When did the business start ?

The Demoizet cooked meats business was started by my wife’s grandfather, René Demoizet, who in turn bought it from another pork butcher, Mrs Constance Chamarande, whose family had owned the recipe for Rethel white pudding (boudin blanc) since the days of Cardinal Richelieu. She only gave him the secret of the recipe for Rethel white pudding on the day the purchase deed was signed in 1939. The development of Rethel white pudding can be explained by the important role pork plays in the region’s diet, the famous Ardennes pork, and today only the Rethel white pudding benefits from IGP certification.
The business closed during the Second World War and my wife’s father took it over after the war and built it up. I personally joined the business in 1977, when I married the owner’s daughter, Françoise Demoizet. From then onwards I learned everything about cooked meats and I really became fascinated by this business. When my father-in-law retired in 1990, my wife and I took over the reins of the company and our son Alban joined us a year ago.

How has the business evolved ?

About ten years ago, we expanded the cooked meats business by building another laboratory in a nearby town which we upgraded to meet health standards and we are awaiting IFS certification. We also hired more staff.  
Since then, we have adopted a policy of supplying white pudding adapted to the season, and marketing it in several versions and different packaging, by associating the seasons with certain colours.

What range of products do you carry ?

We broke the white pudding down into different recipes: plain white pudding, or else with truffles, foie gras, brioche, in pastry, with wild mushrooms, Espelette pepper, tarragon, morels, as a barbecue sausage, as a small cocktail sausage, etc. Our flagship recipes are the plain white pudding, and that seasoned with truffles or foie gras. As white pudding is symbolic of year end festivities, the peak in sales and consumption is usually around mid-December. Divided between three producers, the production of Rethel white pudding totals about 900 tons/year and we make half of it. Furthermore, we started up the Rethel white pudding fair which has been held on the last Sunday in April for 27 years. Rethel white pudding is made from

white pork meat (70% lean and 30% fat), fresh milk (25%) from the region, eggs, and it is seasoned with salt, white and grey pepper (less of the latter), fresh shallots, before being stuffed into natural pork casing. It contains no amylaceous product and it is poached rather than cooked (temperature below 90°C). For the truffle-seasoned white pudding, we use black truffles from Périgord (tuber melanosporum). Besides white pudding, our line also includes all the standard cooked meats like ham from Reims (90 tons/year), traditional pâté from the Ardennes, pâté in a pastry shell from the Ardennes, pâtés made from wild boar, rabbit and hare and a wonderful cake and pastry range. All our products are free of any colouring agents or preservatives. We are lucky to be in a dynamic gastronomic region with considerable know-how. The Champagne-Ardennes region is a wonderful land of savours and traditions.

What is your opinion of the cooked meats market ?

The only true cooked meats are traditionally made and our trade remains open to those who are faithful to tradition and have a real know-how. I see it evolving positively because this is a creative, qualifying sector that gives free rein to the innovation and enhancement of products.

What do you think of Rungis Market ?

It’s a huge, beautiful market that I’ve been frequenting for about fifteen years and I am always happy to come here. It has an exceptional breadth of choice and all the products, including ours, are perfectly showcased. I am fully satisfied with it.