Picard, The French Brand That Takes Frozen Dinners To New Heights

It's not all baguettes, cafe au laits, and wine in France. Imagine a grocery store that exclusively sells frozen foods — no fresh produce — and we will send you to a Picard Surgelés gourmet grocery store in Paris that does just that. But don't expect to find your favorite run-of-the-mill frozen Lean Cuisine lasagna or Marie Callender's chicken pot pie in this store's aisles because Picard's is beyond ordinary. The fact is Picard's frozen meals are fancy. 

Its brick-and-mortar shops are comprised of a train of freezers filled with foods that will make the culinary curious absolutely pâlir de jalousie. All foods are sold under their store brand name and include a wide range of meals, party foods, meats, veggies and fruits, desserts, and appetizers that are quite delicious and beyond any iced meal you can find in an American supermarket. Picard frozen offerings include lemon meringue tarts, chicken cordon bleu, goat's cheese honey & walnut pizzas, delicate macarons in beautiful hues, and Pasteis De Nata. But that's not even the tip of the iceberg.

The majority of the purveyors are French so you are getting the best of the best local ingredients, which are listed on the packaging along with cooking instructions. The closest thing we have in the U.S. is probably Trader Joe's, but that's a stretch. What sets Picard's frozen food apart from other frozen food is how good it tastes, so much so it is on the menu at parties of even the wealthy.

If you are throwing a party at your Parisian flat, you will want to pick up some of their much talked about canapés, including Picard's mini croque monsieur, mini cheese gougeres, and escargots with garlic. For a petit déjeuner, you might want to opt for the brand's frozen mini pains au chocolat followed by some scallops with sauterne sauce for dinner. Picard's frozen food is convenience food at its best. There are over 1,000 Picards in France, but sadly, none in the United States.