I tried the UK’s biggest croissant with 3,000 calories – was the hype worth it?
EXTRA large food gets a lot of attention on social media, but is it ever really worth the hype?
After seeing multiple videos of Philippe Conticini’s giant croissant on social media, we decided to check it out for ourselves.
The French patisserie boasts the biggest croissant in the UK – and at 17 inches long and the equivalent of ten normal sized ones it’s clear to see why.
The giant croissant weighs around 1.5kg, takes two days to make and bakes for one hour and fifty minutes – but it’s no cheap bake at £25 each.
But people have been going wild on social media to try it, and Fabulous decided to see what all of the fuss was about.
Heading to their Camden Buck Street Market branch, we saw plenty of people taking photos of the flaky pastry astonished by the size.
One foodie said: “It actually caught our eye from outside, that’s why we came in.”
“This is a really big one, I have never seen this type of croissant ,” added another.
Speaking to operations manager, Ludovic Carassi Del Villar, he revealed that Philippe created the massive croissant after the pandemic, to encourage people to come together again.
The hefty treat serves four to six people, contains 3,000 calories and is made with the finest French butter (700 grams to be exact.)
It first became popular after singer and actress Selena Gomez posted a snap of the sweet treat on her Instagram when visiting Paris.
It took the internet by storm and the bakery soon opened up two branches in London – where social media users have gone crazy for it with over 33million views on TikTok.
While it was created to share among friends and family, plenty have tried to eat the inflated croissant alone says Ludovic.
So, we decided to see just how much we could eat and whether the bake stood up to the hype.
The taste test
While I was sure I could eat the entire thing in one sitting, as it looked up at me from the table doubt kicked in.
The colossal sweet treat took up half the table and I was sceptical the croissant would hold up in quality compared to a regular sized one.
But when it was cut in half I was proved wrong.
The outer layer had a good crisp to it while the inside looked extra fluffy and had delicate layers running throughout.
With the timer set, I decided to tuck into the giant bake.
Figuring out how to eat it was half the struggle, ripping it off in chunks proved effective but left me with little dignity.
A knife and fork was much more distinguished, however, it made eating it within ten minutes extremely difficult.
Other tactics tried was squishing the croissant down as well as grabbing it and tucking in.
The croissant itself was perfectly moist in the centre and light and airy.
Despite my best attempts, I got to around the 18 minute mark and called it quits.
While others have managed to scoff down the pastry solo, the richness of the bake and crunchy outside left me defeated.
I waved my white flag and took the rest of it home, which Ludovic told me would be good to eat for another two to three days.
Final thoughts
This croissant tasted so much better than I expected considering it’s size.
I went in thinking the quality wouldn’t be as high due the size but I was wrong, the inside was fluffy and buttery while the outside had a nice crunch.
For £25 this pastry isn’t cheap – but if you plan to eat it with a group of four to six as recommended – it comes out to around £4.16 each for the equivalent of more than one croissant each which I don’t think is bad at all.
Not only is the price relatively reasonable when sharing it (a standard croissant at the bakery costs £2.75) but you also get the novelty of eating the biggest croissant in the UK.
All in all, his croissant is a fantastic bake to share with friends – I just wouldn’t recommend trying to eat it alone.