#that for a moment i lived in a world where pesticides didn't exist

[fictionadventurer]

@freenarnian The cranberry sauce turned out beautifully! And smells divine!

[earaercircular]

The Bossimé craftsmen rethink local commerce

Based in the Namur region in the South of Belgium, the young chef Ludovic Vanackere is not lacking in enthusiasm or ideas. He has just launched a platform for the distribution of local products in a short circuit, around which he wishes to develop a genuine local economic ecosystem.

At 27, Ludovic Vanackere is already a chef who counts on the Belgian culinary scene. Seven years ago, barely out of the Citadel hotel school[1], this "kid" launched his own restaurant with guts. Installed in his mother's farm near Loyers, just outside Namur, "L'Atelier de Bossimé" (which will soon be given a facelift)[2] is quickly spotted by local gourmets, then by gastronomic guides. Result: in 2014, the young chef joined Génération W, this collective launched by Sang-hoon Degeimbre ("L'Air du temps") who insists in particular on the work of chefs with their producers and craftsmen.

A philosophy that fits well with the spirit of "L'atelier de Bossimé", where we make a point of promoting local products. Here, the bread is made with Hollange flour, the young pigeon from Domaine de Sohan in Pepinster is baked in hay, while the strawberries from La Bruyère are available as ice cream for dessert ...

An online sales platform

But Ludovic Vanackere wanted to take his reflection on the terroir even further. In May 2020, he therefore embarked, without any public aid, without any subsidy, on a somewhat crazy adventure, that of the "Artisans of Bossimé", an online sales platform for local products. For the moment, one idea by calling another, the project is still a little crazy ... But we feel in the young man a real enthusiasm and a sincere desire to make things happen. "We don't invent anything. My father, who died 10 years ago, made butter, milk and poultry for 25 years. And he went to markets, where he also sold the products of his fellow farmers. .., comments the person concerned. What has changed is that today the Internet allows us to connect with customers. "

For the young man, the human dimension of this company is essential. “It's a bit like my citizen project, he admits. I want it to be economically, ecologically and also socially sustainable. We want to offer something different, not just ride the locavore[3] wave. The producer must be able to earn a decent living. Not to drive a Porsche, but at least to be able to take a few days of holiday. And the prices must also be reasonable for customers. Our goal is that they can do their everyday shopping , not find exceptional products at prohibitive prices. Our margins are therefore minimal. "

To make the investments profitable, the site will have to quickly turn around 250 to 300 orders per week. But be careful, keeping the locavore philosophy of the project! "We want to produce locally and sell locally. We therefore only distribute in 15 minutes around Namur…"

From the land to the restaurant plate

The idea of "Artisans de Bossimé" germinated two years ago, when Ludovic Vanackere started working with a young gardener for his restaurant. "Access to land is very difficult for young people. So I lent him a piece of land and bought him the vegetables. So he didn't have to waste time shopping. He could concentrate on farming. "

Nowadays, a second gardener has joined this vast vegetable garden. It now extends over 6 ha. It is bordered by beehives managed by Xavier Renotte from "Nectar & Co". Which provide Bossimé honey, which can be found for dessert at "L’atelier".

If the family farm has remained in conventional agriculture, we work here with deliberation, whereas the organic certification should arrive next year. "Even if I am 100% against organic! Ignites the young chef. The standards are too loose. And then organic coming from the end of the world, it does not make sense ... We want the conventional sustainable to keep prices competitive. But we try to avoid pesticides as much as possible. "

An inspiring vegetable garden[4]

Ludovic Vanackere appreciates having this huge garden at his disposal. When serving, it is not uncommon for the chef to leave his kitchen to go picking. "The quality and freshness are exceptional. It's a real inspiration for creativity! I come across things that I would never have had before, like flowers, young shoots…"

For customers of the "Artisans de Bossimé", freshness is also guaranteed. Thanks to the online ordering system, gardeners know exactly what to pick in the morning to prepare the baskets, which will be delivered at noon ...

