Le Prix du Goût d’Entreprendre: Top Food Entrepreneurs in Paris

Five artisans in the catering trades have been honored recently with the Prix du Goût d’Entreprendre 2022 (Taste of Entrepreneurship). This prize, now in its 16th edition, is awarded to creators and buyers of food craft businesses newly established in the capital, recognizing savoir-faire, creativity, product quality, and approach to sustainable development. The prize is accompanied by an endowment of up to 8,000 euros. Through this award, the City of Paris aims to promote the revitalization of neighborhoods and support the creation of food businesses in Paris. Here we profile the winners, situated in diverse areas of the French capital.

Boulangerie Cozette, 12th

Initiated by a former engineer Sami Namasse in 2020, Boulangerie Cozette is the only food business on rue Montgallet. Sami Namasse is driven by his desire to provide healthy and environmentally-friendly baked goods, thus he makes everything on site daily from thoughtfully selected raw materials with his team of eight.

All 10 seasonal sourdough breads are made using organic flours that are fermented slowly, enhancing their aromas and preservation. Amongst the 10, they have the classic spelt, a rye pie, a gluten-free bread made with corn flour and their signature honey nut bread. Boulangerie Cozette also presents pastries including choux with vanilla cream, praline and coffee.

Early Bird, 12th

Impassioned by his love for coffee and sustainability, the highly trained Joseph Loughney and his wife Candyce opened up Early Bird, a coffee workshop which offers amazing coffee roasting and tasting sessions.

Originally from Ireland, Joseph trained for seven years during his travels across Australia and coffee-producing countries such as Costa Rica and Indonesia, gaining insights into the complete production chain, from harvest to cup, before moving to France. In the Hexagon, he furthered his training at the Caféothèque de Paris, adapting his knowledge to the French taste.

The beans are roasted daily at Early Bird from traceable, high quality 100% Arabica and specialty coffee that are organic and fair-trade certified. Honoring the mantra “for the people, by the people,” Joseph prefers to source his coffee directly from the producers, ensuring better pay for the workers. Early Bird is also supporting women’s cooperatives, advocating for the development of farms owned by women.

Les Georges Brassin, 17th

Les Georges Brassin stemmed from a group of childhood friends who decided to take their amateur brewing to another level. After their brewing training at Douai Vocational Training and Agricultural Promotion Center in the tradition of northern beers, Patrick Ligot (a former French Representative at the European Union) and his friends created their micro-brewery in a former garage in the heart of the 17th arrondissement.

This team loves to personally distribute their products and give walkthroughs of the manufacturing process in the brewery – with good reasons, too. All nine beers in their repertoire are collectively developed, brewed and packaged on-site. With every new recipe, the friends work together to christen their creations. A few past examples: Musse Taquine, Georges Brassin and even Vladimir Butine. The team’s passion, and the sense of humor imbued in each of their beers, further enhance the charms of Les Georges Brassins.

Viande Viande, 3rd

Viande Viande is a butcher full of beautiful and high-quality meat. With simplicity and integrity at its forefront, there exists a certain theatrical elegance to Edouard Haguet’s and Adrien Quennepoix’s practice. Formerly in finance and architecture respectively, the shop’s founders changed careers to study at the École Professionnelle de Boucherie Paris, where they met.

The store boasts an impressive display of their quality products, all bought from organic or local breeders, ensuring the best taste and maturity with a balance of durability and low-energy consumption. The meat are deboned and prepared in front of the customers in the shop.

La Poissonnerie Viot, 6th

La Poisonnerie Viot is an innovative fishmonger run by a young couple, Arthur and Marie-Victoire Viot. The couple retrained to be experts in everything fish-related, with Marie-Victoire in charge of the preparation and processing of the fish, while Arthur acts as the craftsman.

Their concerns for the future of the planet drive them to work with local suppliers who practice sustainable fishing. This results in procurement of seasonal and high quality products from all corners of France. Additionally, they revolutionized a method to limit water consumption while keeping the fish fresh: by refrigerating rather than placing them on a bed of ice.

As well as fresh fish, La Poisonnerie Viot sells products made by Marie-Victoire, from monkfish liver terrine to fish rillettes and octopus marinade alongside complementary organic wines.