Le Panier Francais 2508 Wisconsin Avenue, Downers Grove, IL 60515

"Le Panier is my favorite place to shoppe for quality French treats and imports. There are even items to by for the baby."

"I ordered on March 30th for the first time 11 items, of which 7 were chocolate items. All the chocolate items were partially melted, and I was unable to remove the tin foil wrappings around the various chocolate items unless I was willing to get the chocolate under my fingernails....that would be too much of an ordeal. I called the company and left a message. Next day it's rep called me and gave a song and dance story about climate and how some months are hotter than others. They should have shipped such items in cooling containers with ice for which I would have been happy to have paid extra. This company should have known better about the chocolate melting during shipment to Miami during March and early April, and they were unwilling to take back the items and refund to my credit card. The rep offered me a 10% discount on my next order...big deal!! Now I am stuck with chocolates with tin foil in them. In addition, I had ordered Hollandaise Sauce, which turned out to be very lemony sour, but it wasn't spoiled...just made not too tasty. I must say that out of the 11 items ordered, 2 were very good and which included Bonne Maman Fig Preserve and LU Petit Beurre Biscuits. In any event, I love France and it's culture...VIVA LA FRANCE!!!"

"Wonderful customer service!!! I ordered a tin of organic violet hard candy. When it arrived, I noticed on the ingredients list that the glucose syrup is from wheat. I am gluten intolerant, and had looked at the ingredients on the website before ordering (they actually post them : ). But the website list did not mention wheat. I wrote to them with the discrepancy and asked for a refund. They actually contacted the manufacturer to verify, and were told that the product contains 8 mg/kg of gluten. In Europe, gluten concentrations of less than 20mg/kg don't have to be labeled as allergens. Since I live in the US, they contacted the FDA and were informed that here, the labeling threshold is 20 ppm (which is equal to 20mg/kg). The concentration in the product is even low enough to be labeled as gluten-free, they said. So I learned something, as well as being impressed by their level of commitment to the safety of their consumers. You are wonderful!!!"

"Placed 2 orders in December. Both arrived on time. The products were extremely well-wrapped to avoid any damage (so much so that some of them were difficult to unwrap even with scissors). Everything arrived in perfect condition (even the Christmas ornaments, the porcelain soap holder and the soap). Last but not least, I find their prices fairly reasonable. I already recommended them to my French friends here."

"Update The sales methods utilized with my last order are both unprofessional and downright rude. My family will no longer purchase any products from Le Panier Francais, preferring companies as I-Gourmet.com or Yummy Bazaar.com that have never deceived us through years of doing business with them. I ordered cookies, tabs of chocolate and a couple of French items for $77 from the Panier Francais on March 29th . Most of the items were “back ordered” (even though they were debited on the same day). I did not have a problem waiting for those French sweets that are not “essential.” Also ordered a pack of brioche yeast expired on 1/16/2020 but was on "sale for half-price". The item was charged full price….I did not argue about it but when I mentioned there was a mistake on the price of that item, the French owner explained it was the correct price because the expired item was sold out and she was using the price of new stock that she had not even received yet!! That makes no sense as her website should refuse an order for an expired item at ½ price if there is not any in stock. On April 8th , 10 days later, the owner made the decision to split my order for limiting quantities per customer, giving me 3 packs of cookies instead of 5 (weird to hear it only now, but still ok) and to keep the difference of money as a “credit store” (NOT OK). In her email: No “apology” nor did she even ask me about agreeing to this! My patience has a limit and frustration with this order was going on and on….on that last exchange I asked her to add a tab of chocolate that I did not need for making the full amount and also warned her that this would be my last order. Le Panier Francais did not like my answer that the owner considers as “nasty”….as a result, she decided to cancel my order and to refund it! 5/5/2020: in attachment emails exchanged with Le Panier Francais...full different story re written by this arrogant dishonest company (if emails do not appear under this review: click my name on top, then visit "photos" section. Translation French/English available on Google.com)"