Two thirty-somethings from the north start making Génépi near Lille.
To this digestive typical of Savoy, they bring a northern touch by modifying the recipe.
The white sugar traditionally used is replaced by brown sugar.
In the North, we don't have mountains, but we do have slag heaps.
In their workshop, located in Camphin-en-Carembault, near Lille, two thirty-somethings prepare the first vintage of a liqueur whose consumption is not widespread in Hauts-de-France.
And for good reason, they took it into their heads to produce Ch'ti Génépi, a typical Savoyard drink, made with a plant that only grows in the Alps.
However, the two friends have a secret ingredient that could make the difference.
“You make good beer, why don't we make Génépi,” retorted Sylvain Merlevède to the Savoyards who looked at him with a funny eye when he took out his bottle of Ch'ti Génépi.
At the time, the argument had hit the bull's eye and the rugged mountain dwellers had tasted this geographical inconsistency without flinching.
“We have two products.
The traditional Génépi with the high alpine recipe and our own recipe where the white sugar is replaced by brown sugar.
For the first, they were not surprised.
On the other hand, our recipe had the effect on them of a little candy with a taste of brioche and caramel,” recalls Sylvain Merlevède.
The vergeoise, the touch of the North
Because that's their secret weapon: vergeoise, or brown sugar, this unrefined brown sugar widely used in Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Belgium.
“It is this ingredient that will bring a touch of the region to our Génépi.
Besides, all the ingredients come from Hauts-de-France, except for the plant that we import from the Hautes-Alpes,” continues the 30-year-old.
And that does not make it a sub genepi, but rather a different genepi.
Because, yes, northerners can legally call their liqueur that, much to the chagrin of Savoyard producers.
“Genépi's real problem is lax regulations.
To have the appellation, it is enough to have 10% of génépi among the plants used ”, had carried away, in 2017, a distiller from the Hautes-Alpes with our colleagues from
Dauphiné released
.
Anyway, Sylvain and his partner and friend, Tiphaine, are not looking for controversy or to compete with Savoyard manufacturers.
“We macerated two 240-litre tanks on Thursday for forty days.
With that, we will be able to release around 700 70 cl bottles,” explains Sylvain.
For these two amateur distillers, this adventure, which starts with a joke between friends, remains a side activity.
For now at least.
They have already planned the stock to produce a second maceration, “if the first is a success”.
Thereupon, they will be quickly fixed, the sale of bottles of Ch'ti Génépi, at 25 euros each, is scheduled for April 25 on their website.
Needless to say that this liqueur, at 40° alcohol, should be consumed in moderation.
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Hauts-de-France
Lille
Gastronomy
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