The Pays Gourmand label brings together restaurateurs and artisans who have the same desire to discover and appreciate the flavours of their region. Through this network, these restaurateurs and artisans follow a territorial quality approach and are committed to promoting local products and specialities, while also adding value to local gastronomy.
Pays Gourmand: A quality label to promote local products in France
- 07 August 2019
For us, working with local producers is important because we need to keep people in the village and make it possible for small producers to grow and stay in business all year round. Customers are delighted to find local products to enjoy.
Tourism and agriculture are the two main activities of the territory's economy. On the one hand, the region has extensive agriculture, with high quality agricultural products. On the other, it is characterised by strong tourist activity and restaurant services whose quality/price ratio needs to be improved. The Pays Gourmand project was born from the desire to combine these two activities by promoting local agricultural production in the restaurant industry.
A charter, a logo and a network
After preliminary research work on local gastronomy and the publication of recipe cards, the Pays Gourmand label was created in 2010. It includes a registered charter and a logo. This label is awarded to restaurateurs who celebrate local products throughout the seasons. Communication tools have been developed and a networking project has been set up. This project involves bringing together producers and restaurateurs, implementing inspections, improving supply logistics, etc.
The establishment of a charter and a label to promote restaurateurs who choose local products also aims to highlight local culinary traditions, which are a mixture of Alpine, Provençal and Italian influences. Indeed, the region is a territory full of travel routes, confluence and exchanges, marked by multiple cultural influences, from Italian Piedmont for the north of the territory, to the French Riviera for the southern part. Its position, close to the Mediterranean countries and the regular exchanges that took place during the transhumance from the Crau plain deeply marked the tastes and flavours of the region's tables.
Three dishes made with local products
The Community of Municipalities, through Pays A3V, has registered the Pays Gourmand label at the National Institute of Industrial Property. The label is governed by a quality charter. The basic principle is that the restaurant owner must be able to offer customers at least three "Pays Gourmand dishes", i.e. dishes composed mainly of local products.
Restaurant owners who commit to the label sign the charter and an agreement with the Pays. The main criteria of the charter are:
To be a restaurant owner located in the community of municipalities;Offer at least three "Pays Gourmand dishes" composed mainly of local products;Source supplies locally;Promote local culinary culture, local producers and the Pays Gourmand label;Ensure the establishment’s quality and a warm welcome for its customers.Restaurant owners undergo an inspection twice a year to ensure that they comply with the charter’s criteria. In return, the Pays establishes a communication and promotion policy for the label. Professionalisation workshops are also offered to restaurant owners. As a result of inter-territorial cooperation, the label was developed between 2013 and 2016 in two neighbouring territories, with around sixty restaurateurs.
A Pass'Gourmand and an extension of the label
In 2017, the Pass'Gourmand was created. This "Pass" is a loyalty card that can be used in all restaurants with a "Pays Gourmand” label in the territory and can be used as of the first restaurant. By presenting it at the beginning of the meal, customers can enjoy a coffee in the second restaurant they visit, and an aperitif in the third and fourth restaurants. Once this pass has been validated by four accredited restaurateurs, customers can exchange it for free admission to one of the territory's six partner museums. In 2019, the label will be extended to artisans in the food industry.
When it was created in 2017, the Alps Provence Verdon community of municipalities, the local authority, took over the label due to its role in providing structure for the territory. This project has resulted in the creation of direct employment.
Total investment and European funding
The "Pays Gourmand: extension of the label to food artisans, enhancement of local know-how and development of links between agriculture and tourism” project has been the subject of a total investment of EUR 115 689; the European Regional Development Fund contributed EUR 56 344 under the "ERDF Alps Interregional Operational Programme" cooperation programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority of "Jobs, Growth and Investment".