French flavour house PROVA brought its 80th anniversary celebrations to London this month, hosting an exclusive Afternoon Tea at The Rubens at the Palace to showcase its vanilla, cocoa, coffee, caramel and nut expertise. 

The event brought together PROVA’s leadership and three of its pastry chefs to share the French savoir-faire behind the company since 1946.

“Eighty years ago, my grandparents built this company on a simple belief: that understanding an ingredient properly, from the ground up, is what allows you to do something extraordinary with it,” said Muriel Acat, PROVA’s CEO. “That belief still guides us today, across every aroma we work with. Celebrating this milestone in London, alongside the chefs who bring our savoir-faire to life on the plate, is a reminder of why heritage matters: it is not nostalgia, it is the foundation for what comes next.”

The Afternoon Tea menu was developed jointly by Tristan Rousselot, head of creation at PROVA Gourmet, who joined the company after roles in some of France’s best-known kitchens including Christophe Michalak’s patisserie, Akrame and the Prince de Galles; Christophe Vicente, pastry chef at PROVA Industrie; and Benjamin Bourgeois, pastry chef at Ashford Castle. Together they designed the menu to run across PROVA’s full range of brown flavours rather than spotlighting a single ingredient.

“What we wanted to create together is a menu that reflects the breadth of what PROVA does, not just one ingredient,” said Rousselot. “Working alongside other chefs on the same event pushes you to think differently about flavour.”

Vicente, who works on the industrial side of the business, said the collaboration underlined how closely craft and manufacturing expertise are linked at PROVA: “Our job is to make sure the same precision you’d expect in a pastry kitchen carries through into flavours made for professional use, wherever they end up. Taking part in this Afternoon Tea alongside Tristan and Benjamin is a good reminder that industrial expertise and craftsmanship come from the same rigour, not opposite worlds.”

Speaking to Food and Drink Technology, Acat recalled a moment that reflects the company’s instinct and founding trait: “to dare and be bold”. Her father’s approach to Mars, 40 years ago, when the company was still a small one, defined PROVA’s trajectory in the vanilla industry.

Standard American vanilla extract, being alcohol-based, wasn’t compatible with chocolate production. PROVA’s answer was a fat-soluble vanilla plated onto a block of cocoa butter that could be dropped straight into the conche. “We had only one product, we were very little and my dad knocked on Mars door, the big chocolate company at the time. Back then they were trying to get rid of vanillin in the chocolate and use a vanilla extract. My dad went in with a solution, a fat-soluble vanilla, and that was it. We have now been in the recipe for 35 years. That’s our core: to last we must dare. Daring it’s about innovation, conquering new worlds, new territories, where you’re not expected. ”

Alongside a daring attitude, Acat takes pride in passing on knowledge between generations and colleagues. “If our chefs are not passionate, they wouldn’t be here presenting these creations” she highlighted while noting the importance of passion as company value. “Passing on is something I like to foster in the company, not only in the family but also among our employees. They have the experience and knowledge that need passing to the next generation and their colleagues. We’re an expert, we’re specialised and that can’t be transmitted if it’s not shared properly.”

“We cultivate love for our jobs and for the people. I learnt that from my father, to get up every morning and being happy to see everyone who is part of this journey enjoying their jobs. We have to keep the human values at the centre and remain agile in the long term.” she added.

Acat also pointed to the company’s need to keep innovation at its core. “We have a technical centre in Brittany, France, staffed by around 10 researchers exploring new raw materials and extraction technologies, including early-stage work on cellular-derived vanilla and cocoa.” “Innovation is the meeting of different worlds. The fact that we’re international is a plus.” she noted.

The Acat family has also set up a family foundation focused on three areas: biodiversity protection, education and the arts, alongside a wider effort to prepare the next generation of family shareholders, including traineeships that have already taken younger family members to PROVA operations in Madagascar and Uganda.

Under Muriel Acat’s presidency, PROVA has grown into a group with €120 million in annual revenue, 80% generated internationally, across 12 subsidiaries, four production sites in France and Asia, and 470 employees. It operates through two divisions: PROVA Industry, supplying flavour solutions to food manufacturers, and PROVA Gourmet, which serves chefs, artisans and restaurateurs, including across the UK.

The company is now present in more than 70 countries, though Acat noted that a smaller core of markets still generates the bulk of the business. “Now we want to dig deep. Really be in each of those countries,” she said. “Be the natural choice for sweet brown flavours, be the reference in the hearts and minds of the customers.”

The London Afternoon Tea is part of a wider 80th anniversary programme that PROVA is marking market by market, giving the UK foodservice community a dedicated moment with the company behind the flavours.