Almost every day we are asked by so many lovely people to donate macarons and vouchers for charity raffles, auctions and events. In an ideal world we would support them all. But we can’t always give away our products to everyone. 

We don’t want to be miserable and mean either. 

So, at Mademoiselle Macaron we support one charity and this year we have created a special box of macarons. 20% of every sale of our special macarons will go to Epilepsy Scotland. 

Why have we chosen this charity? Well, it’s all to do with the original Mademoiselle, of course. 

Rachel Hanretty has had epilepsy since she was 12. With medication failing to control seizures, she had brain surgery to remove part of the right hand side of her brain. This hasn’t stopped her from doing many things clearly but for any of you who have been in the shop and met Rachel, it might explain a couple of things. Namely, her lack of knowing when to stop chatting away. 

After moving back from Paris in 2010, the epilepsy that had been cured through surgery came back. It took a long time to stabilise it. 

When making macarons at home and starting this business from scratch on her own, Rachel was in the middle of trialling new medication. 

Macarons have a short baking time of 12 minutes. The effort of making the mix and then putting the trays in the oven meant that Rachel would often collapse and lie beside the oven for a precious 12 minutes of rest. 

When opening the first shop in Edinburgh, Rachel still hadn’t gone one full year of being seizure free. Everyone was terrified that the stress of taking a business to a bricks and mortar level would bring back the seizures. But it hasn’t. In fact, some might say that focusing on Mademoiselle Macaron is what has kept epilepsy at bay. This year will be the third consecutive year Rachel has been seizure free. 

Throughout this long journey, Epilepsy Scotland, its helpline and volunteers have been there to answer questions and have long been raising money for research into the condition. 

Purple is the colour for epilepsy and 26th March is Epilepsy Awareness Day. 

Have a think about buying our purple sweet treats for you and yours knowing that you are helping a lot of Mademoiselles, Madames and Messieurs who are affected by epilepsy.