Catherine - The birth of Comptoir des Confitures.

How did this story begin?

By the dream of a 12 year old girl from the Gard who wanted to own a moped.

But to do that, she had to buy it, so Catherine asked to work during her holidays with her uncle, a Compagnon du Devoir Boulanger-Pâtissier in Avignon.

Not being old enough to hold the cash register or to make bread, she started peeling fruit and little by little made jam. This is when her passion for fruit and jams was born.


To conclude this passage, we would like to point out that, thanks to her savings, she was able to buy the yellow Peugeot 103 moped of her dreams, with the must-have orange indicators at the front and rear!

The will to care, to think and to work for the happiness of others.

Growing up, she studied medicine for 7 years.
Afterwards, she worked as an HR manager in a company for 15 years.
But during all these years, she continued to make jams for her friends for fun.

Fearless, mischievous, daring.

It is not surprising that Catherine was a rally driver from 1982 to 1991.

In 2001 she decided, with the help and support of a friend Delphine (who will take care of all administrative matters) to leave everything behind to devote herself to her passion for jam.

Le Comptoir des Confitures was born.

It is the quality and originality of its products that make it so attractive.

Her jams can be found on the menu of a private jet company in Nice, in the salons of a major fashion house in Paris, or at the table of starred restaurants. A large part of its sales are still made on the export market: Europe, Tunisia, Morocco or even Japan; Russia was also a very important market until the food embargo of 2014.

In 2011, Comptoir des Confitures will set up in the Aube region of France, preferring the calm and space.

In France, sales are made via the Internet, at the Comptoir des Confitures shop in Coursan-en-Othe, at markets, in certain supermarkets and delicatessens.

A product, a philosophy.

Quality above all, because we are in a range of excellence and refined pleasure.
Tasting begins with the eyes and, to highlight the flamboyant colours of her products, Catherine has chosen extra white glass containers.

The raw materials are then meticulously chosen, at Rungis, locally or directly from specific producers, as is the case for the different varieties of vanilla selected. Everything is traced, from a reasoned production and the fresh fruit is processed in his workshop. There is no trace of colouring agents, flavourings or ammonia, here "you don't dig your grave with your fork".

The first specificity of the preparations is the fact that the fruit remains whole. This requires much longer and more complicated processes. But in the service of taste and exception, Catherine Manoël cooks everything herself "à la Royale" in her copper basins. Visual pleasure, texture in the mouth, tasting quickly becomes an addictive pleasure because the combinations are so well mastered and the recipes so creative.

For Catherine, discovery is essential. Attracted by new fruits, curious about the world's gastronomic trends, the Master Jam Maker makes prototypes and listens to her customers' feedback, not hesitating to help them discover new compositions.  A perfect mastery of her subject for this great lady who has more than 350 recipes according to the fruits of the season, with each time a confidential production. A specialist in "made-to-measure", Catherine Manoël also makes very specific creations.