mechanics, firemen, and more. Not so long ago, a new guy called to ask if he could come over to buy bon bons. "Absolutely", I exclaimed. "Come on over!".

He arrived shortly thereafter and knocked on the door. I was a bit surprised to see a guy who looked like this standing at the threshold.  He wore earrings that stretch the ear lobes in both ears (I think it’s called gauging), he had tattoos all over his body, he sported facial hair, and he wore a wool beanie on his head even though it was almost 90-degrees outside. He also happened to be an incredibly nice guy.

I ask every new customer how they learned about South ‘n France, but this time I was really curious! 
"How’d you hear about us?", I asked. 
"My bone crusher sent me", he replied.
"I’m sorry?", I pressed, trying to mask my astonishment.

Turns out "Bone Crusher" is the affectionate nickname he has given his chiropractor, Dr. Arian Kelly. The way "Real Man" described it to me, the conversation went something like this. Dr. Kelly (aka Bone Crusher) and Real Man were talking about the fact that Real Man is kind of unforgettable thanks to his unique body decorations. Dr. Kelly says: "Yeah.  It reminds me of someone else I know who is very memorable–The Bon Bon Queen." Seriously! Can you believe it? Is that not the coolest thing? To think that manly men talk about The Bon Bon Queen while crushing bones just makes me swoon. I have arrived, folks! I have arrived!!!

Anyhow, Real Man turns out to be a real chocolate lover, so he asks Dr. Kelly (aka Bone Crusher) to tell him more about the bon bons. Naturally, Bone Crusher insists that they are the best chocolates in the world. So as soon as Real Man’s bones have been thoroughly crushed, he drives over to our place to eat bon bons. He really liked the Pistachio flavor.

As for me, don’t tell Pascal, but I think I have my own kind of crush…

Our Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough fans would be horrified to see that their favorite flavor didn’t make this list! We have a strong and loyal contingent of bon bon fans who order nothing but Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough! In fact, recently, one of those loyal fans turned 36 years old. Guess what she’s received for her birthday – thirty-six Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bon Bons! Check out just a few of these testimonials from our avid Cookie Dough Bon Bon lovers:  

Can I just say that I have a new favorite treat? If I could have a chocolate chip cookie dough bon bon every day, I would be a very happy man; Absolutely delicious!!

My favorite is definitely the chocolate chip cookie dough bon bon!

Oh my God! These Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bon Bons are complete joy. You cannot eat just one. Better than scooping cookie dough out of the tub - I gotta have more!

Last week, we conducted a pre-launch trial of our newest Wine & Dine Party. Three groups came on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to experience our three different versions of a fun, unique, and educational French wine tasting. We discussed all sorts of things from wine renegade Michel Picard’s rise to fame (that’s his château pictured here) to why the French put serial numbers on corks. We are most grateful to our gourmet "guinea pigs" for their participation and their feedback. At the end of each pre-launch evening, we gave a simple poll to our guests. Here’s what they had to say:

Our Question: Did you learn anything new at the Wine & Dine Party? If so, what "take-aways" will you remember?  ("Remember" being the key word after sampling four different types of wine!)

Some of Their Answers: 
How to read wine labels                                                 
How to pair foods with wine                                               
About the "châteaux" wineries                                               
All about wine corks                                               
That you can pair spicy ethnic foods with certain wines                                               
That Michel Picard Pouilly-Fuissé is a really good Chardonnay!                                 
About the AOC                 
What makes a wine taste like things that weren’t used to make it (i.e.  blackberries, peaches, minerals, oak, etc.)
What "mis en bouteille" means
1-100 scale wine experts use for grading wine
2005 was a very good year for many French wines and why
How food really changes the taste of wine
How to choose wine in a store
How to tell the location of wine production  
Stories about famous wine makers
Why some wines are more expensive than others
That you can drink certain red wines with dessert
What color tablecloth to use at a wine tasting
About decanting red wines      

Our Question: Please grade us on the wines we served and the foods we paired with them.

Some of Their Answers:             
Great choices!
Awesome!  Everything was delicious.
10-Good mix of price and taste on the wines
10+ Loved the food – yummy!
Excellent
Food was nicely paired with wines to enhance the flavors of the wines
Dessert was so good, I wanted seconds!
I’m not a fan of red wines, however, I thought all of the wines were great!
Wines were excellent and a good variety.
I am not a wine drinker, but I enjoyed trying the different wines.
Superb flavors!
Wines 100%; Food pairings 110%!!
The dessert course left me speechless – was there other food?

Our Question: What else should we know?

Some of Their Answers:             
You guys do a great job!
1 platter of appetizers for every 4 people works well!
You need to sell the dessert you served – amazing!
Love the entrance to your place.
This would be a great idea for a "pre"-bachelorette party!
I think everyone should experience one of your parties!  Love it!
Make the street address/house number larger; we had trouble finding it.
We have been to previous parties at South ‘n France and this was our favorite. The people were diverse and the wine and food were absolutely perfect!
I ate a light dinner before I came (as per your suggestion), but I don’t think I needed to. I’m so full!
Fine event.  I would return for another.
I’m a really picky eater and there was food I liked. Made me happy!
It was highly entertaining.
It was amazing and so are y’all!

Want to know more? Visit our Wine & Dine Party page or call Charlene for details:  910-762-6882.

