LeKood review: French cuisine is so much more than just wine and cheese

We caught up with Charlotte Graves from LeKood to discuss her new online food shop.

Food delivery services are really having a moment. The pure joy of eating delicious food is currently reduced to the occasional takeaway, experimenting yourself or shoving things from the freezer straight into the fiery pit that is your oven. Lockdown has seen a number of businesses and restaurants across London expand into the world of online deliveries, and we have a fantastic new find to share with you.

Image: Charlotte Graves, Founder of LeKood

LeKood is a specialist food shop which will ensnare you into the delicious world of French cuisine. It was founded by Charlotte Graves in 2019 as a way of bringing all the best bits of French food to London. The online shop and website reflect her desire to showcase regional foods, by making it easy to shop by region, or even by the meal that you’re having, whether that be breakfast, a family dinner or a romantic occasion.

“Is there anything more evocative of your heritage than food?”

Charlotte moved to the UK with an MBA in Tourism and Marketing and a penchant for great food. Back in France, her father, Hervé Disset, runs and owns a small deli which has a focus on craftmanship, tradition and prestigious local food – with many of the suppliers at the deli actually being winners of a local food festival. With her academic background and the experience of her father behind her, Charlotte created LeKood.

Charlotte is passionate about connecting consumers with the producers and the regions that produce the food itself. Many people think of French food as delicate cheeses, rich wines and dishes that are cooked in oodles of butter but LeKood seeks to highlight all of the other French foods that are often overlooked by both consumers and retailers. The LeKood online shop is bursting with charcuteries, oils, tapenades and other spreadables. One of their specialties is foie gras, which is a must for the meat lovers. LeKood hopes more people will try this French delicacy and they offer an enormous variety of tempting types and flavours.

Image: Mollie Cohen

LeKood kindly sent us a range of their products to try and I was overwhelmed with the gorgeous packaging and the speed in which it arrived to my door. My favourite out of what I received has to be the jam, the packaging feels so luxurious compared to your standard jar of Hartley’s and the smell on opening is divine. The texture is quite different to other jams that I’ve had as it is runnier and softer than usual, but this means it glides on to toast and porridge beautifully. But notable mentions also must go to the green olive tapenade and the goose rillettes. The versatility of these products is undeniable, enjoyable as an aperitif or just spread on toast for an experimental breakfast.

There is a huge focus on sustainability across the entire LeKood business, from the products that they source, the selection process for their suppliers, right down to the packaging that they send your food in. The packaging is completely recyclable – both the jute bag and the insert, the latter is made from British wool and can be used in your compost heap. The jute bag can also be re-used as storage for onions, turnips and other fresh vegetables. Within each package comes a handy insert on how to recycle the packaging too. This is just one of the small details that make LeKood so personable and environmentally friendly.

The LeKood website is also a great resource for knowledge and perspective on French cuisine in general. The interactive map (shown below), the videos and the images all give a plethora of information on all types of food. The journal tab on the website is extremely useful if you are wanting to try new things and learn about the foods. Looking through the producers and the products that they offer has brought truffle oil to my attention. Hello.  

Image: LeKood

Plus, in the not so distant future, LeKood hopes to bring a Champagne offering to the website. As many of you will already know, Champagne is a region-specific drink and so to ensure that you are drinking the good stuff it needs to have been produced in the Champagne region – which incidentally is where Charlotte is from. These champagnes will offer something unique, as the drinks will be made using sustainable agricultural practices with very few chemicals used throughout the process, with some even being organic. Many lesser known brands of champagne are created from leftover produce which is by default more environmentally friendly – it is these brands that LeKood is so passionate about and is seeking to showcase.

Next time your palette is in need of something different to liven it up, why not take a virtual dip across the Channel and give LeKood a try.

Head to our Instagram to enter our LeKood Giveaway this weekend.

Words by Mollie Kate Cohen