Maison Lascours

MAISON LASCOURS

PRIME QUALITY FRENCH BUTCHER CELEBRATES 100 YEARS powered by Inside Food & Drink

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In France, where meat remains an all-consuming passion, centenary-celebrating butcher, Maison Lascours, continues to cut a swathe through the competition with its innovative offerings and dedication to offering only premium cuts to the restaurant trade and the ordinary consumer. 2022 sees the fourth-generation butcher take major steps to assert itself as the largest online butcher in France, with additional openings of a new warehouse, two new boucheries and a cellar dedicated to quality meat maturation. Profile by Andy Probert.

T

he year 1922 proved momentous for many reasons that still resonate today.

In Toulouse, a butcher took his knife and made his first cut in the meat trade, founding Maison Lascours in the process.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Maison Lascours has remained a fixture in the lives of many families and restaurants who consistently turn to the butcher for their prime cuts of meat.

Advancing into 2022, the family’s fourth generation now runs Maison Lascours, the largest online butcher in France, supplying country-wide. During its 100th year of operation, it is opening a €2.5 million warehouse with a maturation cellar and plans to add two new butchers to its six shops.

“Quality has been our guiding principle from day one,” confirmed Managing Director Mathieu Lascours. “Every day, we demand the best from ourselves, our breeders, suppliers and collaborators. We practice our profession with pride, passion and know-how.”

Tradition fuses with modernity Having taken on the company in 2009, Mr Lascours quickly established the butchery in the virtual marketplace, offering premium meats, such as beef, veal, lamb, pig, poultry and duck, through an online store www.maison-lascours.fr.

Under the dynamism of Mathieu, the butcher offers its services to renowned restaurateurs, including En Marge (1* Michelin), Les Jardins de l’Opéra (1* Michelin), Sarran (2* Michelin), Castet (1* Michelin), asserting Maison Lascours as the primary contact for their choice of exceptional meats.

“Since we stepped into e-commerce, we have grown and grown our supply lines throughout France, as well as our butcher’s shops,” he said. The company delivers its online orders via specialist, third-party express transporter, Chronofresh.

Maison Lascours has established boucheries around the Toulouse region – in Lherm, the original location of the

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MAISON LASCOURS

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first family shop in 1922, and in LacroixFalgarde, Central Toulouse, Carcassonne, Tournefeuille and Escalquens.

“When I began, we had just two stores.

But we have expanded due to increasing orders and the new B2B and retail clients that we have won during the pandemic,” he said.

While the butcher continues to thrive with 21st-century advances, there is still a strong sense of tradition that resonates back to the days of Mr Lascours’ great grandfather, Paul, when it comes to the selection of free-range beef and calves.

This unique and invaluable know-how comes from a long apprenticeship and to provide customers with the best possible quality of meats. Remarkably, it’s why for 45 years, the family has trusted the same fattening breeder located in Tarn.

Twice a month, the Lascours family goes on-site to select the animals ready for slaughter. But livestock selection does not stop at simple techniques. It is also necessary to have a keen sense of curiosity and interpersonal skills. Indeed the relationship between a breeder and a butcher is historically close.

“Mutual trust is essential, but food compliance, specifications, hygiene, the state of the meadows and transport of animals are all essential parameters that help to maintain meat quality,” he added.

The company continues to create partnerships with farmers in the region and obtains its meat via a slaughterhouse as per national laws.

“We normally utilise beef from three farmers, one of whom we have used since 1950 and whose family are now third-generation. For the Lascours family, it is always essential to maintain close contacts with our farming sources,” he added.

“We strive to continue this tradition to provide the best possible quality. We instil in our butchers to respect the animal, which is the very fruit of our lives, loves and passion. We cut these quality meats with those same ingredients to ensure an exceptional product. Our focus, our objective, is to give meat back its nobility,” emphasised Mr Lascours, who disclosed the company processes up to 8 tonnes per week.

Meat maturation Maison Lascours has been a specialist in meat ageing since its creation. In addition to maturing the meat in beef carcasses for at least 15 days before serving, the finest prime ribs and sirloins are refined in a unique maturing cellar. These beef ribs and sirloins are generally Aubrac, Charolais, Angus, Galicia, Wagyu, Black Angus and Simmental.

“We keep the settings of our cellar secret but strictly control all the parameters: temperature, humidity, airspeed, and even light,” Mr Lascours disclosed.

Since the Middle Ages, meat maturation has enabled better flavour.

“Over time, that tradition of cured meat has been lost, as the focus has shifted to 4

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the tenderness and the lean aspect of the meat,” he reflected.

Refining meat or its maturation is a completely natural process. It consists of resting pieces of beef (preferably with bone, rib of beef and sirloin) in optimal conditions. The maturation time of Maison Lascours’ meats – rib and sirloin of beef – is between six to eight weeks.

With the lengthening of the maturation, the meat loses water by evaporation which concentrates the flavours and gives an incomparable taste after cooking.

“Maturation is still today an artisanal know-how that each butcher works in his own way, depending on the breed and the desired degree of tenderness,” confirmed Mr Lascours.

Advancement in centenary year The butcher business has grown by 30% every year for the last five years, and has been the foundation for further expansion.

“2022 is our 100th year of operation, and we believe it will be a major milestone in our history for various reasons,” Mr Lascours proudly remarked.

The website, which accounts for 20% of sales and is growing every year, will be expanded further to cater to more clients across France in the business and retail trade,

as it is principally centred in the Toulouse region. The company has invested €2.5 million in a new 2,000 sqm warehouse, which opened in January 2022.

“This warehouse will help us bring more product to new markets across France, (such as restauranteurs) enhance, our website offerings for the classic boucherie, and aid production of our sausages. The facility will be central to all our business operations.”

Within the warehouse, the business has created a state-of-the-art retaining cellar that aids in the maturation of meats provided to their most prestigious clients.

“It is one of only five in France,” he added.

The company will also highlight and offer specialities across its website to mark its centenary throughout the year. “Maison Lascours is excited to continue working with existing clients and further integrate our quality meat into their operations,” acknowledged the highly skilled butcher.

Maison Lascours is also planning to open two new shops in the South of France, including one in Agen, which lies 80 miles southeast of Bordeaux, by mid-2022. In addition, steps are also being taken to improve the company’s existing shops.”

Mr Lascours said the company had adapted its business activity following

the closure of restaurants due to pandemic restrictions and had been able to maintain sales via its e-commerce space.

“The main challenge remains to deliver fast to clients, at an affordable price.

The online business established itself during Covid-19, and we want to continue to grow that further by seizing new opportunities.”

The company also plans to become more sustainable due to growing pressure on the industry to cuts its carbon footprint. “We are looking at everything, and that includes reducing our use of plastic and changing our packaging materials.”

“We have a lot of meat product options in our catalogue. For beef, we have 15 selections, so it makes a big difference compared to our competitors. Our website is packed with variety. We pride ourselves on charging Toulouse prices, not Parisian prices, and provide traceability on all our products.”

Mr Lascours concluded: “As a business with strong family heritage, Maison Lascours looks to make a real difference in its chosen markets. Fresh, quality and price are key to retaining clients. We hope we can look forward to another 100 years of success with innovation, new service, and the exceptional taste we are renowned for.” n

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