These 1,400 Vendée tasters transform their greedy sin into a quality mission

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There are twelve of them, united by their passion for flavors authentic. This Monday, October 21, in a technical room at the Nature high school in La Roche-sur-Yon, these men and women, of all ages, are preparing to play a crucial role in the promotion of local products. Transformed into a sensory laboratory, the room, entirely white and bare, lends itself to an experience where every detail counts.

These twelve Vendéens are not there by chance. These “guinea pigs” of the day are in reality tasters who volunteered for the Vendée Environment and Food Laboratory.

Taste buds serving the terroir

Since 2019, this public body has been accredited for rcarry out taste tests on products bearing Signs of identification of quality and origin (SIQO). Understand all labeled food products type Label Rouge.

Thus, emblematic dishes such as ham, mogette, potatoes, oysters, melon, sardines, lamb, pork, beef, or even brioche depend on the expertise of these amateur tasters. .

This Monday morning, these twelve tasters must evaluate their taste pleasure. “They will have to note the appearance, smell and taste of the products,” explains Laura Nicolleau, responsible for the mission and development of sensory analyzes at the laboratory.

On the menu for this session: tuna rillettes with olives, beef Bolognese shank and spicy ketchup. For each product, they will compare three samples.

Before starting the tasting, which generally lasts about an hour, testers are invited to remove their coats. “A question of hygiene, but also to avoid odors of perfume, or even tobacco, impregnated,” explains Laura Nicolleau.

Blind tests

The session begins with tuna rillettes. Huddled behind their immaculate counter “so as not to alter the visual appearance of the product”, the tasters wait for their plate which appears through a small trapdoor.

The first sample arrives. Tasters start by looking at the product as a whole. With the fork, some dissect, crush and annotate their first impressions on the tablet dedicated to notation. Before swallowing a first bite.

The atmosphere is relaxed, but studious. “Even if the matter is very serious, we are here to appreciate it,” whispers a taster between two strokes of the fork. The other two samples will follow fairly quickly. “These are blind tests, no one knows which brands the samples come from,” specifies the test manager.

For the following tasting, the Bolognese beef shell, Laura Nicolleau had to respect the cooking imposed by the specifications of the said product before offering it to the tasters. “In this center of the Nature high school, we are lucky to have a kitchen room to prepare products while respecting all the criteria,” notes Laura Nicolleau.

A pool of 1,400 tasters

For spicy ketchup, only six or eight showed spicy curiosity! “We are fortunate to be able to rely on a large pool of 1,400 tasters. Depending on the products tested, we can therefore make a selection, based on the tastes, profile and availability of each taster,” explains Philippe Nicollet, director of the departmental laboratory.

Anyone can become a taster. You just need to be of legal age, have a sweet tooth and not suffer from allergies.

To become a taster, it’s quite simple. All you have to do is register on the laboratory website. A mission that appealed to Coralie. Since 2021, this Vendée has been delighted every time we appeal to her taste buds. “I have a sweet tooth and I find that these tests are a great opportunity for us to highlight local products.” A role that she approaches with a certain commitment. “We feel useful,” she admits, but above all with a lot of pleasure, “we have a good, delicious time.” This mission is rewarded with a €7 gift voucher. But for her, it is above all the love and defense of local products that motivates her participation.

Each of the dishes tested will be submitted to the taste buds of around a hundred tasters. The twelve testers of the day will therefore not be the only ones to taste these rillettes and this beef bolognese. Other sessions, each with twelve tasters, will keep Laura Nicolleau and her team busy.

Tasters sought after

Local delicacies are not the only ones submitted to tasters. Because the departmental laboratory is of increasing interest to private agri-food professionals. “We also respond to requests from industrialists or food industry artisans who want to test their new recipe or new product,” confides Philippe Nicollet. “In France, only thirteen laboratories are accredited for this type of analysis. The Vendée laboratory is therefore in great demand,” he explains.

These requests come from Vendée, but also from outside the department and even from abroad. “We have received requests to test products from England,” confirms Laurent Favreau, vice-president of the departmental council which chairs the Agriculture, water, laboratory and local food commission.

Faced with growing demand, the service is now saturated. Its activity exists thanks to a partnership with the Nature high school, the laboratory not having equipment adapted to this particular mission. “An agreement allows us to use the high school premises two days a week,” indicates Philippe Nicollet. Two days that are no longer enough. The question of expanding the departmental laboratory is therefore under study (read below) so that it has its own tasting rooms and kitchen.

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