The best local producers Hérault

Founded in 2009, Moulin de la Dentelle is a family-run business and Villeveyrac's first privately-owned oil mill since the late 50s. On 12 hectares, 5 of which are dedicated to organic farming, Muriel de la Torre strives to produce oil under the best possible conditions, not only from her own production, but also from small suppliers in the surrounding villages. Here, she uses oils from ancestral Languedoc varieties such as lucques, picholine, olivière and bouteillan. During the summer season, tours of the mill are available by appointment.

Laura, an American based in France for years, puts his culinary know-how at the service of our taste buds. She put the traditional recipe of this famous biscuit in the closet, so that she could have a blend of original flavours. Thus its soft cookies combine with dry fruits, cereals, lavender, lemon and the most surprising herbs in Provençal, as delicious as Roquefort, mint… discover markets, fine grocery stores - Caizergues… - and especially to order on the website. Soft, tender and fondants, these cakes are up your idea on the cookie.

Since 1920, this cooperative oil mill has been processing the department's olives, in particular the Lucques variety, which has AOC status. The oils are made from local varieties such as clermontaise, olivière, ménudal, picholine, amellau... In the store, you'll find tapenade, pistou and the essential olive oil, as well as fresh olives and oil-based cosmetics. Opposite, in the former gendarmerie building, is the Maison de l'Olivier, an eco-museum dedicated to regional olive growing, with film screenings and tastings.

In the heart of the Salins district, this cookie factory and tea room offers its cookies with almonds, lemon, figs, fresh butter and, of course, the unavoidable local specialty: the Zezette de Sète. There is also a collection of salted aperitif cookies, including those with anchovies from Collioure or tiellettes. In the delicatessen section, you can fill your basket with honey, olive oil or local fruit juices, which you can choose by the piece or in gift boxes.

From the fauna and flora of the garrigues to the tasting of honeys through the work of the bees, you can discover in Saint-Gély, a beekeeping operation that works exclusively with solar energy. On the farm, you will discover 12 to 14 different varieties of honey (Agréé mountain honey, forest honey, Cévennes honey, Causses honey, garrigue honey, thyme honey, rosemary honey, lavender honey, chestnut tree honey, white heather honey, acacia honey), royal jelly, gingerbread and honey sweets.

Chantal and Olivier Cozon grow fruit and vegetables all year round on the Mauguio plain. They grow and harvest lettuces, onions, tomatoes, zucchinis, eggplants, melons... The good news is that they offer basket deliveries of their harvest. A few partner growers round out the shopping with grapes, nectarines, raspberries or bunches of mint. You do your shopping online and in three clicks you choose your delivery point.

The road between Bessan and Pézenas has an unsuspected treasure. This plantation of about 60 hectares of olive trees markets its own olives - lucques, picholine and ascolana - and has a mill which enables it to produce beautiful oils. They are available in natural or aromatic versions, so you can vary your pleasures. But not only that! In the shop and online, you will find various items for sale as well as olive paste, cosmetics, care oils and olive-based soaps. Visits to the estate are possible.

Founded in 1989 in Balaruc, this small company has become internationally famous thanks to its meteoric rise. The brand's boutique-workshop and head office are now housed in the town's former railway station. Cookies, chocolates, confectionery, cakes, madeleines and regional sweet specialties fill the old-fashioned shop-like shelves. This cookie and chocolate factory offers tours of the workshop. Gourmets can leave with their arms full of treats to sweeten their cupboards or offer as gift boxes.

This bee farm, created in 1960 by Charles Rouquette, became one of the most important in the region in the 1980s. Throughout the year, you can taste all the products of the hive: honey in all sauces (thyme, lavender, thistle, chestnut, rosemary), royal jelly, gingerbread, honey, honey vinegar, nougats... Charles Rouquette also organizes visits lasting 1h30 to discover the activity of beekeeping, it ends with a tasting.

The gourmands are warned, they are at the right address to delight their taste buds and eyes. Here we make, taste and sell the famous Zézettes de Sète. Crunchy cookies covered with sugar crystals, prepared with simple products: flour, sugar, a little rosé wine, and that's it! The recipe is inspired by the traditional cookies of the region and is a must-try. When it's time for an aperitif, Gastounet's kémias (salted cookies, tiellette, anchovies, tomato basil) are a treat for young and old alike.

