Our approach

What this site is

Bonjour Terroir catalogues the traditional food products of France's regions and the artisans who make them. One entry per product: its history, its terroir, how it is made, its official quality marks, and the producers where you can find it.

The scope is deliberately narrow: food, plus regional ciders, which are inseparable from the Norman and Breton terroirs. No spirits, no beer, no non-food crafts.

Where the facts come from

This is the least visible part of the site, and the one that demands the most time.

The facts that make up an entry — the date a PDO (AOP) was granted, a geographical area, a requirement in the specifications — are not copied from one website to another. Each is linked to an identified, consulted and dated source, kept in a register. The list at the foot of each entry references these documents, from which the text above is drawn.

Any statement that cannot be substantiated is removed. The register also keeps track of sources that have disappeared.

The role of artificial intelligence

These entries are written with the help of artificial intelligence tools. That is what makes an atlas of this size possible for a single person.

The idea is not to take their word for it. A language model produces plausibility, and plausibility is hard to spot: it is well written, it holds together, and yet it is sometimes false. This is why facts concerning an appellation or a producer are backed by a consulted and dated source, rather than what the model suggests.

Official quality marks come from the INAO register, the existence of businesses from INSEE's Sirene register, and the rest from sources named at the foot of each entry. The entries undergo a series of automated checks before being published online, and a portion is reviewed by hand. This does not preclude every error: the form at the bottom of this page is there to report them.

The illustrations are generated images. They are atmospheric images, not photographs of an actual workshop, producer or real product; each carries a note to that effect.

The publication director, named in the legal notice, is responsible for what is published here.

Verifying producers

Before being added to the database, a producer is cross-referenced with INSEE's Sirene register — is the business registered, is it still active, in the right département? — and with its public establishment record for its address and contact details.

An establishment whose closure is confirmed is removed from the site. It is not erased entirely, however: the decision and the reason for it remain accessible.

What this site is not

This is neither a buying guide nor a ranking. No entry is paid for, no producer has paid anything to be included, and there is no paid promotion. Should this ever change, it would be stated here.

Nor is it an exhaustive database. It is growing, it has gaps, and some entries are more complete than others.

Getting listed, correcting an error

Do you make a terroir product, or have you spotted an error in an entry — a changed address, an establishment that has closed, an inaccurate fact? The form below goes directly to the person running the site.

A producer entry is unpublished upon request by the party concerned, without having to provide any justification.