Ivry-sur-Seine (AFP)

Small, Nicolas Vérot, son of pork butchers suffered from the bad image of the profession. With his two diplomas in his pocket, he breathes new life into the family home with seasonal, lighter, even vegetable creations.

For a few years it has been the "madness" of "cooked" products that have made the glory of French charcuterie - these hams, rillettes, terrines and above all pies.

The latter are the subject of a "world championship", the multi-star chef Alain Ducasse serves them as an aperitif while the media head of the Elysée Guillaume Gomez "pâtécroûtise" every Sunday by publishing the photos on social networks .

When Nicolas Vérot, 27, went to school, nothing like it: these products were considered old-fashioned and unhealthy.

"20 or 30 years ago there were a lot of people who were hurting this profession. It has evolved, there are a lot fewer of us, there are only very good professionals", analyzes Gilles Vérot, 57, who runs the house Vérot, founded in 1930, with his son Nicolas and his wife Catherine, also the daughter of pork butchers.

Their "well bred" meat products, without nitrite salts, are now served in Michelin-starred restaurants, palaces and trendy Parisian bars as well as in New York, London and Toronto.

- "Less meat" -

The sector "is derengardized because it has grasped contemporary issues, one of which may seem contradictory to what it is that cold meats: we want to eat less meat", underlines Nicolas Vérot.

Pullet terrine with beetroot and new onions, Provençal lamb parsley with tomatoes, eggplant caviar and zucchini: for summer 2020, the Maison Vérot presents colorful creations, some of which are made up of two-thirds of vegetables. A terrine is for the first time "100% vegetarian".

The father and the son agree: you can no longer make deli meats like 50 years ago, you have to adapt to tastes without sacrificing gluttony.

"The idea is not to dress up and get into vegetarian food, but not to be rigid and to go ahead while taking advantage of the butcher's know-how", summarizes Nicolas Vérot.

He quotes their latest terrine "pot-au-feu" made with low ribs of beef, carrots and leeks cooked in lean broth.

"There is no fat but we do not have the impression that it is lacking. It is 300% cold meats and it is rather fresh!", He enthuses. .

"Nicolas did graduate studies (...) and brought his very contemporary, different vision to the way of managing and manufacturing", underlines Gilles Vérot.

In the house's workshop in Ivry-sur-Seine, near Paris, the walls are covered with photos of sausages, sausages and pâtés from the past that stand out with today's creations.

"Our image has changed on products and marketing" in two years, since Nicolas Vérot joined the house.

- Home made -

During his studies in law and business, "I had the time to have an outside view of the charcuterie, put myself in the customer's place", says Nicolas Vérot.

His conclusion: "the concern for aesthetics is much more" in the era of social networks when a lot of people can see the products without tasting them.

The next step is to "deconstruct" the charcuterie by publishing a cookbook for the general public in the fall, on which the father and son work.

The confinement served as an ideal test for 80 simplified recipes with easily found ingredients and tools that everyone has at home (oven, cake pan, knife).

"There will be no pig's throat, the part that professionals use the most because of the better balance between lean and fat because people start to see red when they hear about it, that's why we 'replaced by the chest to which they are more used, "says Nicolas Vérot.

To see him make a Lorraine pâté-croûte, nothing could be simpler: veal and pork cut with a knife and marinated in parsley and white wine and wrapped in puff pastry.

© 2020 AFP