Founded in 1990, the association brings together local restaurateurs and artisans with a passion for gastronomy, to promote their trade and expertise, and to highlight local produce and French cuisine. Every two years, the association also produces a guide to good food, highlighting member establishments and their chefs. Then there's "Sunday in the Country", a convivial event organized to mark the guide's release.

Welcome to Bernard and Anne-Lise, passionate beekeepers at Domaine de Villeneuve. Their tempting products include a wide range of honeys, gingerbread, mead, wax and honey vinegar. The choice is endless among the fifteen honeys on offer for sale (and regularly for tasting). From May to August, take advantage of free open days on the last Sunday of the month to discover the fascinating world of bees and the honey house. The estate is also renowned for its wines: a promising visit that will appeal to many wine lovers.

Alain Merit evolves in his universe made of bees and honey. It is with know-how and passion that he makes many delicious products derived from this gold: like nougat, mead, a delicious gingerbread, and of course a wide variety of honeys. By appointment, it is possible to visit the honey house and the hives in complete safety. He will tell you about his farm, the importance of such an ecosystem and the methods of production. It is a pleasure for the curious and the greedy and no doubt that it will please the little ones!

Open since 1931 on the Bosc quay, and since 2007 at the Sète market, the shop has built its reputation. Jean-Marie Fabre perpetuates the southern tradition by distilling his production of flavored Sète navettes, exquisite chocolate madeleines, tasty almond macaroons, jagged squares, macaroons, cakes, chalumeaux which are wafers rolled on vintage waffle makers. We like to come here to sniff the scents of vanilla, anise or beeswax. Everything is made by hand, according to the artisanal tradition. An exceptional taste!

For some years now Elisabeth and Alain have grown saffron, along the pond of Vendres. A real work of titan for which Alain, a renowned farmer's lamb farmer, was passionate. Their area has over 40 000 crocus, which it gathers by hand, and then carefully sorts and manufactures olive oils to saffron, saffron liqueurs… the best known products of all the great chefs of the region. Alain is also famous for his goat rearing (sliced lamb).

In a small quiet street in the village, Yvonne Basset, in his small house, sells the production of the small farm of Bourratierra. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, from a. m. to p. m., you can come and buy, in the small enclosed lean, its fresh production: poultry, seasonal vegetables, strawberries, raspberries.

Le Clos de la reine is an artisanal operation of friendly beekeepers who offer a variety of delicious honeys. One comes here to buy its jars of treasures of the hive directly from the producers. You can enjoy tastings, observe bees at work in the hive on the field and guided tours are available. Among the honeys produced here, you can taste nectar from Vic, garrigue honey, forest honey, rosemary honey, acacia honey, chestnut honey or oak honey. Propolis-based products and royal jelly are also offered.

In Occitan, escaleta means dry waffle. These tasty Languedoc cookies with their atypical shape are subtly flavored, cooked in a cast iron mold and eaten at the end of a meal or during the end of the year celebrations. Mamie Alix passed on her know-how to Perrine and Adrien who, with passion and authenticity, perpetuate the tradition of this recipe in the Hérault. They offer escalettes for all tastes: vanilla, lemon, anise and even orange blossom!

Véronique and Michel Garcia welcome you to Chez, a vegetable and arboreal family farm where they sell seasonal fruit and vegetables. It will be possible to buy directly on the spot: peaches, apricots, cherries, figs, melons, plums, table grapes, apples; but also asparagus, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, potatoes. Tasting is free of charge and we find Véronique and Michel on local markets: on Thursday and Sunday in Mèze, on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in Sète, and on Sunday morning at the Antigone market in Montpellier.

This vineyard turned to olives in 2002. The first olive grove was planted at that time, with the predominant varieties being the olive tree, the lucques and the picholine. In the following years, the plantations were continued and the varieties were enriched. Nowadays, there are also clermontaise, aglandau, cornicabra and amellau, a particularly interesting variety for confectionery with its typical rose taste. Three "French olive oils" are produced as well as table olives.