I’m a big fan of April Fool’s Jokes. Usually, Pascal is my victim, but this year, my mother was the one who played the (horrified-turned-happy) fool! On April 4th, she celebrated her sixtieth birthday. Unbeknownst to her, we had planned a big party with quite a few surprise out-of-town guests.  One of those guests was Anne, a friend from Norway that my mother hadn’t seen in fifteen years.  Since Anne was flying in to North Carolina on April 1 and only able to stay for one week, we had to find a way to plan a "pre-surprise" surprise so she would have enough time with our mother before the actual party. Lucky for us, Anne arrived on April Fool’s Day.

I called our local Olive Garden restaurant (Mom’s favorite – what can we say?), and spoke to the managers about our plan. The entire staff was accommodating and excited about being in our joke, so we booked a table and made our special request; we wanted a rude, abusive waiter who would give me a reason to ask for a manager.  When "The Manager" came to our table, it would actually be my mother’s friend, Anne.

We all arrived at the restaurant early to take our places for the joke. Prior to our mother’s arrival, I gave our waiter, Chris, lots of ideas on how he could insult me (Example:  I’ll order a high-fat-dish like Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo, and you say: "Honestly, ma’am, I think you should be ordering a salad…"); I had told him he had permission to spill drinks or food on me: I had begged him to show no mercy and act as outrageously as he pleased. Anne would hide at the bar, waiting for her cue to come to the table to speak with me, the "angry" customer.

There was just one problem – our waiter, Chris, was such a nice guy that I couldn’t get him to do anything bad enough to warrant calling a manager! So, I tried to instigate him: I ordered the fettuccini as planned and Chris asked, "Are you sure?" I replied: "Yeah, do you have a problem with that?" Chris said: "No, but there are other choices on the menu…". Instead of being horrified by our waiter’s terrible service, my mother was aghast at my "rude" behavior! Meanwhile, Anne hid at the bar for what felt like an hour, sipping wine and waiting for her cue while I desperately tried to get Chris to insult me! 

At one point, a floor supervisor came to check on our table. "How’s everything going?", she asked, "Would you like to speak to a manager?" My mother vehemently shook her head "No" and gave me a "Don’t you dare!" stare. Desperate to get this joke to work, a few minutes later I faked a trip to the bathroom and went looking for sweet Chris. "Chris", I begged, "Please! Come spill a drink on me or something!" Before Chris had to resort to such tactics, I finally found an opening to insist on speaking to a manager. Next thing we knew, there were five people standing at our table: our two servers, the floor supervisor and two "managers". When Anne spoke as the "Senior Manager", my Mom was so embarrassed she didn’t even realize that the manager was actually her friend from Norway! My poor mother was just appalled by the scene I had created. After giving me a piece of her mind, the "Manager" turned to my mother and asked, "Isn’t that right, Gwen Dupray?" At that moment, the light bulb went on. Mom jumped out of her chair to hug Anne and started screaming: "I don’t believe this! I don’t believe this!" 

Later, as we ate our pasta and re-lived the joke with everyone at the table, my mother shared her perspective: "I couldn’t believe how obnoxious Charlene was being with the staff, and when that manager started telling her off, I thought "Ooooh – this is going to get ugly!’"

So there you have it. I had to endure my mother’s scorn in order to pull off this year’s April Fool’s joke. As for our waiter? Chris apologized for his inability to be rude, but said he was sure his mother would be proud. But looking at this photo of my Mom, our waiter, and our surprise "Manager" from Norway, I’m certain that my "rude" behavior was worth it. I love (or, in this case, O-live) April Fool’s!

In the olden days, the toys in Cracker Jack boxes made for wonderful surprises – metal boats and airplanes, magnifying glasses, pirate eye patches, tiny figurines and secret decoder rings. Today, collectors clamor for these vintage collectibles. Sadly, by the time I was a kid, the prizes hidden in the Cracker Jack boxes were pretty lame. I mostly remember temporary tattoos and fun facts (which weren’t that fun at all). It seems that these days the prizes are even worse; this blogger wrote about receiving a puzzle piece!  Yes, that’s right; not an entire puzzle; just one little cardboard puzzle piece.

When I first went to France as a teenager, I was delighted to discover Kinder Eggs. Having grown up on Cadbury Creme eggs available only at Easter time (they were the highlight of our Easter egg hunts), I was thrilled to see that Kinder Eggs are sold year ’round. Instead of a sugary gooey center that resembles egg whites and an egg yolk, Kinder eggs are hollow. The "yolk" is a plastic capsule that contains a really cool toy prize. 

When Pascal learned about my fascination with Kinder eggs, he started buying them for me as treats, often hiding them under my pillow. To this day, some of the Kinder prizes I found in those eggs peek out from behind books on my bookshelves, reminding me of the childlike delight of receiving a treat with a cool prize, no matter what your age. Here is one person’s collection of Kinder surprises. Much better than what you find at the bottom of the Cracker Jack box, n’est-ce pas?

This Easter weekend, Pascal and I wish you lots of wonderful surprises. Whether you get bon bons, bunnies, Peeps, or at least one Cadbury egg (like me), we hope you’ll have a very sweet holiday! Don’t forget to join us at our Open House tomorrow night – we’ll have lots of fun surprises for you here, too!