Lab’Bel is ten years old

although that’s not quite true.

But Lab’Bel is ten years old.

so let us dream bold

of our anniversary.

In fact, eleven years ago

was when Lab’Bel first began.

Hard to imagine

The path we’ve come from…

 

In this somewhat troubled period of more or less voluntary confinement and imposed quarantines, Lab’Bel has rolled up its sleeves and put on its apron, getting busy in the kitchen, preparing its comeback. The team have slaved over a hot stove in order to conjure up something that will titillate your taste buds: a puff pastry infused with the scents and fragrances of childhood, mixing the ingredients of its contemporary art collection with those of the many dishes that have simmered for the past ten years all over France, and sometimes even a little further away, in Europe. The result is made from a medley of eggs of different origins, all kinds of vegetables patiently dried on nails, countless artichokes harvested on Venetian bridges, Brussels sprout seeds collected with care, chewing gum chewed by lovers, clumps of Krema candies forming saturnine pebbles, tempting apples promising the taste of love or lost paradise, a skilfully textured dancing panna cotta, freshly squeezed orange juice likely to dazzle the gods of Olympus, chocolate bars nibbled by a raccoon and of course The Laughing Cow in Collector’s portions—I know someone who gave me a special deal—, all sure to whet your appetite.

 

Concocted by the cooks and gourmets involved in its projects, on Wednesdays under a full moon, with the pockets of their shorts filled with marbles, this refreshingly delightful cake, with the appearance of a geological cross section, proudly displays, like the leaves of a glossy magazine, its tasty and colourful layers. It also conceals several surprises for its readers, even a quick revision of the alphabet. Above all else, it bears witness to the offbeat recipes that the Laboratory has followed over the past ten years and the audacity and impertinence with which it has wished to endow its various endeavours.

 

It is with great pleasure that we offer this catalogue to you today, in its glazed mango and lime costume. If its contents aren’t to your taste, you can always escape via the first beanstalk you stumble upon, or seek refuge with little green men in your garden shed…

 

Laurent Fiévet

Director of Lab’Bel since 2010.