Waitrose does French food better than most British supermarkets, and as someone who grew up in France, that matters. They stock things I can’t find elsewhere, proper French cheeses, decent butter, brands French people actually buy.
When we lived in France, we used to order French products at Waitrose for my mother-in-law’s birthdays. She’d visit us and live on cheese and baguette, so we’d send her a selection of French cheeses she couldn’t get in the UK. They delivered to her door, and the delivery driver sang happy birthday. I am not making that up. If there is no Waitrose near you, it does not matter. They deliver anywhere, which is half the point.
The fancy reputation is justified, but it’s not just about feeling posh whilst you shop. It’s just nice having access to ingredients you need for proper French cooking, products that make the difference between “French-inspired” and actually French.
Here is what is genuinely worth buying.
The dairy section
French salted butter, Isigny Sainte-Mère
The French butter Waitrose stocks from Isigny is the real thing. The Waitrose French butter with sea salt crystals from this Normandy producer is PDO-protected, made from unpasteurised cream from cows that graze on Normandy’s salt marshes. That gives it a golden colour and a flavour you can actually taste: proper dairy, not just fat. The salt level is right: enough to notice, not enough to overpower. Keep two blocks in the fridge. They disappear faster than expected. If you want to understand more about why French butter is different, read the full butter guide on the site. And for proper storage, a butter dish or butter bell keeps it at the perfect temperature.
Crème Fraîche Isigny Sainte-Mère
The French butter Waitrose range is only part of what Isigny does well. Their crème fraîche at 40% fat is what you need when you are making something French. It does not split when added to hot sauces, which lower-fat versions do reliably. Thicker, richer, and genuinely useful. Add it to scrambled eggs, stir through sauces, and crucial when you’re enriching a French pumpkin soup for example. It is one of the most-used things in the fridge.
Condiments and cooking basics
Maille Dijon Mustard
The French mustard Waitrose stocks from Maille has been around since 1747 for a reason. Smooth, sharp, and consistent. The French mustard Waitrose carries in this range goes into vinaigrettes, cream sauces, alongside roast chicken, and spread on sandwiches. It is the basic Dijon that every French kitchen keeps permanently stocked, and the reason it is the basic one is that it works in everything without having to think about it.
Bouquet Garni
These little sachets are useful for stocks, stews, and braises. Bay, thyme, parsley stalks, classic French herb combination for stocks, stews, and braises like the “Pot au Feu de la Mer” for example. Drop one in whilst something’s simmering, fish it out before serving. That’s it. You could tie up your own herbs, obviously, but these are there when you need them without having to think about it.
White wine vinegar
Technically a Suffolk producer rather than a French one, but this Sauvignon Blanc vinegar works perfectly for French cooking. Clean, sharp, not harsh. One part vinegar to three parts oil with Dijon, salt, and pepper is the vinaigrette. It is also the right choice for deglazing pans. A reliable white wine vinegar is essential for French salad dressings, and this one does the job properly.
White wine stock pot
Not a French product, but genuinely useful for French cooking. A stock pot with white wine already incorporated, useful for deglazing pans or making French onion soup without opening a whole bottle just to use two tablespoons. These are worth keeping in the cupboard.
Plant-based French products
La Vie range
As pescatarians, these have become essential in our kitchen. La Vie is a French brand making plant-based charcuterie through fermentation. The result tastes genuinely smoky and meaty in a way that most plant-based alternatives do not. They make smoked bacon, lardons, ham, and honey-roasted ham. The lardons are what we use in Tartiflette. The ham finishes off a classic Croque-Madame. The honey-roasted slices are really good for Raclette. Worth trying even if you are not vegetarian.
Biscuits from the famous Lu
Worth knowing what Lu actually is before getting into the specific products. Lu started in 1846 when Jean-Romain Lefèvre and his wife Pauline-Isabelle Utile opened a small bakery in Nantes. They combined their surnames to form Lefèvre-Utile, now simply Lu. Their son Louis created the Petit-Beurre in 1886, the iconic rectangular butter biscuit with 52 teeth around the edge that is still made from the same recipe nearly 140 years later. The biscuits are still produced in France at La Haye-Fouassière, just outside Nantes.
Le Petit Beurre
The petit beurre biscuits Waitrose stocks are identical to what you would buy in a French supermarket. Plain, buttery, slightly salty. French children grow up on these. They are good with coffee, good for dunking, and firm enough to survive a hot drink without immediately falling apart. The petit beurre biscuits Waitrose carries are the real thing, not an approximation.
Le Petit Chocolat
In France we call them “Le petit ecolier” a.k.a “The little schoolboy” which was created in 1897. It’s still France’s best-selling biscuit today. Similar to the Petit-Beurre but sweeter, with a thick slab of chocolate on top. As kids, my brother and I would always take them apart: eat the biscuit first, save the chocolate layer for last. The hierarchy of pleasure, even at seven years old.
Le Petit Citron
More cake than biscuit. The lemon flavour is clean and not artificial. The problem is they are impossible to stop eating once the box is open. I have learned to keep them out of sight, which tells you everything about how good they are.
Mikado
Slender biscuit sticks dipped in chocolate. The ratio is exactly right: not too much chocolate, not too much biscuit. These were a childhood obsession and remain one. If you have never tried them, you should. They are one of those French biscuits that seem unremarkable until you have eaten half a box without intending to.
Delicious French tinned fish
A note on the brand: Parmentier has been making tinned sardines since 1883, starting in Douarnenez in Brittany. The founder had no relation to Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, the man who popularised potatoes in France, but named the brand as a homage. The iconic yellow tins feature Napoleonic imagery: the imperial eagle, the royal bees, and a deliberate inversion of Napoleon’s sceptre. A bold branding choice for a sardine company in 1883.
Parmentier Sardines
Plump, meaty, packed in either tomato sauce or extra virgin olive oil. The tomato version is good on toast with lemon. The olive oil version goes into pasta with garlic and parsley. Both make quick lunches that do not feel like compromises. Keep a couple of tins around.
Waitrose No.1 Anchovies
From Waitrose’s own range rather than a French brand, but these are meaty and properly salted. The kind worth eating straight from the tin. Good anchovies dissolve into sauces, add depth to dressings, and make Pissaladière Niçoise possible. Worth keeping in the cupboard permanently.
Preserves and cheese accompaniments
Bonne Maman Fig Conserve
Bonne Maman is super French, those gingham-topped jars cover huge spaces in every French supermarket. The fig conserve is particularly good, intensely figgy, not too sweet, excellent with your cheeseboard or on toast. It’s one of the more interesting Bonne Maman flavours in my opinion. Worth having a jar around.
Waitrose No.1 Quince and Pear for Cheese
This is essentially a pâte de fruits made for strong cheese. Sweet, tart, slightly grainy texture. Works well with Comté, aged cheese, and blue cheese. The kind of thing you might not buy for yourself but should. Proper cheeseboard material.
Classic French drinks
Pernod and Ricard
Both work in the kitchen as well as the glass. A splash in a seafood stew or Bouillabaisse works well: the aniseed flavour complements fish and shellfish naturally. To drink properly: one part pastis to five parts cold water with ice. Ricard is the Marseille classic, stronger anise and slightly sweeter. Pernod is more herbal. Both are worth having.
The sweet desserts
Bonne Maman Crème Caramel
Silky custard with proper caramel on top, in glass pots you can reuse. Not homemade, but a perfectly reasonable finish to a weeknight dinner when there is no energy for something more involved. French families buy these regularly. They are better than many restaurant versions.
Bonne Maman Crème Brulée
Yes, you can make your own crème brûlée, but if you’re feeling lazy and you just want to wow your guests in a instant? Then these are your answer. The custard itself is rich and creamy, very close to the real thing. It’s a shop-bought dessert that doesn’t feel like a compromise. Serves two, or one person having a really good evening.
What makes these worth buying
If you want proper French products at Waitrose without hunting down specialist shops and paying significantly more, this is where to start. The Isigny butter and crème fraîche are standouts. The La Vie range has become genuinely essential in our kitchen. The Lu biscuits are identical to what you find in a French supermarket. And the Parmentier sardines are worth keeping permanently stocked.
What French products do you keep stocked? Anything I’ve missed that Waitrose does brilliantly? Let me know in the comments.
Disclosure: Just so you know, this post contains sponsored content and/or affiliate links, If you make a purchase through these links, I may receive a small commission. Doesn’t cost you anything extra. I only link to things that are actually worth your time. All opinions are my own!
