This is a quenelle.
At Cantine Collective, we have been helping Maison Giraudet showcase its culinary heritage and artisanal expertise for several years.
In a world that keeps moving faster, often at the expense of flavor and authenticity, Giraudet still takes the time to do things properly. And that alone makes us proud to work with them.
In recent months, the brand set out to reaffirm its commitment loud and clear: to defend the authentic quenelle that helped make Lyon’s gastronomy famous. As mass-produced “soufflés” multiply on supermarket shelves, the traditional quenelle is being pushed aside.
It was time to set the record straight.
Create an impactful, informative campaign to restore the quenelle’s prestige.
Inform, raise awareness, and make people smile: that was the brief.
The campaign needed to speak both to consumers and to industry professionals (chefs, restaurateurs, distributors), with an approach designed for both businesses and the general public.
We developed a multichannel campaign, rolled out across social media, stores, and supermarkets, built around a strong idea: “This is not a quenelle.”
A series of carousels and videos helped challenge misconceptions and explain, with figures to back it up, what sets an authentic Giraudet quenelle apart from a simple mass-produced soufflé.
Alongside this, we created an educational guide for retail outlets and sales teams, ensuring a consistent message across all channels.
Each piece of content was designed to combine education and pride in local culinary heritage, with clear, pared-back art direction, true to the world of Maison Giraudet: elegant typography, cream and brown tones, authenticity, and elegance.
A complete campaign that struck a balance between substance and style, and between education and emotion. The content generated strong engagement on social media, and the campaign helped reaffirm Giraudet’s leadership in the category and put the quenelle back at the heart of the culinary conversation.
Explore the statistics, photos, infographics, videos, and excerpts from the guide below.
On supermarket shelves, imitation soufflés are taking the place of real quenelles, but…
To extend the campaign, we created a series of short videos filmed with our favorite host Victoire Terrassier and director Loïc Gauthey, in the heart of Lyon. The goal: meet the people of Lyon and test their knowledge of this iconic part of their culinary heritage. A series that is both informative and engaging, true to Giraudet’s spirit: championing flavor, sharing authentic knowledge, and doing it with a smile!
Real quenelle or imitation soufflé? We put them side by side. Then we zoomed in. This series offers simple ways to identify an authentic quenelle, recognize an imitation soufflé, and understand why preserving these skills matters.
Do you really know what goes into an authentic quenelle? At Giraudet, plain quenelles are made exclusively with premium ingredients in Lyon’s culinary tradition. By contrast, a mass-produced soufflé consists mainly of water, thickeners (xanthan gum), milk protein, spice extracts, and flavorings to compensate for a lack of flavor.
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