Vanessa Zhâ & Olivier Poels 7:00 a.m., February 3, 2024

Gastronomy, leisure... Every weekend at 6:50 a.m., Olivier Poels and Vanessa Zha present a product, a producer and all the good tips for re(discovering) a region.

Program of the show:

This morning Vanessa, we are going to spend a weekend at the farm!

In Normandy, in Perche, on the Orne side, with a farmer who you will particularly appreciate. She is based in Mauves sur Huisnes, 10 minutes from Mortagne and Bellême. Her name is Anne-Cécile Suzanne. She is 33 years old. And she juggles between her suit and her overalls. She studied political science and business, became a consultant in the agricultural and agri-food world, but she also saved the family farm more than 10 years ago. She was 22 years old and did not know how to drive a tractor. Her family lands were in her blood, it was essential to keep the family farm going, to also pay tribute to her father's work, to his investment. It is a mixed crop and livestock farm. 200 ha of corn, wheat, rapeseed and purple clover crops...organic orchards with mainly apple trees - Normandy obliges - and cows: in total more than 200 cattle...

So can we go spend a weekend at her place?

A weekend or a week during the holidays. Yes. She relaunched the gîte business, which her father had started. 2 cottages for 4 and 6 people. You can go up to 14. Les Gites de la Gaulardière. Typically Percheron, on the edge of orchards and fields. But this interlude at Anne-Cécile’s is obviously more than accommodation. It's a meeting. As soon as you arrive, she shares her passion for her profession as a farmer, she is also very committed, especially at the moment, to the agricultural cause. She shows you around her farm, she takes your children by the hand to go see her animals in the stable... crucial for her to raise awareness among young people about the agricultural world and food issues. Please note, this is not an educational farm, even if it could look like one.

What does it produce?

Importantly, she is very committed to highlighting the products of her farm and those of the Percheron region: apple juice, 10,000 bottles per year anyway, cider, cider vinegar... all organic... and then around meat of course : beef terrine (less fatty than rillettes), beef sausages. And then she will also take you to see other producers nearby. It is one of the keystones of the Percheron agricultural world.

TRUFFLE

Short season / until the end of February / expensive but we don't need much / production regions: south-west, south of the Rhône valley, Loire and especially Spain! – for several years, Spain has been the leading producing country

Price: around €1000

How to buy it?

Short circuit, direct via Internet, home delivery

How to make the most of it?

With eggs/fat (butter)

Truffle butter:

100 g of butter

20 g of fresh truffle

Soften the butter / mix with the chopped truffle

What are truffle products worth?

Nothing, just flavorings (natural or artificial)

Storage:

fridge with rice (1 week), freezer