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| History and Philosophy |
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History:
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L'Épicerie (prononced lepisri) comes from the word "épice" (meaning spice). Originally a "comptoir" (counter) where one could find and buy "épices" it became a generic name for a store where to buy everyday ingredients along with spices. This is still the term used throughout France to designate a grocery or general store. Les "épiceries" varied widly as to what customers can find on the shelves, from the simple neighborhood épicerie to the fanciest and very specialized such as Hédiard, Fauchon, or La Grande Epicerie in Paris.
L'Épicerie (www.lepicerie.com) located in New York City is the brainchild of founder Philippe-Louis Houzé. |
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Born and raised in Paris, France, Philippe started to cook at the early age of 13 with his grandmother. Henriette Bouthier cooked every day meals and on Sundays a more elaborate meal out of her small kitchen, located in the heart of Montparnasse, right behind the famed "Coupole". Her small apartment became Philippe's favorite after school destination, and where he started to take notice in the art of cooking. Henriette had been taught by her mother, a private chef for a wealthy French family, and passed on the secrets of the late 19th century and early 20th grand diners' cooking. |
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Philippe's paternal grandparents Louis and Clotilde owned cafes in Paris and later in Normandie where the food was simple, tasteful, and always made from the finest local products.
At twenty three Philippe decided to abandon mathematics and science to instead explore the world of photography. Still-life and food photography have always been and remain to this day his forte. His first advertising campaign was for Cote d'Or chocolate (an excellent Belgium chocolate bars producer) with the advertising agency Kenyon Eckardt in Paris.
In 1982 after six years spent working and living in Paris, Philippe (now married to Marie, and proud parents of a beautiful one-year old daughter) embarked on a journey crossing the Atlantic before settling in New York City.
Philippe continued to photograph food and still-life (in both France and the US) and enjoyed a great deal sharing with friends and family his passion for cooking and eating. Having the luxury to work every week with the best chefs in the world is something Philippe recognized and accepted. Almost everything he now knows regarding preparing elaborate dishes comes from the kitchens of the famous chefs and restaurants that contracted his services. Michel Guérard, Paul Bocuse, Daniel Boulud, Laurent Tourondel, Jean George Vongerichten, Michel and Pierre Troisgros, Pierre Gagnaire, Jacques Maximim, Laurent Manrique, Laurent Gras are some of the chefs who recognized early Philippe's talent to capture the essence, and beauty of a dish. His fist assignment in New York City was for Sirio Maccioni of famed Le Cirque.
With a network of chef friends, and restaurant suppliers always willing to provide him with chef quality ingredients, Philippe was often the envy of his friends and guests who did not share this luxury. Finally last year Philippe started a new venture: to give home cooks, home bakers and passionates like him the ability to use the very same ingredients chefs and pastry chefs were using. By providing them with a website and a well- stocked warehouse he gave all food enthusiasts the ability to use the very same ingredients chefs and restaurants had access to.
A lot though of the professional products and ingredients usually comes in size not suitable for home chefs and bakers (who can use a 15lbs bucket of glucose sugar in six months?). Such a constraint was not going to let Philippe abandon his project. After an intense selection of the best suppliers for a given product, each ingredient was carefully re-packed in a manageable container size suitable for home use.
Incidentally, though a great number of L'Epicerie customers are also chefs and private chefs who enjoyed and are appealed by the small sizes offered. It gives them an incentive to try and test new recipes or to order more varieties of a specific product.
Philosophy:
As chef Alain Chapel once remarked: "La cuisine ce n'est pas que des recettes" ("Cooking is not just about recipes"). Only the best products and freshest ingredients will help create the best dishes. It is our goal to provide chefs and bakers at home with the best ingredients and products that are only available to chefs and restaurants. We do not carry products easily available in supermarkets unless the brand is not readily available (ex: we carry dried pastas but only the best ones - Cipriani). We carry few olive oils but one of the brand we carry is the one Alain Ducasse used in his restaurants.
By carefully opting to open a warehouse in the heart of New York City we have allowed ourselves to have the most direct link between imported products and our customers. New York is home to some of the best restaurants in the US and the hub for all imported European products. We have also eliminated the 24/7 heated and illuminated supermarkets and gourmet stores whose shelves carry sometimes products for too long.
A fast turnaround of products in a temperature controlled warehouse where everything stay in enclosed cases is your insurance to a better product. Since many products and ingredients are also sensitive to light and UVs all our ingredients are repacked in black containers - not a design choice but a careful thought. We have also eliminated the fancy cellophane packages carried by most gourmet stores for most products. They may look beautiful on the shelves but these products cannot be resealed easily after opening and can spill too easily. We have borrowed the idea from the professional kitchen and restaurants: It should look beautiful on the plate - not just on your pantry shelves.
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| How to Contact Us? |
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Customer service at L'Epicerie is ready to assist you with your order and our experts are eager to answer any question you may have.
You can phone your order Monday through Saturday from 9 am till 6 pm at 866-350-7575 (Toll-free) or Fax your order at 718-596-6444. Please don't forget to give us an email address or phone number to confirm your order.
