I barely remember breakfast, except that I posted it on Instagram. There was the bread pudding, the basket of croissants and baguette, a slice of the jambon blanc, the ceramic pitchers of cafe and lait. But the highlight was the mamia, little glass jars of clotted sheep milk the texture of yogurt but creamier, without the sharp tang of yogurt but instead the delicate complexity of sheep milk.
The next thing I knew, I was fumbling with my sound equipment, sorely under-prepared for the first on-camera session with Basque-American animal biologist, farmer and cheese maker, Josette Arrayet. Luckily, she’s is super nice, and a natural teacher. I learned a lot about what I was going to see next (and you will too–I’ll transcribe that interview when I have a moment).
Next we raced up the mountain to Lasse where our piglet will be born. I repeat, will be born.
Okay, before I jump into this I should explain how I ended up here.
By now you all know who Kate Hill is. She’s my friend of many years, an American who has lived in Southwest France for two and a half decades. I sort of barged into her life and we witnessed our first pig slaughter together. That was more than 15 years ago. It change both our lives. She is now my guide to the other players in this story.
Eric Ospital is a charcuterie maker and co-author of the book Tout Est Bon Dans Le Cochon. In addition to producing Jambon de Bayonne, he produces Jambon des Trios Fermes (Three Farms Ham) and Jambon Ibaiama, ham from his premium pigs. We will follow his supply chain from salt to birth to table.
Eric’s pigs are bred by Jean Guenard just outside St. Jean Pied de Port. Monsieur Guenard’s farm and two other farms make up this special brand of pork called Porc Manex. Some of these piglets (all bred on M. Guenard’s farm, are chosen for their physical qualities to be raised as Ibaiona Porc. These special pigs live longer, therefore grow bigger and are allowed to forage in the wooded areas of the farms.
Josette Arrayet is a Basque-American from Bakersfield CA. After getting gradute degrees in both animal biology and agricultural management, she moved to the Pays Basque to help in the rebuilding of a nearly extinct heritage pig breed called Le Porc Basque. Unlike the majority of pigs raised in France, the Porc Basque are of Iberican stock. But this is a story for another time. Josette has generously agreed to help us understand the technically and culturally opaque parts of this journey. In English. American English. Wow. She now has a farm and dairy with her partner, cheese maker Gerard Bordagaray.
Tomorrow we will meet the farmer, who will raise our piglet on his farm after it is born and weaned on Jean Guenard’s farm.
M. Guenard also made us aware of one more link in the chain of this little piggy’s life: the pig geneticist who supplies Guenard with his breeding stock. It is he who chooses the sows who carry and nurse the piglets, and the boars that inseminate the sows. Um, I don’t know his name yet. But we’ll try to visit him sooner or later in the Gers
Alright, so like most of you, I know only a little about biology and farming. So if questions arise, we’ll try to find the answers together, okay?
