The pre-selection of products that apply to compete for our Prix Épicures is always instructive, but this year - no doubt due to the various crises that encourage questioning - the trends are as multiple as they are marked. The first of these concerns producers who are expanding their range by exploring new product families where their original specialty still gives them legitimacy. These include Stéphan Perrotte, who has launched into the production of fruit chocolate bars, Max Daumin, who combines his spices with cocoa powder, and Edmond Fallot, who has left the world of mustard to offer us flavoured vinegars. On the product side, vegetal products continue to enjoy a remarkable upswing, with spreads (among others) that are truly tasty, mainly due to the fact that the complementary ingredients are dosed more precisely and often more generously.
Castanéas is first and foremost a story of family, orchards and ...