Making the mother dough — audio description

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Hello, my name is Jonathan, and I am the dough specialist.

The first step in making gingerbread is preparing the mother dough. This essential step is part of the customary way of handling gingerbread.

Mix the sugar and honey, and add the flour.

For the kids

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Throughout the year, the Gingerbread Factory offers activities for young and old alike!

During school holidays, children can participate in our gingerbread decorating workshops, held on Wednesdays and Fridays. Themed guided tours are also offered during major annual events, such as Valentine’s Day or Easter.

As a family, explore the museum with our “Museum Investigation” booklet: an adventure to solve together, between parents and children, throughout the visit.

And to extend the experience at home, discover Maude Liotard’s book, *Les secrets du pain d’épices* (The Secrets of Gingerbread): featuring delicate pastel illustrations, a magical world, and a story inspired by our Factory… You might even recognize a few places!

You can find our full schedule at the reception desk, and please don’t hesitate to ask our team for advice.

Temporary Exhibition : packagings

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Welcome to the Factory lobby!

This space was once the storage area for our raw materials.

We have currently put up an exhibition there featuring vintage labels and graphics—found on boxes, chromolithographs, or other visual materials—once used by the Mulot & Petitjean firm.

Over the centuries, packaging has become much more than a simple means of protecting the product: it tells a story, conveys a world, and reflects the evolution of tastes and eras.

The early days of packaging: protecting, informing, then enticing

In the early 18th century, packaging served primarily a practical function: protecting, transporting, and preserving products.
Gradually, it also became a tool for differentiation, making it possible to identify a brand and inform the buyer. In the 19th century, with the rise of department stores and consumer society, packaging evolved: boxes made of wood, paper, or cardboard gradually replaced the sale of goods in bulk and became objects that reflected the tastes and fashions of their time.

Boxes: from simple container to precious object

In the 19th century, the boxes became genuine decorative objects, adorned with gold lettering, emblems, or refined illustrations. They no longer serve merely to protect the product: they tell the story of a house.

At Mulot & Petitjean, certain vintage visuals continue to inspire our current packaging. Once kept and reused in households, these boxes have become true family keepsakes.

Have fun exploring the different styles of boxes in our shop!

At Mulot & Petitjean, we continue to draw inspiration from this graphic heritage by revisiting iconic elements of our identity—such as angels, fruit, flowers, and vintage decorative motifs.

Some historical packaging and trade cards have even been preserved almost exactly as they were—such as the famous gingerbread strips and half-strips, which have become true hallmarks of the House.

The beginnings of advertising

In the mid-19th century, advertising experienced a real boom in France. New means of communication are emerging: illustrated posters, newspaper advertisements (as you saw in the Office).
Shopkeepers also distribute small, colorful advertising cards known as *chromos*.

Chromolithography: a revolutionary printing technique

Chromolithography emerged in the 19th century, making it possible to print in color. Posters, catalogues, advertising cards, and packaging are adorned with brilliantly colored images: figures and decorative patterns. These images enhance the product and make it easier for the customer to recognize their favorite brand.

Chromos: collectible images

Chromos enjoyed great success, particularly among children who had fun collecting them. They can depict humorous scenes, tales, games, animals, landscapes, events linked to the seasons and festivals, and major historical events.

Today, these small images have become genuine collector’s items, sought after by enthusiasts at garage sales and flea markets.

In the shop, you can see several gingerbreads featuring a decorative picture: the owl, the field mouse, Pompon the bear, and—at the end of the year—Saint Nicholas and Santa Claus!

A closer look at typography

The evolution of packaging also involves the evolution of the lettering used.

As early as the 19th century, letterpress printing made it possible to reproduce texts and patterns using raised characters that were inked and then pressed onto paper or cardboard.

Every era has its own style:

In the 19th century, Victorian influences favored highly decorative lettering, featuring elaborate ornamentation and intricate serifs.

At the end of the century, Art Nouveau introduced more fluid forms inspired by nature, featuring curved lines and floral motifs.

In the 1920s and 1930s, Art Deco established elegant, modern, geometric forms.

In the mid-20th century, simpler, more streamlined typefaces emerged, associated with an image of modernity and legibility.

Have fun looking at the various Mulot & Petitjean logos; they reflect the evolution of graphic styles and trends over time.

The Jacquelines

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La Jacqueline, a treat inspired by Dijon’s history

Do you know the story of the Jacqueline? Behind its name, this delicious Dijon confection conceals a wonderful story linked to one of the city’s iconic landmarks.

In 1382, Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, defeated the Flemings at Courtrai. He then presented the people of Dijon with the automaton clock installed at the top of the Church of Notre-Dame in Dijon.

In the 16th century, to break the solitude of the automaton named “Jacquemart,” the people of Dijon decided to give him a companion—Jacqueline—and later, two children: Jacquelinet and Jacquelinette.

A few centuries later, in 1926, the Dijon pastry chef Anthonin Michelin created a new confection he named “Jacqueline”—a delicious tribute to Jacquemart’s faithful wife.

To this day, the Jacquemart family unfailingly strikes the hours, quarters, and half-hours, and the Jacquelines remain one of the symbols of Dijon’s culinary tradition.

The Jacquelines are handmade, one by one. They require two days of preparation.

The heart of the Jacqueline is cut out using a cutter, then dipped in royal icing and subsequently dried in the oven.

The next day, the soaking and drying process is repeated for the second side.

In 2003, production was taken over by the firm Mulot & Petitjean, which has kept the recipe and craftsmanship of the *Jacquelines* alive.
Three flavors are available: Praline, Nougatine, and Coffee Nougatine.

FACTORY ARCHIVES

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THE FACTORY TODAY

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Around fifty employees currently work for Mulot & Petitjean across various departments: sales staff for our six physical stores (in Dijon and Beaune), as well as teams handling sales, administration, quality control, maintenance, shipping, and—of course—production, where the workforce is bolstered by seasonal staff starting in August to prepare for the holiday season.

Product quality and long-standing expertise are recognized by several labels:

• A Living Heritage Company since 2012,
• PME+ since 2018,
• Quality Artisan Producer since 2018,
• A House of excellence and craftsmanship since 2024.

What is the R&D lab for?

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The R&D lab is where we develop new recipes or improve existing ones. Every new product undergoes testing in this laboratory—such as shelf-life and flavor evolution tests—before entering production in our manufacturing facility.

It is in the R&D laboratory that our master gingerbread maker crafts bespoke creations. These include, for instance, our shop window displays—such as a gingerbread bicycle for the Tour de France, Advent wreaths, gingerbread houses, and giant Christmas trees—as well as special customer requests, like pyramids of mini *nonnettes* or decorated gingerbread blocks.

This is where the magic happens…

The workshop — audiodescription

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Now welcome to the reconstruction of our “artisanat” factory. All the machines and all the equipment that you will see have been used to make “pain d’épices”. We have looked after them carefully all these years.

First of all, before going in, the rules of hygiene must be followed. All jewelry should be removed, overalls, hair nets, shoe protectors, and a beard net, if you need one, must be worn and hands washed well.

Now, let’s head off to meet the team who will show around their workstations and tell you a bit about the craft here at “Mulot et Petitjean”.

We’ll see you at the end of the tour for a taste testing session. Enjoy your visit!

Shops & points of sale

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