About Us

Our Story

An Adventure in Good Taste

Our French Origin

A French Boy’s Passion

French Gourmet had its beginnings on the French Riviera, with a 13 year-old boy looking for a summer job to buy a moped. 

A beachfront restaurant hired him on the spot to do kitchen prep and begin his apprenticeship. There, Patrick Novak found his passion in the frenzied kitchen environment of fine cuisine.

Consistent Quality Becomes A Core Value

At the young age of just 22, he earned the coveted position of Executive Sous Chef at the Beverly Hills Hotel.  

In 1984, seeing a niche market for quality, European-style pastries and Danishes in the United States, Chef Novak founded French Gourmet. An appreciation for authenticity and consistent quality remains a core value of the company to this day.

Customers Value the French Gourmet Quality Difference.

Almost four decades later, these founding principles continue to guide our pursuit of excellence. We shop the globe to select the finest, purest ingredients available. Fusing the ancient art of dough making with modern manufacturing results in authenticity, manufacturing precision, and beautiful product consistency. These core values are what set French Gourmet apart; artisan pastries that bring delicious flavor and a difference that your customers can see and taste in every bite.

Consistently ranked #1 in blind taste tests

French heritage, made for you in the USA. We do the hard work for you. That’s the French Gourmet difference.

Our Products

My Personal Guarantee

Exceptional products, excellent service, and the well-deserved attention that you can only expect from a smaller company.

Patrick Novak

CEO, Chef & Founder

Our Mission

French Gourmet is in business to craft the ultimate quality frozen dough. We offer superior value and service, while contributing to our customers’ success. Committed to being ackowledged as the finest frozen dough manufacturer, being responsive to our customers’ needs, being creative while expanding our product offering, and providing a stable working environment where our employees can achieve personal growth.

Our Culture of Quality

Being different requires discipline, a shift in attitude, constant vigilance, dedication and laser-like focus until it becomes a habit. At French Gourmet, premium quality is our foundational difference governing how we add value to our products, processes and relationships.

“How we do one thing is how we do everything.”

It shows through impressive products and service delivery, our ability to embrace change and adapt, the pursuit of personal growth and learning, an attitude of service and mentorship, open and honest transparency in communication, and respect, care, and support for our Team.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Lighting

French Gourmet’s plant uses intelligent light fixtures equipped with sensors and fluorescent light. While more expensive, this has allowed the company to reduce its energy consumption by 60%. Fluorescent lights are four times more efficient than regular incandescent light bulbs.

Cooling

Cooling is a major energy component in the manufacturing of French Gourmet products. The entire interior of the plant was built using polyurethane panels in order to preserve various cold temperature zones, which are required to maintain the ideal manufacturing environment. This feature resulted in the reduction of its electrical demand by 45%.

Water

The facility was designed to minimize water consumption by using high-efficiency fixtures and strategically positioning sink stations to attend to its required wet cleaning and sanitizing areas. This allows the company to incorporate dry cleaning, thereby reducing water consumption by 30%.

Landscape

French Gourmet made a significant contribution to its community by xeriscaping its riverfront property. Plants and trees are cost-efficient natural air filters, and have a positive effect on employee morale.

Recycling

The company implemented a recycling system, resulting in 55% waste reduction. All hand-washing stations are equipped with dryers rather than paper towels, minimizing the company's carbon footprint.

Heating

The plant's heating system burns natural gas, which is among the cleanest energy sources. This results in very low emissions of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide, and reduces acid rain and smog.