Bêtises de Cambrai Sweets

Les Bêtises de Cambrai are minty sweets produced in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. In French, a bêtise is a kind of nonsense or a stupidity, the word is normally used to talk to unruly children.

This is explained by the story of the famous Bêtise confectionery product that is typical from the Nord-Pas-de-Calais food traditions. It is said that in the 19th century, a teenager from the Afchain family made a mistake while preparing sweets for the family business, a French confiserie (sweet shop).

His mother told him that he had made bêtises, but the clients loved the resulting minty sweets sweets – which quickly known a huge success all over France!

The French Betises are refreshing sweets with a pleasant taste and digestive benefits. The ancient family company was recently bought by Dunkirk biscuit maker. The production of the famous sweet was threatened due to low sales rates but after much advertising the famous Nord-Pas-de-Calais bêtises are now back on track and available in every standard French supermarket.

The Bêtise sweet is made only from natural products. The sugar is stretched and mint is added to give a soft flavour. Then caramel is added to give a sweet touch to the blend.

Nowadays, the production of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais sweet is controlled and its high quality is certified by the famous ISO 9001 norm. 400 tons are produced each year and new flavours appeared: orange, lemon, raspberry and apple.