Born in a small town in the Eure, Annette Frelicot discovered the delectable world of fruits and vegetables through her marriage. "My mother worked at a bank and my father was an executive for a thread spinning business. I stayed at school until the BEPC (secondary school educational diploma) and then obtained a CAP (trade proficiency certificate) as an office clerk. My first job was in the administrative department of a dairy cooperative, where I stayed for three years. At the age of twenty-one, I met André Frelicot who I married in 1970. A second-generation market gardener, he owned a five-hectare farm in the Paris region. Naturally, I then became a market gardener too. We mainly grew salads, radishes, leeks, carrots and white onions. A sturdy girl, I had no difficulty in adapting to work "in the fields". At this time, we were already selling our produce at Rungis Market, on the producers' trading floor. Having obtained my heavy-goods vehicle licence, I was able to come to the Market on my own as from 1978. At the time there were three times as many producers as there are today. Working conditions were more arduous then, so we decided to make the leap and become wholesalers at the fruit and vegetable pavilion in April 1987. This was a good move as it meant we always sold our products just a few hours after they were harvested. We have always been reputed for the freshness and quality of our produce and we continued to produce our vegetables up to 1997. I handled sales at Rungis with two assistants and a cashier while my husband worked at the farm. Subsequently the farm became less profitable due to growing urbanisation leading us to halt production. Since becoming wholesalers we focused on the aromatic herbs sector which was relatively undeveloped. We worked with producers in the Ile-de-France and producers in the Midi put their trust in us and became our exclusive suppliers. Currently, our company counts six staff and our flagship products are the whole range of aromatic herbs, salads and fruits mostly grown in the Ardeche. We are constantly on the lookout for quality regional products and for a long time our credo has remained the same: quality!

We sell 150 metric tons of salads from the Ile-de-France and Château-Renard every year, and 500 to 1,000 bunches of aromatic herbs per day depending on the season. Our clientele breaks down as 80% retailers and "Cours des Halles", 15% market traders and 5% restaurateurs. Rungis Market is not to be missed; it is the only one of its kind in the world. It has vastly improved the diversity and quality of its products over the last few years. As far as I'm concerned Rungis is the most wonderful vegetable garden in the world" Annette Frelicot is a member of the Grefel and her husband André is Chevalier du Mérite Agricole. Currently, our company counts six staff and our flagship products are the whole range of aromatic herbs, salads and fruits mostly grown in the Ardeche. We are constantly on the lookout for quality regional products and for a long time our credo has remained the same: quality! We sell 150 metric tons of salads from the Ile-de-France and Château-Renard every year, and 500 to 1,000 bunches of aromatic herbs per day depending on the season. Our clientele breaks down as 80% retailers and "Cours des Halles", 15% market traders and 5% restaurateurs. Rungis Market is not to be missed; it is the only one of its kind in the world. It has vastly improved the diversity and quality of its products over the last few years. As far as I'm concerned Rungis is the most wonderful vegetable garden in the world" Annette Frelicot is a member of the Grefel and her husband André is Chevalier du Mérite Agricole.