We’re starting our fourth season here, with joy, with love and with rage. We begin with an engaged woman whom we’d like to follow through the landscapes of the Gers but whom we welcome in Paris, at our place, near the Bois de Vincennes — which lost its leaves even earlier than usual. We’re going to talk hybrids, supply chains, legumes, heirloom varieties, agronomy.
The guest: Anne Dubarry
Anne Dubarry is the founder of Variette, a Gers-based, gourmet and committed brand that offers canned goods and packets of legumes, vegetables, or grains… She promotes a healthy, plant-based diet and a method of cultivation that respects the soil and life — all within a plant supply chain originating in Occitanie and primarily from the Gers.
Beyond being organic, local, natural and plant-based, Variette appears to be a company committed to promoting taste, biodiversity, and the rehabilitation of heirloom varieties originating from farmer-saved seeds. The brand currently processes and/or adds value to more than 30 heirloom varieties, including 10 heirloom tomato varieties.
Production is artisanal; the crops are processed fresh, harvested at maturity, and respect the seasons.
Anne is also the president of a community garden in her village where organic heirloom fruit trees, grasses and many other curiosities have been planted.
My questions
- Tell us a bit about your journey: how did the launch of the Variette venture go? How did the idea take root in your mind?
- You told me about your lineage while preparing this podcast — can you remind us where you come from? (I am myself the daughter of a nursery grower). Do you think that shapes someone’s life? That it helps? That it can sometimes be a hindrance?
- What does respectful farming look like? How does Variette concretely contribute to that?
- What are the brand’s nutritional commitments?
- You took a baker’s CAP as a private candidate in 2017 — which allowed you to discover heirloom varieties with a farmer-baker. Can you tell us about those discoveries? What is an heirloom variety compared to a hybrid? How do you showcase them within Variette?
- What social and environmental initiatives do you put in place at Variette? Which action are you most proud of?
- I recently wrote a book about companies that shift the status quo. The main ideas are: Authenticity, Robustness (maintaining a stable system despite fluctuations and resource shortages), Clarity, a strong emotional foundation, Belief (feeling that your actions matter within the larger web of life). Does that resonate with you?
- You are also a gardener. What do you recommend we plant?
- What’s your favorite recipe?
Resources for further reading
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A podcast presented by Louise Browaeys with technical production by Matthieu Brillard
