The story of a family saga - Meeting Thomas Perronneau
Let's delve into the history of the Perronneau family, a lineage of passionate beekeepers who have carried on the beekeeping tradition since 1890, and of whom Thomas Perronneau is a part. For over a century, the Perronneau family has dedicated itself to the art of beekeeping, making each hive a golden treasure of exceptional honey. Through generations, they have preserved unique expertise, combining respect for nature with a commitment to quality. This beekeeping saga is part of a perpetual quest for authentic flavors, where bees become the artisans of a sweet elixir with multiple nuances. Join us on this gustatory journey, where the Perronneau family honey reveals its smooth and fragrant history, woven through the seasons and the flowers it forages.
Discover the interview with Thomas Decombard Perronneau, General Manager of La Miellerie:
Is La Miellerie a family business?
"Yes, in our family, we have been beekeepers from father to son for five generations. My grandparents were among the first beekeepers to practice pastoral beekeeping, which involves moving hives from region to region to produce single-flower honeys."
How do you work with the bees?
"Transhumance is done exclusively at night for animal welfare and because once the sun sets, all the bees are back in the hive. So, we are sure not to forget a single one. We leave the hives for four to six weeks before collecting the honey."
What makes good honey?
"Good honey is first and foremost honey that has been harvested mature. Every evening, the bees have an important mission: to evacuate some of the water from the nectar so that it transforms into honey. Once the nectar has less than 20% humidity, they will cap the cell. At harvest time, we therefore check that 80% of the cells are capped by the bees. This is THE most important detail for obtaining quality honey."
Any final words?
"Bees are crucial animals for biodiversity. It is important for us to protect them, to cherish them. For us, it's not blood that flows in our veins, it's honey!"
Discover the video interview with Thomas Perronneau!
The history of the Perronneau family
The genesis
The Perronneau Family is one of the oldest beekeeping families in France. The genesis of this 5-generation saga began in Auxois in 1890, where the Pechinot Family, itinerant distillers for part of the year, also engaged in a passionate sideline activity: beekeeping.
The latter eventually took precedence, and they launched the family's beekeeping business with a hundred hives.
Their daughter and son-in-law, Gabriel Perronneau, took over the business 30 years later and expanded the apiary to nearly 1000 hives.
Gabriel Perronneau
In the 1950s, right after the war, the torch was passed to Gabriel Perronneau and his wife Madeleine, who tripled the apiary and ranked 1st in French honey production. They implemented pastoral beekeeping, which involves the transhumance of bees. They crisscrossed France in search of the best terroirs to diversify the varieties of honey produced by their bees. At the same time, they perpetuated the Dijon tradition of making gingerbread and nonnettes to expand their offerings.
In 1994, with their 7 children, they founded the company APIDIS and began, in addition to their honey production activity, a honey trading activity and developed derivative products: jam, confectionery, vinegars, mustard, but always based on honeys from the terroirs. In parallel, they developed a unique, innovative, and product-friendly process to obtain honey with a creamy texture.
APIDIS is today chaired by Pascal Perronneau, whose sisters Marie-Agnès Perronneau and Marie-Françoise Perronneau are still active in the company while being shareholders.
Thomas Perronneau - The 5th generation
The 5th generation arrives, including Thomas Decombard Perronneau, the current General Manager, trained alongside his grandfather Gabriel. He focuses on the internal organization of APIDIS, the honey house, and beekeeping practices using new technologies available to him, and brings all the Perronneau Family's honeys beyond borders, ensuring their presence in over 39 countries.
For the 5th generation, Gabriel-Mathieu Perronneau has also joined the family business; he is in charge of marketing honeys and honey products in garden centers, organic stores, and delicatessens.
A passion and know-how passed down from generation to generation, committed to biodiversity preservation. From this perspective, it is a fascinating profession for the family; it is also the transmission of a culture and know-how: spending time with bees, in nature, discovering the range of professions that make up a beekeeper's job. In this family, the passion for the profession is passed on filially.
The history of bees
While bees play a crucial role in the pollination process and are essential actors in biodiversity, they are now threatened; we are committed to cherishing and protecting them.
We practice pastoral beekeeping or transhumance of bees, which involves moving our hives from one region to another, several times a year, to allow our bees to benefit from different blooms, which varies harvests and types of honey. We respect their tranquility and rhythm of life by performing transhumances only at night.
We are always searching for the best terroirs for the well-being of our bees, terroirs that are passed down from generation to generation. For this, we pay attention to the environment, the composition of the soil, and the floral areas where we install our hives. We practice what is known as sustainable beekeeping, ensuring that each of our bees has the necessary comfort it needs to forage.
After foraging what nature has given them, it's time for the bees to deliver their richness.
Honey is a pure and natural product. Used since antiquity, it is considered a truly sacred food. We are committed to respecting the product throughout its transformation.
A crucial step, the harvest time is meticulously chosen. Capped frames are harvested one by one, and the honey is then cold-extracted. It is then filtered, conditioned, and stored in a dry place. Before potting, the floral origin and purity of our honeys are controlled to ensure their traceability.
The Perronneau family's Honey House
Forced to leave the historic site on rue de l'écluse in Dijon in 2018, which no longer allowed for sustainable development for future generations, the opportunity arose to create the honey house at the agro market in Dijon at 17 rue de Skopje.
Wanting to share its know-how with a wide audience, the Perronneau Family honey house was created to allow everyone to buy honey and honey products directly from the producer.
The honey house shop is an Eco-designed project; everything in the honey house project was conceived locally, short circuit, bio-sourced materials, reduction of structure weight, wood origin, durability and quality of materials and assemblies, the finish varnish is bio-sourced; even the inks used for the visuals are clean and were manufactured 3 km from the installation site. The artisans selected by Ateliers De Langalerie are all from the region to ensure the shortest possible circuit and reduce the carbon footprint.
The objective of this project was to clearly demonstrate the importance of beekeeping, honey, and bees in our daily lives.
It was necessary to retranscribe a story of men and insects, of manufacturing secrets, of transmission; it was necessary to highlight and above all value at its true worth the work done by the entire Perronneau Family since the creation of their now internationally renowned family business.
Many details are the signature of precise work, referring to the quality that is at the heart of the beekeeper's profession, bringing together compagnons du devoir, a renowned photographer passionate about bees.
The honey house reflects, through its honeys and honey-based products, the commitment to ensure certified traceability for consumers.
The Perronneau family embodies an exceptional beekeeping heritage that has spanned eras with passion and dedication. The honeys from La Miellerie, true ambassadors of nature's delights, reveal the rich and complex history of bees foraging through the seasons. Each jar of honey is the fruit of expertise passed down from generation to generation, rooted in the preservation of natural balance and respect for beekeeping traditions.
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