Like every year, Vincent Elegoet, manager of Saveurs du Bout du Monde, tries to surprise his clients by offering unique products. And in this winter season, he chose to add a novelty to his catalogue: the Pontoise cabbage.
“It is the first year that we are offering it for sale, and our clients are satisfied. The Pontoise cabbage is a variety of French cabbage with a multitude of color reflections ranging from green to purple. As the winter progresses, it becomes more and more purple. This cabbage, which can be eaten raw or cooked, is much more digestible than kale. We would like to develop this variety in a more sustained manner with a local producer, located in Cléder (North-Finistère). The current sales of Pontoise cabbage do not exceed 15,000 heads in France; together, we agreed to plant 10,000! We started with the first sales in September and we will offer some until the end of March,” explains Vincent.
Pontoise cabbage
Besides the Pontoise cabbage, Vincent currently offers some so-called “niche” products such as mashua, yacon, oca from Peru and Japanese artichoke. “The Japanese artichoke we sell is produced in the Saint Pol-de-Léon area (North-Finistère). The average harvest of this product is currently estimated at 3/4kg, which makes it a relatively expensive vegetable. The Japanese artichoke, according to some, has some nutty artichoke flavor. It is eaten raw in salads, grilled in the pan or cooked in a sauce.”
Japanese artichoke
These unusual vegetables can be found on the stalls of specialized French wholesalers, in French restaurants, as well as in some neighboring countries like Belgium and England.
For more information:
Vincent Elegoet
Saveurs du Bout du Monde
ZA du Croissant
29250 Plougoulm
Phone: 02 98 29 85 61
Fax: 02 98 29 85 62
sbm4@wanadoo.fr