The Constanti House
1923, the birth of Maison Constanti
In France between the wars, feeding the population was a major concern. In Lanne en Barétous in the Pyrenees, Léon Constanti, son of a miller, decided to become a baker.
His tours became an event in the whole valley. Workers, farmers, shepherds, women and children wait impatiently for Léon’s cart to pass by to pick up their loaves of bread, and the free distribution of bread rolls, the “coucous”, makes the children happy.
This is how Maison Constanti was born, with the desire to be a vector of happiness and development of its territory.
Constanti bread: a century of French family tradition
It is quite natural that Jeannot, son of Léon, takes over the torch a few years later by continuing to develop the know-how of the Maison Constanti bakery whose reputation grows over the years.
The arrival of Jean-Luc, alongside his father, marked a new era. The baker was also to become a pastry chef and it was Jean-Luc, an artist at heart, who was to become the conductor of this evolution.
Then an apprentice at Ernest Andrieu’s, under the tutelage of Jacques Labarbe who would join the Maison Constanti a few years later, Jean-Luc won second prize in the Best Apprentice of France competition in 1983, the first consecration of a hard work and a passion that it was time to make the world discover.
Jean-Luc, master craftsman baker and pastry chef, returned home to help his parents. The famous bakery then becomes a bakery and pastry shop.
The beginning of an era of creativity and innovation
While honing his pastry-making skills with Pierre Hermé and Lenotre, Jean-Luc developed a range of fine pastries within the family bakery, while continuing to improve his bakery expertise with special breads, such as the now-famous spiced corn bread, and viennoiseries. Above all, he developed the traditional baguette boulangère, winning the title of Best Baguette du Béarn in 2008.
Now accompanied by his wife Nathalie to manage the business, the duo will spend the last 20 years developing the company:
Opening of the bakery in Oloron, followed by the one in Pau, then the tea and ice cream shop on the Boulevard des Pyrénées and finally the store at the Halles de Pau where Jean-Luc likes to meet his customers and restaurant friends in the characteristic atmosphere of the Halles, where the best products from Bearn and the Pyrenees are found.
And the story continues to unfold...
After years of research, the Constanti Beret Collection was unveiled, accompanied by a dedicated website.
Today, almost a century after its creation, the House has a staff of 50, 5 establishments and an online boutique, all the while projecting new horizons.
Léon’s grandson, accompanied by his wife Nathalie and their children Louis and Justine, perpetuates the savoir-faire of the Maître Artisan Boulanger Pâtissier Chocolatier Confiseur et Glacier, whose reputation extends far beyond the borders of Béarn.
A baker in his village, a Master Craftsman in Pau, he never forgets his roots in Lanne, where authenticity and love of the craft are at the heart of every creation.
