The history of these speciality dishes starts in the restaurant kitchen of Michel Henri Pacheco, in the Mediterranean fishing port of Sète.
His tasty dishes were so popular that he decided to put them in jars and sell them for his clients to take away, initially under the brand-name Marie Amélie, his daughter's name. These soups and dishes are now distributed throughout France and Europe by MHP Production.
The company, now owned by the Raymond Geoffroy company in Nîmes, employs about 30 people. It is still situated close to the famous restaurant of its birth, just along the road towards Frontignan, a town famous for its Muscat wine.
The range of Mediterranean Specialities, all based essentially on seafood products, are still cooked according to the traditional recipes that Michel Henri Pacheco used in his restaurant. They include the Sète Style Fish Soup with its rouille sauce and garlic croutons; Stuffed Mussels and squids both stuffed by hand; Seafood Soup, Fish and Seafood Soup, Lobster Bisque with Cognac and of course the famous Bouillabaisse from Marseille.
All these dishes are authentically Sétois, that is to say that the range is made according to the traditional recipes used in the fishing port of Sète through the ages.
They are high quality products, where the percentage of whole fish is always the same thus guaranteeing a stable and recognisable recipe and quality. This is assured by the fact that MHP Production is under HACCP quality control regulations and IFS since 2007 and uses a maximum of raw material originating from the Mediterranean.
Today…
Whilst MHP Production continues to produce authentic recipes, the company has an eye on developing tastes and market trends. Four new recipes have been added:
- Gazpacho - a fresh and savoury Mediterranean recipe made from tomatoes, and cucumber
- Pistou Soup - a veritable Provençale and Mediterranean institution made from tomatoes, courgettes, beans … garnished with pasta and pistou sauce
- Fish soup with Langoustines and Chablis a more Northern recipe for the Northern European clients. Langoustines are also known as Dublin Bay Prawns or Scampi
-Seafood Soup with Pieces of whole fish (prawns, mussels, squid …).
These recipes were created to satisfy the consumer demand, which is increasingly for fine, savoury, sophisticated products.
