two candidates in the running for the “gastronomy” category
Lucie Tisserand: “The food industry remains a macho environment”
■ Avignon. Lucie Tisserand, 45, co-founder of L’EntrePôt in Avignon.
What is your background ?
“I have an engineering background in the food industry. I worked for six years in an industrial cheese factory; four in a factory that made pasta, as a quality manager, and a long time doing food safety auditing for companies all over the world.
On the other hand, I grew up on a farm in the southwest, at my grandmother’s house, where, during the holiday seasons, we canned jams, tomato coulis, pork. I am a big foodie!
I am always attached to the quality of my diet. And there was a dissonance and a conflict of values between the profession that I practiced and my way of life. So, in May 2021, with Céline Laplanche and Isabeau Gaillard, whom we met in a bulk grocery store, we decided to create L’EntrePôt. »
What is your project ?
“We supply grocery stores and canteens with bulk products. We have more than 20 references and work within a radius of 100 kilometers around Avignon. With the emergence of bulk, I realized that grocery stores and canteens were delivered in bags. The goal is to limit waste and wastage by providing canteens with a variable weight that is exactly what they need.
At the same time, we indicate a composting channel for their remains. We compost at market gardeners like Hélène Bertrand, at Semailles, but also at the Lycée Pétrarque in Avignon. Composting becomes a teaching aid. We make canteens aware of food waste and sorting by showing them, in figures, their impact on waste. We received the “Remarkable Initiative France” prize, “Territorial impact” category, and finally, the RMC responsible and sustainable SME trophy. »
Was being a woman an asset?
“The food industry remains a macho environment. I have become resilient and when it does not suit me, I say so. I asked to change my bank adviser, for example. He hadn’t understood that after 20 years as an engineer in the food industry, I could have enough experience in the profession…”
LN-D.