The best local producers Causses et Cévennes

Created in 1981, the Conserverie Quatrefages celebrated in 2021 forty years of know-how and good taste. Specialized in the manufacture of pâtés and terrines with the flavors of the Aveyron region, the company never stops imagining new recipes, based on duck, game or poultry. The pâté with Roquefort cheese or the one with Laguiole cheese from Aubrac, which are among the best-sellers of the company, are perfect examples. Ready-made meals, including the famous trénels millavois, complete the range of products on sale.

Vincent's Oil Mill, located in Payzac, is in the front row of the most beautiful square in Les Vans. Nestled on the Place de la Fontaine, in a 17th century house, the store offers oils, tapenades and cosmetics from the mill; other local products, including flavored oils, honeys, or jams complete the list of delicacies. You will also discover the work of the olive growers. Possible tasting and visit in the afternoon.

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

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.

No, it is not a flour mill! It is olive oil that is at stake, and it is the fourth generation of the Froment family that is passionate about this production, but also the collections of bicycles and old vehicles presented to the public. The ancestral mill from 1900, one of the few mills in the south of France to have survived the harsh winter of 1956, gave way in 2009 to a new modern equipment, and it is now Alain Froment who is in charge. His Alpine granite millstone extracts extra virgin, green and black fruity oil, although the house specialty remains the ripe fruity. The crushing is done with a stone millstone, which allows a slow and soft extraction, in order to preserve the gustative and aromatic qualities of the fruits. Made with different local varieties of olives (rougette de l'Ardèche, négrette, béchude, dorée, l'ubac and blanche de Payzac), these oils are rich in aromas. Depending on the year, a hundred tons or more of olives are crushed. A must in Les Vans. At the Concours Général Agricole, organized every year during the Salon de l'Agriculture in Paris, in early March 2022, the olive oil from the Froment mill in Les Vans won a gold medal. Do not hesitate to discover the store, located on the spot, where you will be able to buy the artisanal olive oil of the Froment family, some derived products, and multiple products of the soil and the regional products.

In business since 2000, Les Halles offers fresh fruit, vegetables and greengrocers, under the responsibility of its managers, Bruno and Philippe Martinez. Here, you can buy seasonal fruit and vegetables harvested nearby by local producers, as well as delicatessen products. Strawberries, kiwis, asparagus and seasonal flowers are all available. Easy access. Many producers await you! You'll be able to shop for gourmet souvenirs of your stay.

Here, local producers come to sell their produce, offering an opportunity to exchange ideas and even make an appointment for a visit to the farm. Vegetables are delivered every morning, meat once a week, and bread and fruit three times a week. Products on offer include vegetables, fruit, meat (pork, lamb, veal, poultry, etc.), fish, honeys, jams, olives and olive oil, breads, eggs, fruit juices, wines and cheeses.

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.

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.

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 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.

L'Aura des Champs is a member of the Boutiques Paysannes network. Direct sales of farm products from a selection of twenty farmers who offer you products grown and prepared on their farms and in their workshops. They work with respect for the land and animals. Products: breads, pâtés, syrups, fruit and vegetables, meats, honeys, cheeses, plants, preserves, jams, eggs... Quality food that promotes local agriculture and short supply chains! A beautiful store with a wide choice, and a very friendly welcome!