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Phone:
Toll free: 866-350-7575
Local: 718-596-7575
Monday-Saturday: 9am-6pm - EST
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Fax:
718-596-6444
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Mailing Address:
L'Epicerie
Attn: Customer Service
106 Ferris Street
Brooklyn, NY 11231
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| Delivery in Manhattan |
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Products and ingredients ordered before 2:00 pm EST are delivered the very same day. Monday through Saturday. Delays or cancelations may occur due to circumstances beyond our control.
- Deliveries in Manhattan are $15.00 per address (signature required).
- We deliver from Battery Park through 96th Street.
- Orders placed after 2:00 pm EST on Saturday will deliver the following Monday.
Specify Future Shipment Date:
If you would like to specify future delivery dates and reserve your selections now, please call our Customer Service Center to place your order at 866-350-7575.
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| Preferred Shipping Methods |
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FedEx Next Day |
Next business day
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FedEx 2nd Day |
2 business days |
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FedEx Saver |
3 business days |
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FedEx Home Delivery |
1-5 business days |
We have set up an FedEx instant shipping calculator (linked directly to FedEx servers) to give you the exact shipping amount you will be charged depending on the method chosen. You need to register or login first since calculation is made per your shipping zip code. Shipping methods are designed to ensure that your product will arrive without damage and/or alteration to its inherent quality. We are not equipped at this time for shipping outside the continental United States, P.O. boxes or APO/FPO.
Chocolate and chocolate confections:
We use thermo-insulated boxes (available as an option in three sizes - from $5.00 to $12.00 - please give us a call to check on the size you need for your order) to ship your professional chocolates and chocolate products during summer months. We use them year-round for chocolate confections that require to be kept at a cold temperature (items containing butter or cream and/or unstable ingredients). All our insulated containers are optional, please do contact us if you would like to purchase them outside the Summer period. These items require a FedEx NEXT DAY shipping to ensure your products will arrive in outstanding condition. All frozen food products are carefully packaged to maintain optimum quality. As needed, we will add dry ice and/or ice packs to your order to ensure proper freezing/refrigeration during shipment. Unfortunately we cannot be held responsible if you choose a FedEx Home Delivery (outside of the one-day delivery zone) and/or elect not to purchase the insulated container for your shipment.
An email containing your FedEx tracking number is sent to your email address when your shipment is picked up and scanned at the time it leaves our warehouse (after 5:00PM EST). This email contains the scheduled day of delivery and will allow you to check the status of your package directly with FedEx at www.fedex.com.
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| Shipping Policy |
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Products and ingredients ordered before 2:00 pm EST are shipped the very same day. Delays may occur due to circumstances beyond our control.
- We try our very best to ensure that orders placed before 2:00 pm EST Monday through Friday will ship that very same day through FedEx.
- Orders placed after 2:00 pm EST Monday through Thursday will ship the next day through FedEx.
- Orders placed after 2:00 pm EST on Friday will ship the following Monday due to the lack of carriers over the weekend. Please note that Saturday and Sunday do not count in transit times estimates.
Orders containing frozen and/or refrigerated items, placed between 2:00 pm EST Thursday and 2:00 pm EST Monday, will ship on Monday. If your order contains a mix of refrigerated and non/refrigerated items they can be shipped separately. Please call us at 866-350-7575 to let us know.
Saturday Delivery:
FedEx Home Delivery delivers Tuesday through Saturday.
Specify Future Shipment Date:
If you would like to specify future shipping dates to reserve your selections now, please call our Customer Service Center to place your order at 866-350-7575.
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| Shipping Material |
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We are concerned with the future of our planet and strive to minimize the amount of waste produced. We use recyclable material whenever possible (even the tape on your shipping box is paper), and use recycled and recyclable filling material. We are also re-using some of the material from original packaging sent by our suppliers. This is the reason you may still find some non-recyclable filling in your packaging. But since we also want to make sure your shipment arrives in its entirety we will not compromise its integrity and risking creating more waste. Reduce, reuse, recycle whenever possible is our motto.
And finally you have as a customer taken a step in the right direction. Shopping online help reduce waste and pollution!
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| Shipping Costs |
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Your shipping charges are automatically calculated on site while shopping using the FedEx instant calculator. Charges are per your zip code and are based on the total weight of your order (we think this is the fairest shipping method). Gift Certificates are an exception: They ship FREE by USPS Mail to the recipient of your choice.
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| Shipping Restrictions |
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Due to our strict quality standards, we are not able to ship outside the United States, to P.O. boxes, or to APO/FPO addresses at this time.
Please contact Customer Service at 866-350-7575 for detailed information regarding Alaska and Hawaii shipments including actual shipping charges and methods.
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| Sales Tax |
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Sales taxes are applicable only to shipment made to New York State and on non-food items only.
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| Still have additional questions about your order? |
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Please call us toll-free at 866-350-7575 or send us an e-mail to: customer_service@lepicerie.com
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