A family business

The epic journey of the SAVY tripou:
A name spanning three generations of passion!

Act 1: Prologue

One does not need to be a genius to advocate the age-old well-known flavours of the tripe that had pride of place in many culinary dishes.

Often considered as a rustic dish, tripe has adorned many a dish of the literary figures such as François Rabelais, Georges Simenon, Ernest Hemingway, Marguerite Duras and others.

Yet exactly when the tripou came about still remains one of today's mysteries. We do know, however, that in 1782, just before the French Revolution, they were cooked in the boilers of the rue des Etuves in Riom, in Auvergne.

It is believed that they first when on sale around 1930 also in Auvergne.

Tripou is essentially made in the south of the Massif Central area under different names and according to different recipes: tripous, or tripoux in Rouergue and the Cantal, trénels in the south of Aveyron or in Lozère, pétites in Aubrac, manouls in Cantal, etc.

Act 2: An encounter with taste

The Charles SAVY’s tripou story starts off like a tender and nostalgic Marcel Carné film of the thirties.

1931 – Everything started: the young seventeen-year-old Hélène VIDAL started to work in the Hôtel des Voyageurs in Naucelle. This reputable establishment was run by Firmin and Marie FRAYSSE. Marie’s place was behind the stoves where she carved herself out a sound reputation as a fine cook.

Steeped in this atmosphere and fascinated by quality cooking, Hélène keenly took in all the gestures and details needed to understand the recipes and the choice of raw materials from the local area which, once cooked, gave rise to dishes of unparalleled flavours.

The tripou, an all-time favourite. This is a dish made out of the calf's stomach which is then stuffed, rolled and gently cooked for a whole night in a white wine sauce, packed with vegetables and herbs. It was the delight of hundreds of guests eagerly awaiting their tables on a Sunday morning and on market days. Those were the days when Naucelle was host to close to 1,500 calves coming from the surrounding farms to be sold.

However the tripous were still part of the family tradition and often the must-have of a Sunday morning in the big farms of Aveyron belonging to the "pagés" (and Occitan term for land owner).

It is an undeniable fact that tripous were definitely the order of the day in the local butchers, restaurant owners and auberge owners who housed the secret of how to cook them.

1932 - Charles SAVY, born and bred in Naucelle, joined the FRAYSSE family when he started at the Hôtel des Voyageurs. This jovial, larger-than-life character was to perform wonders in the little butcher’s shop next to the Hôtel.

As time went by, the beautiful Hélène and the grand Charles got acquainted and wedding bells were soon ringing.

In the mean time, the cursed war of 39-45 made him a prisoner at Dunkerque and was not repatriated for health reasons until 1941. Charles SAVY played his part in the resistance by harbouring a head of the network, Jean-Pierre MONTEIL. He subsequently when on to help his friend and colleague, Antoin PECH in the Villelongue maquis (scrub land).

1950 – Backed by their experience and entrepreneurial spirit, Charles and Hélène decided to buy the butcher’s business from the Hôtel.

They set up slightly further out in the Barry Haut district in the SAVY's family home at Naucelle. It was in this more modern butcher's shop that the tripous were to gain their benchmark status.

The business was an out-and-out success and customers flocked to their doors every Saturday night with their "toupine" ("topina" in Occitan): (clay cooking recipient) that would be picked up the following day filled with delicious tripous.

Charles SAVY was to start off a highly popular trend in a warm and friendly atmosphere. With ever a song on his lips and a fresh joke to share, he enchanted the customers.

Act 3: Excellence acknowledged

1966 - The 8th Fair of the Rouergat area was launched. This was an economic event lasting nearly 10 days and attracting thousands of visitors.

It was home to the "1st national best tripou tournament" under the auspices of the brotherhood of the Normandy gastronomy, "La Tripière d’Or".

Charles and Hélène presented their famous tripous there and came away with the "1er Grand Prix National" (first prize).

Vincent BOURREL, Procureur Général de la Cour des Comptes, from Gramond (close to Naucelle), grand gastronome, on awarding the prizes said: “As a gastronome, I'm telling you this tripou is worthy of this great prize. You may have noticed its tenderness and how it was seasoned.  It was finely flavoured, but not fatty! Our regional cuisine is one of the finest achievements of our Country and our Gastronomy".

1972 – This great acknowledgement was to stir much enthusiasm amongst the SAVYs and given the growing demand, spurred Charles and his son Léo to step things up. Together, they were to create a 1,000 m² workshop devoted to the production and marketing of tripous. Baptised "La Naucelloise" to stay true to its roots, the company set up shop at the entry to the village in order to develop the production of  "SAVY" tripous.

The brand was to make its name into the different retail networks and onto the fine food shelves of prestige stores.

This was also the time when his friend Paul COSTY, then Mayor of Naucelle was to invent the concept of farm camping. The craze for these unusual holidays and regional products helped put the business on the map. It was with Paul that he shared the same passion for popular theatre with the famous “Les Campaniers due Soir” troupe.

1988 – Manpower of over 30 employees worked on a daily basis in the "La Naucelloise" workshops. With the ever-popular demand, the new health and safety standards and the must-have European approvals, they entered into another dimension.

A new 2,000 m² building was built alongside the RN88 road to house the production workshops, administrative offices and a factory outlet store. "La Naucelloise" was gearing itself up for the future.

Charles SAVY would have been delighted to see this new facility taking shape and mighty proud of the wonderful journey he had achieved.

However, in December 1988, Charleys SAVY passed away. Léo continued to fly the flag by taking over the chair of the company and Hélène took care of production monitoring for a few more years.

When "La Naucelloise" was selected for an international assignment, Léo set off for Japan to present the tripous to the Land of the Rising Sun.

Living Heritage
Company

The Living Heritage Company label obtained on 27th December 2012 by La Naucelloise vouches for our commitment to the values upon which the company is founded and the pioneering spirit that has always being its driving force.

This label also stands for the bond we have with our local region, Naucelle and Aveyron in particular. It highlights the expertise of the men and women who have dedicated themselves for decades to the business.

A Living Heritage Company is a true company culture, loyal to its history and resolutely forward looking.

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