Obviously, the vegetable garden alone cannot supply the entire range of "Artisans de Bossimé". Ludovic Vanackere therefore also distributes the products of other producers who share his philosophy and undertake to respect the same quality charter. They are currently about fifteen. “We will of course look for other artisans, he explains, but we want to stay as local as possible. At the moment, we offer for example the asparagus of Jurbise. It is 50 km from here, but it is he is on the road to his tour when he delivers to Michelin-starred restaurants. And the quality of these justifies this small gap… "

A cannery and a collaborative kitchen ...

As the reflection progresses, the "Artisans de Bossimé" project has already evolved a lot, steadily gaining in ambition. Ludovic Vanackere will soon launch into fish farming in aquaponics[5], while he has set up a collaborative kitchen of 300 m², where craftsmen can come and transform their products. The space also includes a cannery which makes it possible to promote seasonal surpluses. During the two days of peak strawberries, for example, we made jam. While with the overstock of oyster mushrooms grown at Champinam in Saint-Servais, the chef made tapenade. "This workshop is an investment that they could not make alone, comments our guide. Thanks to that, we don't throw away any more! We make preserves that can be kept for three years. At the cannery, we just invoice our service. : 40 € per hour. Craftsmen can also rent the kitchen at cost price to work themselves. "

As we can see, Ludovic Vanackere has no shortage of ideas for his "Bossimé Craftsmen". But he doesn't aim too high either. "Our goal is not to make quantity, just quality. If we grow, it will be at the same time as the partner craftsmen. It is an open model, which others can obviously decide to develop. 'use elsewhere… "

Source

Hubert Heyrendt, Les Artisans de Bossimé repensent le commerce de proximité, in La Libre Belgique, 11-02-21, https://stories.lalibre.be/inspire/numero9/index.html

[1] https://www.ehpn.be/# [2] https://www.artisans-de-bossime.be [3] a person whose diet consists only or principally of locally grown or produced food [4] On the consumer side, "Les artisans de Bossimé" takes the form of a classic website. After registering, one puts together his shopping basket, which one can collect the next day, from noon to midnight, at one of the three mobile collection points in Assesse, Gesves and Bossimé. That is to say three refrigerated trailers manufactured by Ludovic Vanackere's brother, with an ingenious deposit system. One scans his order form and a locker door opens, giving access to the shopping basket. Customers can also collect their order from a few Namur partner merchants or directly from their work - two companies located in a nearby zoning have already registered to offer this service to their employees. Best of all, a grocery store has also just been opened in Bossimé for those who prefer not to shop online ... A hundred products For the moment, "Les artisans de Bossimé" offers around 100 products from around 20 producers. If Ludovic Vanackere dreams of being independent in the long term for fruits and vegetables with the Jardin de Bossimé, he is currently completing his offer (up to 20%) by using an organic distribution platform. At first, for logistical reasons, fresh meat and fish are excluded, but the young chef is already working on setting up the production of Omega bars in aquaponics. While, for the ready meals offered for sale, he works with the excellent pork from the Ardennes prairies from Magerotte in Nassogne (available, for example in carbonades). And, for chicken, with the Coq des Prés label (around forty breeders in Wallonia). Coming directly from the chef's workshop, we can also taste soups, tapenades, pollen chocolate or even homemade potato chips like crackers. On the grocery side, there are duck rillettes, Foie gras from Floumont in La Roche-en-Ardenne, quinoa and green lentils from Graines de curieux in Havelange, Alvenat oils in Achêne (including the excellent rapeseed oil) , Agribio cereals from Verlée or even spices from the brilliant Rudy Smolarek in Mons. Finally, on the fresh produce side, the site offers butter and yogurts from the Ferme du Sacré-Coeur in Natoye, eggs from the Lehaire farm in Assesse, but also raw milk cheeses from the Fromagerie du Samson in Gesves and goats. from the Caprices de Louise to Liernu. [5] Aquaponics refers to a food production system that couples aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as fish, crayfish, snails or prawns in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) whereby the nutrient rich aquaculture water is fed to hydroponic grown plant, involving nitrifying bacteria for converting ammonia into nitrates. As existing hydroponic and aquaculture farming techniques form the basis for all aquaponic systems, the size, complexity, and types of foods grown in an aquaponic system can vary as much as any system found in either distinct farming discipline.