The best regional grocery stores Midi-Pyrénées

A trailer on top of a field on the Saint Girons-Foix road? What is it? It is the den of Christelle Record, a farmer of calves under the mother's milk, always engaged in the promotion of short circuits and fervent defender of the better and local consumption. She worked hard during the confinements and now she is in charge of this trailer/grocery store. 145 producers, which shows that Ariège has a beautiful diversity and that one finds in the caravan salted and sweet groceries, fresh and organic vegetables, meat, delicatessen, cheese, eggs, drinks...

The Vignécoise Farm is at the same time breeding, workshop of transformation and canning. To visit the Coustalat house in Vignec is to discover the real products of the soil in situ. Here, the black pig of Bigorre snorts in the nature to be transformed into terrines, sausages, ventrèches, hams, confits... All the products are sold in the store along with cooked dishes such as garbure or daube or fattened duck specialties from the neighboring Gers. Everything is excellent and you will not leave here without some souvenir jars.

Thocaven has been the benchmark for regional Quercy products since 1983! Our free-range ducks are fed and force-fed in the purest tradition. Here you'll find foie gras, duck breast, tournedos with foie gras, duck sausages, figs, prunes, apricots stuffed with foie gras, local aperitifs and wines, traditional preserves ranging from cassoulet to duck stew and stuffed necks... The establishment also offers a full range of delicatessen products.

Founded in 1927, Carles is a family business, and Delphine, the illustrious third-generation representative of the village's master craftswoman, is its guardian. Carles Roquefort is made entirely by hand, using time-honored know-how. The cubed curds are stirred to prepare the texture of the paste. The grains thus formed are then placed in molds, then sprinkled with the powder of a Roqueforti penicillium grown as in the past on rye and wheat bread. Then comes the draining and, finally, the maturing in natural caves. The latest addition, Roquefort Carles Elégance, is the softest and smoothest, a true delight.

On this road to the end of the world, which leads to one of the most beautiful sandy beaches in the Mediterranean, the Maison Méditerranéenne des Vins offers you a very wide range: 15,000 products, including 3,000 wine references alone. Here, wine merchants can advise you on hundreds of products from the Mediterranean arc. You'll also find crafts and local products such as delicate, fruity olive oils, honeys, fleur de sel, Camargue rice...

Ambassadors of southwestern products, especially foie gras and gourmet duck specialties, Armelle and Benoît have imagined a gourmet concept store around eating well. The store is well thought out and offers a range of artisanal recipes in savory, sweet, wines and spirits. The extra idea: to open their products to tasting on the spot with a catering service around the "Rou-Lot", where they cook you a magret-frites or a confit-frites. The tasting menu is extensive and is enhanced by small sweets, wines and coffee. A special address.

In the heart of the Cité district, the Cave de l'Amphore is a treasure trove of wines. Red, white, rosé, oak-aged or light, budget or grand cru, the team will guide you according to your tastes, desires and budget. The wine selection is rigorous, from regional wines to those from other French wine-growing regions. To complete the picture: a fine selection of sweet and savoury treats, a wide choice of spirits, champagnes and tasting workshops. An address where you can even find the unobtainable.

Éric Vidall has carefully selected his regional products: excellent wines, beer from Le Brasseur de Sommières, olive oils, fleur de sel, spices, locally-flavored mustards, fruit vinegars, artisanal jams, honey from Le Prieuré, excellent chocolates from Miralies, croquants Villaret, tapenade, saucisson, brandade de morue, various cheeses... All the typical products of the region, from the Camargue to the Cévennes, via Aigues-Mortes and Nîmes.

In the heart of the medieval city and echoing the tea room and ice cream parlour in the lower town, the Cosy du Plo, offers a tea room-ice cream parlour and delicatessen concept that you will find right next to the Jean-Deschamps Theater square. This "gourmet store" features a selection of local producers, beers, wines, olive oils, cassoulets, honeys, liqueurs and sweet treats. For a gourmet break, sit down to taste the delicious specialties of the house such as the waffles in the Liège style that you can decorate with homemade ice creams.

In the spring of 2022, Patrice took over this locavore business located in one of the most beautiful villages in France. As a real neighborhood grocery store, Le Braqueur des Sens offers all the products of daily life. Patrice buys fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses and other herbal teas, cookies, syrups in the shortest possible geographical radius. In the summer, the grocer deploys a few tables and chairs in the street and serves small boards of local products and snacks accompanied by good wines. He also offers picnic baskets.

