The best local producers Lozère

This associative shop brings together producers and craftsmen who offer ceramics, fabric creations, but also a wide range of delicacies: biscuits, honeys, pâtés, syrups, jams, herbal teas and pélardons are displayed in the shop, which is run in turn by the producers. A small restaurant, based on local products on sale, allows you to taste the specialities of the region on the spot through local menus or plates. A nice showcase of Lozerian know-how

Gisèle and Jean-Claude Ponsonnaille look after more than 300 hives. During the summer season, these passionate beekeepers demonstrate all the stages of honey extraction. Honey is also the raw material for many specialities such as cookies, nougat, traditional gingerbread or the unusual caramiel, a delicious spread. In season, the guided tour of the honey house is completed by a video before tasting in the beautiful vaulted room, where you can find many other local products in addition to home-made products.

From the producer to the consumer, honeys, jams, vegetables, poultry, pork, lamb and beef are on offer, as well as pâtés and preserves, goat's, sheep's and cow's cheeses, bread and fouace (a treat), herbal teas and herbs, and even foie gras! A tour of Lozère gourmet on a few square meters, with a common denominator: quality, healthy products. The producers take turns to run the shop and share their vision of the profession and of food. Local handicrafts complete the shop, in this idea of promoting the soil.

Camille is a chestnut producer in the Cévennes Lozère. Les Saveurs du Castanet is a family farm, in organic agriculture, which perpetuates a heritage, a know-how and the history of the Cevennes. In the chestnut grove, Camille confides to us that some trees are nearly 200 years old! We find different varieties in the plantation, including Pellegrines, Figarettes, Dauphines and Comballes. The fruits of the breadfruit tree, now holders of the PDO "Châtaigne de Cévennes", are transformed into jam or flour.

Ferme de Mourènes, in the heart of the Cévennes National Park, is home to a chestnut plantation with organic certification, A.O.P. since 2023 and Esprit Parc National des Cévennes. Harvested and processed on site, chestnuts reveal their full flavor in chestnut cream and jam with pieces, in purée and flour, and in many other products. Chestnut syrup is another specialty we recommend for seasoning desserts and plain yoghurts. Chestnut growing is a culinary heritage rooted in the land.

Marion and Mathieu took on the challenge of reviving the existing chestnut grove and small orchard on their plot of land acquired in 2011. They now produce red fruits: strawberries, raspberries, currants, blackberries and blueberries of excellent taste. You can also order your basket of fresh fruits, jams, juices and vinegars online and pick it up at the farm!

Verfeuille is a specialist producer of Cévennes chestnuts, located in Ventalon in the Cévennes. Since 1990, Verfeuille has been perpetuating the region's traditional know-how. Their passionate team works in a modern workshop, where they develop the Cévennes chestnut grove. Verfeuille offers a wide range of Cévennes chestnut delights, with different flavors such as orange, vanilla, pear, chocolate and hazelnut, as well as vanilla chestnut cream. They also produce orange and plain Cévennes chestnut jams. For beer lovers, Verfeuille also offers Cévennes chestnut beers, available in blond, white or brown. Chestnut-growing has been deeply rooted in the Cévennes since the Middle Ages, and Verfeuille continues this tradition with passion.

Martine Peytavin runs a herd of cattle in organic farming on the preserved lands of Margeride. Her cows, fed on grass and hay, produce good milk and a whole raw milk cheese: Lou Jarlou, with a soft, fruity and creamy paste. These products, the fruit of patient artisanal work and peasant know-how, are sold directly from the farm, but also at the Super U in Mende. Martine and her beautiful values have also conquered the AMAPP of Gévaudan, and the market of Bagnols, where the farmer offers cheese and milk every Thursday.

Renowned throughout the region and beyond for the quality of its products, this workshop focuses primarily on the development of local fruit, and offers a fine range of products with no additives or preservatives. Jams, coulis and fruit jellies, many of them based on red fruits (strawberries, blackcurrants, raspberries, blueberries) and chestnuts, are available in a range of twenty-five to thirty products, including a surprising rosehip jam (or more colloquially, confiture de gratte-cul). All, of course, handcrafted to the highest quality.

This beekeeper, a specialist in mountain honeys, has chestnut, heather and causses honeys among his favourite varieties. During the visit of his installations, he explains their differences and presents less known products of the hive such as mead and honey vinegar. Gingerbread, royal jelly, sweets and soaps are also to be discovered... The quality of its products has long been recognised by all the experts and the company wins numerous prizes in national and regional competitions every year.

Christian and Chantal Chalvidan are at the head of 350 beehives installed on the Lozère mountain, producing different types of honey: mountain, raspberry, chestnut, callune, sainfoin, all in organic agriculture. You can get your supplies from the farm or from the markets of Bagnols-les-Bains or the night market of Villefort. In addition to honeys, they offer gingerbread, but also soaps, mead and honey vinegar. A visit to the honey factory allows you to learn about the history of beekeeping, the stages of honey processing, with a tasting session to back it up!

These craftsmen of the taste are established on the road of the gorges of the Tarn. Catherine and Laurent Deparpe make in their laboratory, jams, syrups and cookies, among which a sweet gram (the beaver almond praline, hazelnuts) and another of aperitifs from local cheeses (Aubrac, Rodez and Roquefort) but also thyme, parmesan. The flour comes from the Trescanous Mill in Aveyron. The syrups are only pasteurized (no coloring or preservatives). The blueberry and lemon jams are a delight.

The beekeepers of the territory raise hives to make honeys rich of all the biodiversity of the flowers of the Cevennes National Park. In this honey factory, created in 1937 and passed down from generation to generation, you will find chestnut, callune heather and mountain honeys. Note that the farm, which can be visited free of charge (on Fridays from 10 am to noon in July and August), shows all the stages of production in organic farming, and offers a tasting of the products of the hive. An immersion in the profession of beekeeper.

The GIE Plante Infuse brings together a dozen producers and pickers of aromatic and medicinal plants. This small world has appropriated the mountains and valleys of the Cévennes to cultivate small plots of land, maintained by hand. Mint, Roman camomile, tarragon, marshmallow grow under the benevolent supervision of the farmers, who supplement this production with a wild harvest. The fruit of this harvest is then processed into herbal teas, essential oils, aromatic herbs and plant-based cosmetics.