For over a century, Maison Masse has been associated with foie gras and truffles, emblematic products of haute-cuisine, through its passion for the products themselves and the know-how of its successive managers. Today, Frédéric (38 years old) and Sabine Masse are in their turn carrying the banner for this excellence. Here, Frédéric Masse explains their on-going quest for quality.

"In days gone by, we liberally mixed foie gras with truffle as it was the perfect accompaniment, and truffles were then a lot less expensive - a match made in heaven. My grandfather, Marius, built the business up, which at that time was located near the Halles de Paris, in the St-Eustache district. My father, Jean-Pierre, then took over and ran the business until 1973, the year in which we moved to Rungis. After his death, my mother, Christiane, became sole manager of the business. She was lucky enough to meet Charles Besacier, a remarkable person, then managing public works projects and later to become a specialist in foie gras at the age of fifty. In 1981, they opened Masse-Lyon, and the business proved to be a success from its very first fiscal year. The group, which now numbered fifty persons, continued its development by opening shops in Nantes, Strasbourg and Colmar. Having joined the company in 1991, I have been Chairman and Managing Director for seven years now. We took up corporate status, and Michel Decourty, Director of Masse Rungis, Didier Vilcot, his deputy and Jean-Marc Cabezas, Director of Masse-Lyon, became my associates. Four years ago my wife, Sabine, whom I met at the IPAG (business school) after my BTS (higher technician's licence) in accounting and management, joined the company to develop the marketing and communications side of the business.

We have a unique position in the foie gras sector, having focused on the geographic proximity of our customers rather than that of the producers. Every day at our certified laboratories, our "in-house" preparers select and package the product best suited to the criteria laid down by our customers. The volumes we deal in (400 metric tons of foie gras per year, i.e. 800,000 French foie gras, sorted and processed one-by-one) enable us to maintain the highest standards. To this must be added 140 metric tons of magret (duck breast), 160 metric tons of quality poultry (farm ducklings, squab, etc.), 2 metric tons of fresh truffles per year and 10 tons in cans, plus mushrooms (dried and fresh), smoked salmon, caviar, snails, spices, seasonings, top-of-the-range vacuum-packed meat cuts, delicious Spanish slow-cured meats, and so on; some 500 referenced products in all. Our particular added value is found in the service, naturally, but also in our ability to provide the "unobtainable" product to the satisfaction of our customers, including restaurateurs - some of whom have three Michelin stars - organised catering, delicatessen-caterers and caterers. We also export our products throughout Europe from Rungis, which is the showcase for fresh produce the world over. It is a highly organised market, whose form and dynamism always amazes me. Rungis is definitely a market for the twenty-first century. Lastly, to enhance the brand image of foie gras, we created the "Trophée Masse", the 9th edition of which took place this month, at the Ceproc in Paris…".