“Damien Conreux Wins French Head Cheese Championship Two Years in a Row: Holder of the Oreille d’Or 2022”

Being on top is good. Staying that way is even better, but also complicated. In Essey-lès-Nancy, Damien Conreux has nevertheless succeeded in this tour de force. For what occasion ? During the French head cheese championship which awards the Oreille d’Or to the craftsman ranked first.

The butcher had tried his luck in 2019. He had distinguished himself by obtaining the bronze medal. Something to motivate the troops.

Lise put the cover back and registered Maison Conreux for the 2022 edition. L’Oreille d’Or was going to take place in the Metropolis of Greater Nancy.

Different Jury

But the beautiful story would not end there. This year 2023 would also be memorable. And for good reason, Damien Conreux’s head cheese once again won over the jury. A jury composed in particular of three Meilleurs Ouvriers de France – a MOF butcher, a MOF cook and a MOF delicatessen caterer.

“At the start, we went there hoping to glean, all the same, a distinction. The Oreille d’Or has never been awarded two years in a row”, sums up the craftsman.

“Never has the Oreille d’Or been awarded two years in a row”

But because you always need an exception confirming the rule, it is with the title of champion of France, for his head cheese, that Damien Conreux took the way back. “The jurors were not the same as last year. At the start, we were seventy! »

Conditions giving additional relief to a title crowning its favorite product. “It’s true that head cheese is the product I like to make and shape the most. We work with the noble parts of the pig’s head such as the snout, ears and cheeks. With the first title, customers who did not eat it finally tasted… And appreciated! confirms the man who is also a member of the Académie gourmande des chaircuitiers.

Balanced, melting, a meticulously dosed jelly, an adjusted seasoning, a quality raw material and, above all, no piece of cartilage or superfluous carrots, Damien Conreux’s head cheese is right in the uses of a product that does not did not finish making followers.

Gold medal for blood sausage

But he is not the only one. Indeed, the traditional blood sausage is not left out. Last March, in Mortagne-au-Perche, in the Orne, he won the gold medal of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Goûte-Boudin.

An excellence followed by Enzo Pothion, an apprentice at Maison Conreux. “He participated in the regional selection for the Best Apprentice in France, in Épinal. Event he won! »

The doors of the national final then opened to him. A stage where he finished at the foot of the podium with a good score of 13.50. “The jury told us that it didn’t go far! »

Be that as it may, talent does not wait for years. At 20, Enzo is proof of that.