Toulouse. Brother and sister, they open a brand dedicated to the gastronomy of Reunion Island
By Quentin Marais
Published on
At 71 avenue de Muret, in Toulouse, M’Îles Délices has opened its doors. Delicatessen caterer dedicated to Reunion specialties, it is the result of a collaboration between Bruno and Mathilde Terrentroybrother and sister aged 31 and 27, and both from the island located in the Indian Ocean.
Green lights… during confinement
The big brother has been in the Pink City since 2010. The little sister since 2016. If the latter has deepened in trade, the first, who worked for 6 years as special educatorwas not at all destined to end up where it is today.
“In 2016, I started catering services, on a non-professional basis, concedes Bruno Terrentroy. I always had this idea in mind, to get started at some point. And that moment has arrived…in the midst of a pandemic.
“In March 2020, during the 1st confinement, we had all the lights on green to launch the project. I succeeded in a professional retraining, I passed a delicatessen catering CAP, in one year. In April 2021, I made an offer to buy a business located on avenue de Muret. We got the keys to the premises on November 1, 2021. It was a rather complicated process, because of the covid. Banks no longer suppose to ask to lend money. “money to restaurateurs”.
This episode of covid-19 led the duo to “rethink the project, with all the effects on the restaurant sector… That’s why that we only offer ‘take away’, the thirties. We are not a restaurant, we are a delicatessen business”.
Reunion specialties… but not only
The adventure is therefore acquired. December 2021 was a test phase. “We opened the store at that time, but we had our checkout registered that February 1. So we were really able to start our activity only at that moment. »
Bruno Terrentroy is in charge of party production. Her sister takes care of the store. “We mainly do specialties from Reunion, but also a part that we call ‘world cuisine’, that allows us to do something else “, Big Brother says.
“One of the characteristics of Reunion is that it remains a multicultural island, very open. We also wanted to want that in what we offered. As with charcuterie, we will really find Reunionese charcuterie, but we will also have some from the South West. We can find foie gras, sausage, pâté.”
Among the star dishes, the unmissable sausage rougail. “I make this sausage myself, says Bruno Terrentroy. In Reunion, it is a little spicy. I adapt the recipe so that it is less salty and less peppery, so that all my customers find their account. »
Reunionese cuisine represents 90% à la carte of M’Îles Délices. “Today I’m having lasagna bolognese. But the rest will only be dishes from Reunion. »
“Two weeks since, it’s the rush”
The one who will soon blow out his 32nd candle recognizes this and repeats it: “we have not gone through several emotions, with a complicated covid perioda period when we did not know if we were going achieve our goals”. Recently, everything has accelerated.
“For the past two weeks, we’ve been in high demand. It’s the rush! We’ve been anticipating a lot of things upstream for some time. We’re out of stock on certain products. That means it’s working! We’re already starting to have requests from April. We have several dates for services to individuals. We have the whole catering part to develop. We would like to develop it for individuals but also for companies.”
“We are so busy that we think about taking someone to help us“, announces the youngest of the Terrentroy siblings. “We may have found a profile, we have to agree on certain points. We will rather move towards a student contract. At the start of the school year in September 2022, we will no doubt be looking for an apprentice. »
positive feedback
The demand is intensifying, and the feedback is positive. “I find people in stores who come from Albi (Tarn), from Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne) or even Carcassonne (Aude)”, savors Bruno Terrentroy.
“People thank us enormously. There is a very large Reunionese community in Toulouse. Whatever happens, this project, I would have done it here. With the market studies and the many meetings with Reunionese that I have made in 12 years, for us, there was no doubt, we knew that we had a clientele that was already there. It was confirmed, because the enthusiasm that there was on the networks, we found it in the store.”
” Development potential, he is there”, appreciates the manager of the store, who assumes his strategy. “We don’t present a very wide range of products, because we prefer to stay on quality. If we go to a craftsman, a local business, it is because we are looking for quality. Otherwise, we go to the catering department in Leclerc…”
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