Le Vieux Berger is first and foremost a Combes family story. Cheese has been made here for three generations. It's a slow, patient and meticulous process. The milk comes from local producers. All stages - cutting the curds, molding, draining, salting and maturing - are done by hand. Discover all the secrets behind the making of this Roquefort during a visit to the packaging workshop, and leave with products that smell of Aveyron and quality.

The Cezarenque is a cevenol work center (CAT) cevenol, a farm-workshop that has a shop in which local products are produced locally. In small or large quantities, prices - and quality, sound - defy all competition! To give you a little idea of what you can find and rates, here's a small selection of their products: olive ham cake (4-6 servings), 4,30 €, leg of lamb, 12,20 € per kg, lamb stew, 4,50 € per kg, farmer chicken 6,10 € per kg, bin-baked container (240 g), 2,20 €, large meat sausage, 7,65 € per kg, apricot jam, 2,90 €, bag of assortment of chocolates (205 g), 6,95 €, ballotin of 200 g pralines, 5 €… We stop there, but the list is really long. Interesting for events such as receptions, baptisms, communions… They give on order (such before Tuesday noon) on Friday in Alès and Nimes and (every 15 days) in Bagnols-sur-Cèze!

This is a very nice setting (mainly in raw wood) for a grocery store that is definitely worth a visit. In addition to the classic everyday products (cleaning and hygiene, fruit and vegetables), and a fine selection of books, this shop offers a range of regional, if not local, products, found at nearby producers: meat, charcuterie, cheese, but also bread, ice cream, beer, soap, jewellery... A responsible and sustainable approach that undeniably contributes to livening up the centre of the village throughout the year.

Le Caviste Gourmand (by CDD) offers a temple to Occitan viticulture and quality local products. Here you'll find over 600 references in wines, whiskies, rums, champagnes, local craft beers... On the delicatessen side: charcuterie, preserves, fruit and vegetables, cheeses and sweet treats. Donkey milk soaps, shower gels and creams are also available. Animations and tastings take place in the company of sommeliers. During your visit, you can enjoy lunch at La Cantine du Caviste, the onsite restaurant.

At Daniel's, it's a family adventure that hasn't stopped for five decades! Indeed, the Ruz family has been in business since 1964. A good reputation has been acquired over the years to become THE poulterer for the gastronomes of Saint-Gaudens! All the local products as well as many specialities of the South-West are proposed to you: duck breasts, confits, foies gras, Espelette peppers, cassoulets and garbures, cheeses of the Pyrenees without forgetting a beautiful range of wines. As for the gourmet baskets, they will make perfect souvenir gifts.

Founded in 1963, this Sétoise cannery has now been awarded the "Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant" (Living Heritage Company) label. Here, seafood is treated with experience and respect. A true institution between terroir and gastronomy: fish soups, octopus rouille and marinades, mussels, stuffed squid, brandades... The Collège Culinaire de France has even recognized it as a "Producteur Artisan De Qualité". You can also come and visit the company and taste its tasty products!

It's amazing what you can do with chestnuts! Bread, croissants, tarts, crunchy, gingerbread, cookies, cakes, jams... all without preservatives or colouring. In this chestnut paradise, Valérie and Damien (former Alsatian chocolatiers) also offer other Cévennes products (liqueurs, preserves... always made with chestnuts). They have created an original range of sweet and savoury biscuits as well as a speciality, the chestnut tart.

The specialty of Sète is the Tielle, which came with the first Italian immigrants from Gaëte to the Bay of Naples in 1850. If you are passing through Sète, you must absolutely taste it. At this address, one of the undisputed masters of the tielle displays this small (or large) orange-red pie whose soft dough, worked with olive oil, contains a filling of octopus, tomato and spices... a delight! You can also find mussel turnovers, seafood cocas and excellent pizzas or pissaladières.

Paul Alric created the Papillon brand in 1906, at the same time as his maturing cellar. Since then, the dairy has maintained a privileged relationship with ewe's milk producers, who supply it with quality milk. The Papillon cellar also has its own bread oven, where 300 loaves of rye bread are charred each year. Their moist crumb, sown with the famous Penicillium roqueforti, develops the fungus that gives Roquefort its distinctive taste and character. This natural alchemy is supervised by a master maturer.

Roquefort has been made in the Gabriel family since 1872. Today, Gabriel Coulet produces several cheeses among which La petite Cave, mellow, with a typical taste without being full-bodied; Le Castelviel, strong, powerful and generous, with an ivory color and an intense blue color; or the Tomme des Cazelles, melting in mouth. The house offers a free visit of its cellars with a film on the making of Roquefort cheese followed by a tasting. There is also a restaurant, La bergerie, where you can taste specialities based on Roquefort cheese.