Stéphan Perrotte,
Artisan jam maker
I'm a man of passion. Giving free rein to my imagination, searching relentlessly, opposing no boundaries, I have become, as a little boy once told me, "the fruit cook".
I was lucky enough to be born into a family of responsible craftsmen and producers, in the heart of the Cotentin region. This deep and sincere Norman family culture of gastronomy, this love of the raw product, the link with nature, is my precious heritage today, which I try to pass on as best I can, not only to my children, but also to future generations. Aspiring always to quench my thirst for knowledge and discovery, I went to meet professionals in the culinary trades. I wanted to acquire knowledge and know-how. It was my grandmothers in Valognes who passed on to me their passion for fruit. I can still hear one of them banging on the ceiling when she found my fingerprints in her jam jars. When I was a child, on vacation at my grandparents' in Valognes, I'd see her making jam from the fruits of the garden: blackcurrants, gooseberries and raspberries. My bedroom door opened directly onto the cupboard where she kept them. I left a few fingerprints there.
In 2013, the memory of my grandmother knocked on my door and I opened my own jam-making business. I was born a craftsman, and every day I defend the image and know-how of craftsmanship, with its values of transmission, passion, conviction, respect for the manual gesture and product selection.
At the time, I didn't yet know what was in store for me, but one thing was certain: what I wanted to do was to give jam another vision, to modernize it, to give it back its letters of nobility. I want to show that there are other ways of consuming jam. That's what I'm striving for: to offer jams that are prepared, elaborate products that break away from the traditional image of jam on bread.
"2015 World Jam Champion
Being a perfectionist, I test my products, notably at the Concours Général de Paris, where I win numerous awards and distinctions. In 2014, I won the Concours du Meilleur Confiturier de France, and in 2015, I won the Championnat du Monde de la Confiture, making me the only living jam-maker in France to have won both titles.
All over the world, Stéphan Perrotte exchanges with producers, who become his partners: always on the lookout for remarkable products, fruits, spices, aromatic plants, as well as little-known, rare or forgotten varieties, in order to revive their authentic tastes. In this way, he combines different textures and different levels of flavor, without extinguishing any of them in favor of another. Stephan Perrotte composes, mastering traditional know-how and the science of cooking. A man of passion, giving free rein to his imagination and relentless pursuit, he has become "the fruit cook".
Photo credit @Philippe Martineau