COMPANY ETHOS


Gourmet Espionnage aim to share excellent culinary skills with clients both with hands-on learning experiences and in eating quality, locally sourced and often organic, foods together with marrying these delicious dishes with carefully chosen corresponding wines.

Gourmet Espionnage encourages people to take time to eat and enjoy their food, sitting down and sharing an ancient social custom together. Adventures are about discovering the real essence of Burgundy, for example, where we can experience the genuine warmth and friendship found in the smaller villages and where tourists are far less frequent. Everyone who works with Gourmet Espionnage is passionate about their particular skill and wants to share this with you; from chefs, pâtissiers, chocolatiers and fromagers to vinifiers who make their wines traditionally or organically. Gourmet Espionnage also runs a Junior Club in the French Alps where children have fun foodie learning both in French and in English. Gourmet Espionnage encourages children to play tasting and smelling games, blindfolded, to broaden their vocabulary and memory banks. This is becoming a more rare experience for children since so much food is unfortunately bought in supermarkets where items are covered in clingfilm.


ECONOMIC RESPONSIBILITY


Gourmet Espionnage only works with local people and promotes exceptional and rare products wherever possible to encourage small producers to keep going. For example, organic mushrooms, which are grown in old slate mines by a very small producer, are collected by Gourmet Espionnage when they are visiting with clients and delivered to others with whom Gourmet Espionnage are working later in the week. This eliminates transport costs and enables these outstanding mushrooms to be appreciated by many more people and also helps to keep a small producer in business.

Gourmet Espionnage always shares cultural information with clients during the adventures, whether it be through customs or historical aspects or recent developments taking place locally.


ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY


When Gourmet Espionnage brings bottles of wine for clients to taste with corresponding foods all empty bottles are taken to glass recycling centres. Any paper from cheese or charcuterie, for example, is disposed of environmentally.

Refillable water bottles are used for clients to have access to drinking water at any time.
Domaines are visited where little sulphur is used and many wines are now organically produced and Gourmet Espionnage takes great pride in offering tastings to clients both with traditionally made and organically made wines to widen the client's experience.

Gourmet Espionnage leaflets and printing materials are all published on 100% recycled paper.
Paper costs are kept to a minimum as fully comprehensive details on all adventures with Gourmet Espionnage are available online and most business is conducted online, thus reducing paper consumption.


SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY


Gourmet Espionnage always shares cultural information with clients during the adventures, whether it be through customs or historical aspects or recent developments taking place locally. Clients are encouraged to speak a little French to 'fit in' with the locals and French hours are respected and adhered to.




LINKS IN THE FRENCH ALPS





LINKS IN COTE D'OR, BURGUNDY





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