Christine Montalbetti

Marie-Thérèse Gibourdel ran Trouville's most famous patisserie. Marguerite Duras was a regular there. She talked to her a lot and often told her: " You have to write Marie-Thérèse, you have to write. In 2025, it's Christine Montalbetti who has finally done it, and who regales us.

In this Charlotte Corday patisserie, where cakes paid tribute to the personalities of the Côte Fleurie, Duras understood that the true and most delicious personality of the place was Marie-Thérèse. A few months after the closure of the patisserie, which was taken over in 1977 by her husband and then her son, a book was published chronicling Marie-Thérèse's life. Christine Montalbetti, another writer familiar with the patisserie, has often suggested that Marie-Thérèse write down her memories. This time, 84-year-old Marie-Thérèse suggested that Christine Montalbetti do just that. Giving full rein to a life story that often echoes her own, Christine Montalbetti recounts and shares "a story that brings us together and unites us". In the course of their conversations, a life full of flavors unfolds. A 206-page book that, like a millefeuille, reveals itself in all its layers and superimpositions.