Maison Verot, charcutier of excellence since 1930

Today, our reporter highlights the artisan butchers through the history of the Verot Housea family business that perpetuates generation after generation this artisanal know-howL. Indeed, son, daughter, grandsons and great-grandson of charcutier, Gilles, Catherine and Nicolas Verot perpetuate a family story which has lasted for almost 100 years.

On site, David Kolski finds Gilles and Nicolasfather and son. “It was my grandparents who opened their first store in Saint-Etienne in 1930. Pierre Vérot worked in this Parisian store where we are today, in 1958. A few weeks later my mother arrived and we had happiness and the opportunity to buy this store just 1 year ago”.

“There is pride but also great complicity. I will always remember Nicolas’s first day in the kitchen. He started at 5 a.m. like everyone else, I arrived later and when I saw him with his apron and his knife learning the gestures of stocking, it moved me a lot. I think about it regularly”.

Maison Verot is 6 stores in Paris and a presence at Galeries Lafayette Le Gourmet. She brought many charcuterie products back into fashion, like the Pie. “In fact, 20 years ago when we opened our first store in Paris with my wife, we were called “Traditional charcuterie”. Today, we call ourselves a contemporary charcutier but we find both at Maison Verot. Tradition can be found with head cheese, black pudding or even white ham, but our company is also seasonal compositions and collections”.

The 2 men are also putting more and more emphasis fish or vegetable products. “We did a book with the ambition of making charcuterie production accessible to everyone at home. The idea is that without ever having held a knife in your life, you can make a terrine or even a pâté. And in the recipes offered, we give pride of place to vegetables by inserting them into traditional and sometimes contemporary charcuterie.”.

“The butcher’s know-how is extremely broad. We, at Maison Verot, are sure a charcuterie of products, we are not trying to do technique for technique’s sake, we are trying to do something good, something identifiable, something that tastes good. We are not trying to reinvent the wheel, we are trying to things we want to eat”.

And what makes Maison Verot famous is above all the pâté en croute since Gilles received the title of vice-world champion. ”It was from there that, in terms of customers, the pâté became very popular. Afterwards, all of Paris, France and the world followed. Today, candidates come from everywhere”.

“We are butchers, not magicians. To make a good pâté en croute and good charcuterie, you need good raw materials. For us, it involves a commitment to sourcing*, the selection of ingredients. For pigs, for example, we have been working with a breeder from Perche for more than 20 years. It’s a complicity that is very strong*”.

The Pavillon de l’Arsenal, a free cultural venue open to all

Sheltered under a large 19th century metal hallin the heart of historic Paris, the Arsenal Pavilion is the living space for all urban disciplines.

“There are 3 floors. We have a permanent exhibition on the history of Paris on the ground floor and temporary exhibitions on the upper floors. It is a large metal structure with a lot of light. It is a place that is enormously appreciated for its content but also for the beauty of the building**” precise Marion Wallerthe General Director of the Pavillon de l’Arsenal.

“The building was created by a rich timber merchant who loved art very much and wanted to share all his works of art with the general public. Unfortunately, he died just before his museum opened. Here, everything is free and everything is open. You can come in, sit at a table on the ground floor, have a picnic with your friends or family, it’s really the spirit of this place”.

Directions to the 1st floor where the exhibition “Urban Natures”. “We grant a lot of importance to the scenography and that everything we do is understandable to everyone, from the youngest to the oldest, because we are here to talk about architecture with the general public. One thinks that These subjects concern everyone”.

“The idea of ​​this exhibition is to show the history of nature in Paris. We tend to believe that the city only has a few parks or that they are recent. We show that there has always been nature in Paris and we try to show how we can bring more nature today because nature is an issue of survivalwe need her to refresh the city”.

On the 2nd floor, you can discover the “Bike” exhibition which tells the story of the latter in Greater Paris. To note that guided tours are also organized for each exhibition.

–> Arsenal Pavilion: 21 Boulevard Morland in the 4th arrondissement of Paris