Find out about this French tradition and how you can participate in the UK.
What is a fève?
Fèves (feh-v) are little trinkets hidden in the epiphany galette des rois, French King Cake, each year on the 6th of January. As part of the celebrations, the person who finds the fève in their slice of cake is given King or Queen status for the day, adding a playful element of royalty to the occasion.
Today, fèves can be used all year round to celebrate any occasion with friends and family.
What is Epiphany?
The 6th of January is 'l'Epiphanie' or 'la journée des Rois' and commemorates the three Wise Men's visit to baby Jesus. It is the 12th day after Christmas and closes the Christmas season.
The history of la fève
Traditionally, la fève was a broad bean, and whoever ate the bean had to buy a round of drinks for everyone. Some people didn't want to pay for the drinks, so they just swallowed the bean! That's why today, these trinkets are made out of non-edible materials.
Will you become a fabophile?
A fabophile is an avid collector of fèves, who will hunt flea markets and garage sales and meet at exhibition shows collecting fèves.
Most sought-after are usually the première époque or first-era fèves, which date to between 1870 and 1940 and were produced mainly by Limoges Castel, a specialist in French porcelain production that, at its peak, turned out several million fèves a year.
Where can I buy a fève in the UK?
We now have a range of cute animal fèves in the Maison Cherie online shop, made by a small independent French artisan business.