From Cameroon to Annecy, from cocoa to chocolate, the incredible organic passion of Serges Ngassa
This is the incredible story of a young Cameroonian restaurateur, borrowed from the culture of his elders, who, supported by a woman met in the humanitarian field, will become a demanding cocoa planter, and an exceptional chocolate maker for the chefs. Based in Annecy, Serges Ngassa talks about his art and his passion in “You are formidable” on France 3
” It’s just because I’m special! Serges replies immediately when asked why we find a ” s at the end of his first name. A smiling and effective way, for this Cameroonian of origin, to answer a question which must have often been repeated.
Serges Ngassa is a producer of cocoa beans in Cameroon. And also a talented chocolatier in Annecy, with his wife Carine – the two are inseparable…. He comes from a farming family that first harvested tobacco in the 1930s. My grandparents produced for the British Tobacco company. Then they went to the cafe “, he says.
Until the 80s, when the crisis put an end to all their activities. ” Everything stops. My parents sell everything. There is no more land in the family, nothing at all. We grew up with stories that were told to us, in the evening, around a wood fire. We were told about harvest time, this atmosphere that reigned in the plantations. »
Serges was then only 5 or 6 years old, but he remembers it perfectly. ” I had not participated in all this work. But I had the story of my elders who told me every evening how it was going at the time. Comment, in the 1940s, plantations were unique. And why we always managed to galvanize the teams to carry even heavier. For me, it was really a magical moment. It’s ingrained in me!» testifies Serges.
A childhood rich in memory, which made him more combative. ” A little too much, yeah! he laughs. ” I thus realized that nature is around us. And the importance of the people who are linked to these unique moments. Incredible moments of sharing. The elders and the young were always communicating, transmitting. A notion of the utmost importance. ” There are no written records. It is an oral transmission of values!he insists with sparkles in his eyes.
In Cameroon, he began his professional life in catering. It incorporates the people’s restaurant in Foumbot, in the east of the country. He later became its owner and continues to run it today. It makes it a popular place where mixed African cuisine is offered. Again, sharing…” I have Nigerian collaborators who deal more with meat. We prepare rice like in Senegal, beans like in Cameroon… We work with traditional local cuisines. We have mom, herself trained in the past by my mom, who helps us with the baking of bean cakes, which people love every day. »
video length: 49sec
with Yannick Kusy
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©france tv
Not content with this great success in catering, Serges Ngassa became a volunteer at Doctors Without Borders. Still in Cameroon, he becomes, for this NGO, a simple helper-mason. ” I was on the other side of the country when I heard that Doctors Without Borders was working in Cameroon. There was an accumulated need to care for people with different epidemics. ” He does not hesitate. ” I said to myself: I am young and I have to bring my little stone to the building. »
He then became a logistician there, because the organization hired him. He ends up in Akonolinga, 180 kilometers from Yaoundé. A small village lost in the middle of nowhere, between the devil’s reserve and the tropical forest. ” We were facing an increase in tuberculosis and leprosy. It is believed that the disease was probably spreading because children went swimming in the Nyong. Doctors Without Borders has done a tremendous job in this region, supporting the local hospital, and setting up a care system… »
We said to ourselves that we risked destroying everything in our path.
At this stage of his life, it is a Swiss nurse, Carine, who collaborates in the same organization, who will once again upset Serges’ destiny. Together, they decide to start… in the production of cocoa. ” We both worked in the humanitarian sector. We had in common the desire to create something sustainable over the long term. They reject the idea of planting rubber trees. ” We said to ourselves that we risked destroying everything in our path. »
They therefore opt for cocoa plantations. “ I was able to develop this because I was lucky enough to be surrounded by elderly people who had worked with my elders in the past. They accompanied me to be able to choose the right pods, with a hindsight of more than 50 years. It is thanks to this that we were able to have an exceptional chocolate “, describes this enthusiast.
video length: 47sec
with Yannick Kusy
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©france tv
It will still be necessary to wait five years before obtaining a first harvest. “ It takes daily work, investment, implementation. We wanted to develop a plantation in permaculture, agroforestry, and, above all, organic. When you arrive in a world where only the pesticide is promoted, you try to make your way by saying: “we can do it without”. And it’s not easy…remembers Serges.
