The slightly crazy bet of Pierre Coulon? Put to the heart of the city the farmers and the peasantry. His tools? Cheeses and yogurts made handcrafted in the Goutte d'Or district, from organic milk whose price is fixed by producers. Interview.
What is the Paris Laiterie?
The Paris Laiterie is one of the first addresses where cheese and cow's milk, goat and organic sheep, in Paris is made in Paris. We started the adventure two and a half years ago, with a commitment to let the producers decide the price of milk. This allows us to pay them almost 3 times more than an industrial buyer, so we are the best milk payers!
Our second commitment is to highlight clear and legible ingredients: with us, no aromas and no preservatives! Our yogurts, for example, is just milk and ferments, and if they are bilberry, the same, sugar and fruit. We also make our homemade jams!
We also avoid over -assessment thanks to an instructions system of 3000 pots on average per week that we recover at 70 %, proof that people play the game!
Was this job a vocation?
Basically what fascinated me was the vegetable! So I started a BTS but it was a bit of a hassle because I arrived during the year and I had no knowledge of the agricultural world ... The only people who agreed to take me in internship held a farm with goats. Immediately, I had like a crush on the beast; The cheese was then quietly established. In turn, I became a peasant in Loire Atlantique, I was doing goat cheese that we sold on the markets, in Rungis and in organic stores. It lasted 6 years. But it was really after the return to Paris - I missed the city - that I developed an acquaintance of other cheeses because it would have been complicated to raise goats there ...
How was the idea of the dairy of Paris born?
Arriving in Paris, I took the assistant management of a large cheese dairy chain; I held 6 months ... Quickly, I told myself that it was not impossible to do the cheese job in town! The other trigger was a trip to San Francisco, where I met the daughters of the Call Girl Cremery: among the first to put the profession of Crémier-Fromager on the front of the city scene. As I still had things to learn, I decided to go and train in others. I left a year and a half to meet producers, for a Tour de France cheeses which turned into a world tour: 45 French PDOs, then Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Japan, South America etc. I financed my trips by giving lessons because I am also a trainer. I shared all of this on a blog called the Paris dairy: the idea was to be transparent about what I learned and to highlight these trades. And it's still the case today!
So then?
I launched a crowdfunding. The advantage of the blog is that he had already allowed me to unite a community around the project so we did not start from anything; But I admit that the experience is sometimes stressful, we go through so many emotions! At the start we should not communicate too much, but the news was leaked during the agricultural show and it had the effect of a big com. In the last 5 days we have managed to bring together the funds!
Is it easy to set up this kind of project in the city?
I was a fan of Goutte d'Or, a super lively, multicultural, fairly young district; Then the 18th century town hall also wanted to support new projects. So we were able to invest an empty room. We started with little: cheese factories found on the right corner and a small space. I think that is what then pleased us: as the place is small, customers see us work, they see the workshop and manufacturing; What is freshness! We also had the desire from the start to maintain good relationships with neighboring traders and work a range of products and prices that speak to everyone. And as I said, the neighborhood is young so we realized that there were a lot of requests for cheese and wine!
Then there was this AFP article that changed everything. Suddenly there was a line in the street, there were two of us, a little overwhelmed ... It really marked the start of the adventure! This is one of the things that surprised me the most. We told ourselves that the project could find an echo but we did not expect so much craze. When you think about it, you do exactly the same as what is done in the countryside and yet some are surprised! Example with the kids in the neighborhood who look at us with large eyes when we unload the milk, and the old ones that explain to them that at the time the dairy was that!
How much are you working at La Tairerie today?
We are 10 !!! We are a social and united enterprise, which means that our employees can associate with the project, this is the case for 3 of them. I am in energy, in sharing, in training: I think we manage more than several, we use everyone's skills and we rely on conviviality to solve problems. Our dairy, we really wanted it as a place of exchange and learning, where everyone can be what they want.
Is transmission essential for you?
Yes ! We have this desire to share everything, farmers and recipes, with future cremiars and cheese makers that we accompany. It's great because it makes new projects hatch and continue knowledge. It should be remembered that in crafts, there has always been this tradition of welcoming and training young people. This is also why we make books on the manufacture of homemade cheeses or on fermented yogurts and milks!
What makes you most proud?
In fact we are quite proud. We created a neighborhood business, we have created jobs, we have customers who are happy to cross our door and put an end to their bad day with good raclette! But the most important thing is the remuneration of our producers. The course of milk is not interested, these are not calculations that I want to do. On the other hand, what I can do is meet my producer and ask him what is the right price for him. There at least it allows us to work with happy people, to highlight great products, and to be demanding on what we offer. We also show the price at La Laiterie because we know that our customers support this approach!
A souvenir in jar?
We have a system of instructions in place and we sometimes meet jars that still wear our very first labels: so they are 2 and a half years old! They persist, they transmit themselves, the new owners appropriate them and do what they want. It is a good proof of the effectiveness of such an approach against overpacking!