Shopping at the Gourmet Spar

As most of you know, my darling husband, Mike, is a wonderful cook. When we arrived in France we already knew about the weekly fresh markets, but we knew much less about your garden-variety grocery stores. We assumed that a village the size of Cotignac (roughly 2,000 people) would have limited grocery shopping opportunities. We were prepared to – and, in fact, - did drive to larger towns for our shopping. The longer we live here, however, the more we have come to appreciate the availability and variety of grocery stores in the village.

Here’s the inventory: three bakeries, a butcher shop, a gourmet market, a small produce shop and the Spar. I’ve written about the bakeries but not about the others. It’s time they had their names in print!

Mike loves the butcher shop. That's saying a lot since he spent time working as a butcher during his college years. He’s very particular about his meat and how it is cut. The butcher shop here is like the butcher counter I remember as a kid at Shirocky’s Grocery in Texas. The meat is laid out in the case and neatly labeled. The assortment is broad including the usual chicken, pork and beef but here we also have duck, rabbit and an assortment of terrines and pates. It’s a tiny shop – as are all of them – but it’s also a bit intimidating. We can't hide in the corner while we figure out how to ask for what we want. It took awhile for us to warm up to it and be brave enough to attempt an order, but once we did, we were hooked. We met the butcher and his wife who jointly run the shop only to discover that they sold the shop to new owners who took over in September. We were in the shop last week and were graciously introduced to the new owner. Mike was thrilled to discover that the quality and attentiveness was the same. So, here’s how it works.

We tell them generally what we want. They ask how we will prepare the meat and then he cuts it for us. Right there. In front of us. Take something as simple as ground beef. Mike orders 300 grams of “steak hache," the butcher picks up a piece of beef chuck, carefully cuts off any fat as though he is doing intricate surgery, and grinds it as we watch. Then there was the turkey. Turkey is not as prevalent here but they had a filleted turkey breast in the meat case. We told him that it was to be roasted so he went to the back, brought out a larger breast and, before we knew it, he had carefully rolled it and tied it into a neat bundle for roasting. How nice.

We do most of our produce shopping at the weekly market – another blog to come on that - but if we forget something at the market, the small produce stand or the gourmet market is a great option. I particularly like the husband and wife team who run the gourmet market. They have a nice assortment of terrines, pates and cheeses. They also carry big bowls of fresh butter and crème fraische. Not a bad option to have at your doorstep. They are on vacation for a couple of weeks and so missed having their picture taken.

But the shop that amazes us is the Spar. The Spar is smaller than a typical 7-11 in the U.S. and half the size of the Royal Farm Store down the street in Annapolis, and yet the Spar has the variety of a small, gourmet supermarket. The Spar is two aisles wide and maybe 150 square feet including the exterior. Each morning at 7:30AM I see Sebastien, Remi or Julien wheeling out their produce carts which line the entry into the Spar. The Spar is family run and is a small miracle of efficiency. They have literally floor to ceiling products carefully organized and displayed. Every inch of space is accounted for. Like any major grocery store, they have all of the departments. The produce department is outside and you walk through the colorful fruits and vegetables to enter. Inside, there is the meat section and the cheese section with a wide variety of cheeses from the Camenberts of northern France to locally produced cheeses. The dairy section includes six types of butter, a variety of yogurts, milks and packaged desserts like flan, and pots du chocolat (their version of chocolate pudding). There is the hardware section with everything from straws to corkscrews; the paper goods section, the cleaning section and the house wares section. Mike is particularly enamored with the canned meats. There are nine types of canned tuna alone. This doesn’t include the sardines, anchovy or mackerel. There is a broad range of coffees, cookies, biscuits, and chocolate. Mike even found tortilla chips! Lurking behind the cash register is the spice section – floor to ceiling glass bottles of spices. But the wine section may be the largest part of the store. There are red, rose and white wines from all over France including the Cotignac wine from the local cooperative. They also have liqueurs and liquor. All of this, squished into two aisles. The checkout counters are barely big enough for a few items and shopping carts don’t exist. It’s BYOB – bring your own basket, or carry your products in your arms. If we have any problem finding something, usually it is Julien or Sebastien who will literally stop what they are doing – even checking someone out – and come to our aid. They are great. They always have a smile and cheery “bonjour” whenever I’m in the shop. Once, I stopped in for a few green beans that we’d forgotten but that were essential for our salad nicoise. It was only a small handful of beans and they refused to let me pay. Julien said it was “pas probleme” and “c’est normale.” To me – it was far from normal; it was extraordinary. These three young men, Julien, Sebatien and Remi, along with Carole, are a delight. I’ve grown to look forward to going to the Spar just for the experience. I can’t say that for the Farm Store with its empty, sterile shelves, overpriced goods and surly staff. Unfortunately, that’s “c’est normale” for convenience stores in the U.S.

So, grocery shopping at the Spar in Cotignac may not be exactly like Whole Foods, but…you know, it’s not that far off either. With good quality meats, cheeses and a variety of products, topped off with a smile and friendly service, well - we think, it’s a winner. Thanks to Sebastien, Remi, Julien and Carole for making grocery shopping fun!