At that time, there were few volunteers to embark on this organic and virtuous adventure. ” There are a lot of losses, we are not going to lie to each other. This creates difficulties and requires a lot of work. Everything is handmade. You can’t use Round Up to kill weeds. We clear every day. It requires a lot of staff. The idea was really to achieve CSR quality (societal and environmental respect).”
Today, cocoa is fundamental in Cameroon. It is the third African bean-producing country, behind Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. Cocoa represents 15% of the products exported by this country, i.e. 250,000 tons. There are still 600,000 producers there, despite a purely catastrophic year 2021 in terms of drought.
A drought that prevents the flower from reaching maturity. ” We suffered the consequences. For the first time, we will lose 30% of our production. But on a force. As we are not in a chemical treatment, we have less impact, compared to our colleagues. Some of them are minus 50% or even more confirms our producer.
The solutions – without toxic products – in particular by phenology. It’s about adapting to the growth of the trees. ” This is also what makes the strength of our plantation. If on so many taste notes, it is in particular due to all the different trees that are present. Mangoes, papayas, guavas, plantains allow the whole ecosystem to be developed operational », explains Serges.
To obtain his unique chocolate, Serges therefore goes from the plantation to the bar. This is called the ” from farm to bar “. Today, its Cocoa Valley brand is well deployed in Haute-Savoie. But before he got to that stage, he had to learn his craft. ” We chose to produce a bean separately, in order to be able to take over a quality market and create an exceptional chocolate. Despite this, we have not been able to establish ourselves on the international market. »
He then relies on the strength of his employees. ” We had to think differently. I would like here to salute the 158 employees – during the harvest – and in particular the 40 full-time people, who help me on a daily basis in Cameroon. It is thanks to them that I was able to take the bull by the horns. Since I couldn’t sell the stock, we had to manage to do something with it. This is how, in the kitchen, at home, we began to take the beans and put them in the oven… “In his apprenticeship, he will even use a hair dryer to separate the small shell from the bean, and after passing it through a rolling pin to crush it.
After all this journey and this apprenticeship, Serges and Carine Ngassa have become particularly appreciated chocolatiers, and supply around 200 chefs. ” Today, we come to cross an important thing. Everyone has the same taste, everywhere. And we manage to provide chefs with an exception to the product that they can defend themselves. »
It’s the same principle as wine
And to help them, he does not hesitate to take them there, in Cameroon. ” On their request how is their taste palate. Each chef must be able to stand up in front of his client to say: Sir, I have prepared a chocolate for you, with unique taste notes, which I have taken the time to see… where it comes from. And also how it is made, or how the people who worked there are paid and respected. »
Advantage than a chocolate maker, Serges Ngassa defines himself first as a blanket maker. ” And as such, I am above all a planter. My planting work guarantees an unprecedented taste guarantee. It’s the same principle as wine. We will work on the tannin, the astringency and the appeal to the sensory so that the experience is unique in the mouth. “, insists this enthusiast.
Even in shop, the requirement of ethics is very present. Bars, shortbread, Neapolitans, spreads and other chocolate creations are sold without artificial flavors or preservatives. And the packaging is made of corn cellulose and biodegradable.
It is thanks to Carine if we are there
” My heart ! “. Thus Serges speaks of his wife, his indispensable partner in this long chocolate epic. “ It is said that everyone has their own rating. And I, I found mine “Says Serges Ngassa. ” More generally, in Africa, it is said that when you are lucky enough to find the person who will share your life, it will be the latter who will be with you in all the most difficult moments, and who will accompany you despite all the difficulties. . If this woman weren’t here, I would have suffered the same setbacks as most other farmers on this planet.. ” He specifies : “ In 2016, I wanted to stop everything, because it was very hard. She refused. It is thanks to Carine if we are there. So thank you to her, and for everything she does for me on a daily basis. »
Definitely, this chocolate maker is really… crunchy.
Listen to the entire interview in “You are formidable” in PODCAST
REPLAY: review the program of November 10, 2022 with Serges Ngassa