This is a story of how a traditional dish, sold only in Nîmes, came to be available across France and then how the company expanded to export a whole range of local flavours.
The company, one of the oldest in Nîmes, has faced wartime destruction and a major flood but always recovered. It was founded in 1879 by Jules Raymond specialising in the making of Cod Brandade – a Provençale dish of salt cod and olive oil. Based at no. 43 route d’Avignon, the enterprise was passed from father to son through three generations of the Raymond family until the involvement of Edmond Geoffroy, who bought a fifty percent stake in the firm in the late 1930s.
It was thanks to M. Geoffroy that the Union of the Brandade trade was created on the 18th October 1940, but any further plans were halted when he was captured and sent to Germany. After several attempts to escape, he made his way back to France where, finding the firm moribund, he bought up the remaining shares. Then on the 27th May 1944 the firm, along with the town of Nîmes, was completely destroyed by Allied bombing.
Edmond Geoffroy picked up the pieces of his business and opened a shop in rue Nationale. It was right next to the market Saint Charles and from five in the morning the grocers and wholesalers hurried to buy the famous brandade.
It was sold fresh in buckets that left each morning by lorry to be distributed to other regions of France as well as being sent by express to connoisseurs in Paris. Two other small lorries made the rounds to the grocers and wholesalers in Nîmes and the surrounding villages.
Each year, M. Geoffroy attended the Food Fair and other shows related to machines and utensils for the production of brandade.
From these historic roots Raymond-Geoffroy has today grown into a firm with thirty employees exporting a range of local dishes. This growth, with respect to modern norms of quality and production, has never been allowed to compromise tradition. So you can be sure of authentic recipes and products.
The modern firm was created by Messrs Ausset and Silhol who bought the firm in 1965 to develop food specialities from in and around the ancient Roman town of Nîmes.
Two years later they also took over another company, Castelnau-Sablier – producers of brandade and prepared dishes such as gardianne de taureau, under the established brand names Casabel and Lisita.
The firm continued to expand in the 1960s, moving into new premises and acquiring an automatic production line that increased production by 50%. It also launched new products, whilst keeping tradition with its principal line of regional specialities such as black and green olive patés and anchovy cream. A complete range for aperitifs and canapés were later added in 1990, including Roquefort spread and smoked salmon spread.
The firm once again faced adversity when its premises were hit by major flooding in the Gard region of Languedoc-Roussillon. This meant a new factory had to be built at Grézan in Nîmes. However, as a result, this meant the brand new plant was able to immediately meet all the new European Union regulations.
(1992 marked the beginnings of Quality regulation procedures with the aim of certifying the firm in accordance with the ISO 9002 norm. HACCP certification was obtained from 1996. ISO 9002 was obtained and in 2008 the company got the IFS certificate)
All through the different phases of its development, Raymond-Geoffroy has prioritised the respect of tradition whilst maintaining the very highest quality and hygiene norms.
Since 1998, Ramond-Geoffroy has also developed its export activities for the major part of its products. In 2001, it took over the company Mer Hérault Poly Production that makes fish soups, terrines and brandade.
Raymond-Geoffroy is still a family firm. Just as the first small business was handed down through generations of the Raymond family, twenty years ago this year the sons of the new owners, Messrs Ausset and Silhol took over the management of the firm from their fathers.
Since january 2009 Raymond Geoffroy has a new range, a modern jar with a silver lid availabl under the label Raymond Geoffroy or Le Mazetier:
