Not much seems a priori further from New York than Aveyron. This rural department in the south of France, lost somewhere between Toulouse and Montpellier, does not offer quite the same bustling city life as that of the American megalopolis. And yet, a French woman from this corner of the Metropolis put herself at the head of “build a bridge between these two worlds”.
Daphné Jouanneteau has lived in the Big Apple for a dozen years but it was in Aveyron that she grew up. She has just created “Les Champs du Sud”, a structure which will bring Aveyron to New York and vice versa. “It’s an invitation to introduce New Yorkers to our south of France, she explains. There's a lot going on there but people, even in France, don't necessarily know it. When I came back to spend some time in Rodez after Covid, I didn't recognize the place where I had grown up. There are a whole bunch of young people who have come or returned to live there, and have created restaurants, vineyards, farms…”
So, the young New Yorker set out to promote and promote the people who are changing the face of this territory like no other, scattered between Aubrac to the north, Larzac to the south and the Bastides of Ségala to the 'west. Daphné Jouanneteau began by organizing an Aveyron weekend at the Frog Wine Bar, a bar in Bed-Stuy (Brooklyn). On the program, some culinary specialties from the department, notably the unmissable Aligot, accompanied by sausages and farçous (stuffing pancakes). Two Aveyron residents, owner of a restaurant in Rodez for one (Luc Pourrat, with La Maison) and a farm for the other (Guillaume Méjane), were in the kitchen for the occasion. A feast likely to be renewed in the future.
An experience called “Rural Therapy”
Soon, starting next summer for the maiden voyage, she will slip into her suitcases around twenty lucky people who will spend a week in Aveyron (information and reservations here). Daphné Jouanneteau, who has worked in events and hospitality for over a decade, talks about a ” experience “ rather than a journey, which she calls “Rural Therapy.” “I know Aveyron and I have access to times not open to everyoneshe explains. I want to introduce New Yorkers to my department in places off the tourist trail: a dinner on a farm with a local chef, for example. Covid has caused a change in the way people travel: they want to discover lost places, they want to experience something different. »
And for that, nothing better than Aveyron. The department has retained its rural charm and this typically French authenticity that Americans like so much. “When I say I’m from the South, everyone asks me: Saint-Tropez? jokes Daphné Jouanneteau. But when I come back to France and I post photos on my networks, people tell me “that looks great!”. » Aveyron is the department which has the greatest number (eleven) of places listed in the ranking of the Most Beautiful Villages of France label. “I don’t just want to bring a few New Yorkers to Aveyron, concludes Daphné Jouanneteau. I want to create a link between these two territories”. Which are perhaps not so far apart after all.
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