LES QUINTESSENCES 2021
The Best Of jury met on September 7, 2021 to choose between fifty or so distributors: delicatessens, food artisans, caterers, wine shops, general food shops, online markets, etc. In view of the quality of the concepts presented, the jury has decided to elect 4 winners, including a jury favourite!
Spotlight on the winners of the Quintessences 2021 competition.
RAFFINATI - THE JURY'S FAVOURITE, Paris 8e
Raffinati is more than an Italian delicatessen: it's a maturing house! Created by Nicola Balestra, a gastronomy enthusiast with more than 20 years of experience in the sector, this beautiful address in the 18th arrondissement of Paris stands out for its authentic character. Nicola finds his products directly from small producers in the boot, without any intermediaries: this allows a precise and almost exclusive selection, but also limits unnecessary transport. These nuggets, cheeses and charcuterie are then matured on the spot, directly in the shop's cellars: a unique know-how that makes it possible to sublimate raw materials that are already of exceptional quality. Nicola offers platters (cold meats, cheeses, grilled seasonal vegetables), but also recipes to be enjoyed on the spot, in the small restaurant area or for takeaway (filled rolls, homemade pasta and ravioli, etc.). The Raffinati teams are friendly and keen to give expert advice to Italian food lovers and novices alike: offering the right cheese to go with a recipe, offering the aromatic plant that will make all the difference... The icing on the cake is that the shop only uses recyclable packaging and is committed to not wasting any food.
What seduced the jury: the originality of the concept of the maturing house, the advice, the selection of rare products of exceptional quality which are worked and sublimated!
LA CHICORÉE, Marseille – 13 006
In essence, La Chicorée is a local grocery shop selling local products in a short circuit, created by Clément Dupouy. It is one of the only grocery shops in the Phocaean city to buy fruit and vegetables directly from the small producers it supports. In order to guarantee an accessible offer, La Chicorée offers affordable prices that remain fair for the producer and does not hesitate to share its supplies with another grocery shop to limit the environmental impact of transport. The shop's teams are working on developing the bulk offer and favour the reduction of packaging or containers. Clément also owns a small field, in order to offer products grown by himself, while encouraging, through the sale of plans, the customers to produce themselves.
What seduced the jury: a business for which the term proximity takes on its full meaning and which favours short, very short circuits! A truly eco-responsible approach with the desire to raise consumer awareness.
LE LAB FRANÇAIS, Paris 18e
Driven by her vocation, Sandrine Botman opened Le Lab Français in March 2021 with the aim of fulfilling the very definition of a delicatessen: to offer a selection of products of great gustatory quality as well as to highlight French craftsmen and producers. The shop offers exclusively French products, rigorously selected according to several criteria: taste, the balance of ingredients/sugar/salt, the originality of the offer, the history of the producer...
Taste remains the determining factor in the offer proposed by Sandrine, who tests all the products and expresses a sincere desire to promote the producers. Beyond simply advocating French consumption, Sandrine goes the extra mile by recommending tasty and responsible national alternatives: verjuice or Bourgoin Cognac sugar syrup, instead of lemon and agave syrup, or Variette tomato sauces for example. Attentive to packaging and waste reduction, it recycles glass jars and cartons and is currently working on the launch of a bulk offer available by the end of the year... To be continued!
What seduced the jury: A business for which the term proximity takes on its full meaning and which favours short, very short circuits! A truly eco-responsible approach with the desire to raise consumer awareness.
SAVEURS EN PARTAGE, Paris – 20e
Saveurs en Partage is a committed initiative by a group of women entrepreneurs. A local food shop with a social and solidarity-based vocation, it aims to make organic, seasonal, bulk and/or short-distance products accessible to all thanks to a double pricing system.
It is also a place where meetings and social mixes favour the reinforcement of the power of action of the citizens of the 20th district of Paris thanks to participative workshops and animations. These workshops, co-developed with partners who share Saveurs en Partage's values and commitments, focus on sustainable development, responsible consumption, food, tips and recipe creation, waste reduction and food waste, and the making of home-made ecological products. The grocery shop also offers a click & collect service to facilitate the act of purchasing.
What seduced the jury: Social and solidarity commitment, the desire to democratize "good food" and make it accessible to everyone, professional integration and the creation of social links, the human aspect above all!
LES QUINTESSENCES 2021 – THEY WERE THE FINALISTS
- La Chicorée, Marseille 13 006
- La Cuisine des Papilles, Saint-Rémy-de-Provence 13 210
- Maison Fererro, Ajaccio 20 000
- Le 47 de la Cave du Perche, Nogent-le-Rotrou 28 400
- Raffinati, Paris 75 018
- Le Lab Français, Paris 75 018
- Profil Grec, Paris 75 020
- Saveur en partage, Paris 752020
- L’Idéalist, Malakoff 92 240