Saint-Maurice-en-Cotentin: pepper in Normandy!

Head to Cotentin where our friend Olivier Binst has discovered an unusual plantation and is sending us some spicy news!

Marine Rivière © DR

A pepper plantation in Normandy, in the Cotentin countryside… Marine Rivière, passionate about spices, herbs and their history, dreamed of it: she did it! A former executive in the nuclear sector, Marine broke away from the industry to set up her pepper farm in 2022 in a pretty corner of unspoiled nature, 5 minutes from the charming seaside resort of Carteret. Plantation Petite Rivière is now well established, with Jersey and Guernsey in its sights. Four hectares of meadows and hedges where donkeys, goats, sheep, geese, and even an alpaca roam! But above all, it is there that 400 pepper plants of species selected to acclimatize to this latitude flourish: Sichuan, Tasmanian and rare Sancho pepper, a tasty Japanese variety.

Seeds © DR

« For this unique crop in the region, we immediately chose biodynamics. We harvest by hand and use natural drying methods », specifies Marine. Tasting these precious grains is each time an explosion of aromas and tastes. Like this green Sichuan where herbaceous, salty and lemongrass flavors mingle. Or even this red Sichuan which tends towards citrus fruits and flowers… And what about these recipes and variations of salts and sugars! Sugar with green Sichuan pepper, blackberries and fig leaves, salt with Tasmanian pepper, black olive and garlic, to name just a few examples. Without forgetting a very subtle blend of peppers for the oysters, St Vaast, the recipe of which Marine keeps secret. Most of the region’s talented chefs are not mistaken and draw new inspiration from this source. Farm shop by appointment. A dozen points of sale throughout Cotentin (see website). Online sale. Visit to the plantation, “Discovering pepper” tour and tasting, by reservation.