Bordier

Jean-Yves Bordier is the son and grandson of butter and cheese makers who once sold their produce in Paris's markets. In 1985 he took over La Maison du Beurre, a creamery inside one of the oldest buildings within Saint-Malo's walled old town, whose own butter tradition dates to 1927. Rather than adopting industrial churning, Bordier made butter the way his grandfather had, using wooden tools and a traditional churn, and became known as one of the last artisans in the region working entirely by hand, paddling and folding the butter to control its texture. Production reached roughly 240 tonnes a year, and Bordier built an export business reaching around 17 countries. By the 1990s his butter had been adopted by a number of Michelin-starred chefs, including Alain Passard, Éric Fréchon, Alain Senderens, Marc Veyrat, Yves Camdeborde and Guy Savoy, who used it on their own tables. Bordier retired in 2015, at which point the business was renamed Maison Bordier to carry forward the techniques and reputation he had built, continuing to operate from Saint-Malo and to sell butter and cheese through its shop there and internationally.