Description
Pepper from Cambodia, from the Kampot region, was highly renowned before the Khmer Rouge took over the country. A few years ago, in 2004, a Frenchman decided to unite the farmers who had a few pepper vines to restart production in the region. He visited Gérard Vives to get his advice.
With his experience in the field in different countries, Gérard suggested he opt for high quality production, with numerous selective sorting sessions, on the plant, after harvest, before drying and after drying. The exemplary work that he has carried out with the producers means that today we are able to propose one of the world’s best peppers.
Despite the extremely high overall quality of pepper in the area, Gérard only selected one farm, that of Mr Li Ngnoun, called Ta Li, and asked him make any even stricter selection to obtain just a few kilograms of exceptional corns per harvest.
In this plantation there is not a single gram of pesticide or chemical fertiliser. Everything is natural. The fertiliser used is made of a mixture of rice paddy crabs and grass. New soil is regularly added and watering is done manually, which calls for enormous effort. To do such a hard job, you need to be passionately in love with your land and its products, and we can assure you that this is the case for the Ngnoun family.
Le Comptoir Des Poivres has worked on an even higher quality new product range.
For several months the company have been pooling their skills, and they have sought out products of unquestionable quality using the same philosophy – they look for products directly at their production locations, they refuse any chemical treatments both on the plant and the product and any irradiation (hypocritically called ionisation), they ensure that the people working in the plantations work in optimal conditions, they require many selection processes to keep only the most exceptional grains or berries, they refuse any long storage and transport the products without intermediaries, that is to say with maximum traceability.
Olivier Derenne, Founder
“Since my rural childhood, my life has been a perpetual search for authentic flavours, either while pottering round vegetable gardens, on walks through forests, local markets, at auctions, bakeries, grandmothers’ or mothers’ kitchens, in master cooks’ kitchens or even on trips across the world.
I’m someone who is eager to discover new sensations, scents, textures, flavours, not just to own them, but also to share them.
I like to tell stories about the wonders that surround us and the passion of men and women who give the best of themselves to bring you something exceptional.
My objective: to source the best, the most exclusive, the most authentic and most surprising and then narrate, share, transmit and astonish…”
