Le Coq Noir

The search for excellence and genuineness in the recipes we offer remains anchored in our DNA and our cuisine. For the first generation, their children were their testers. They were very methodical and when they couldn’t tell the difference between a sauce made by Dad at the company and one made by Mom at home, it was a winner! This approach remained.

We are specialized in Hurdle effect preservation technology in order to transform our noble ingredients as little as possible and to guarantee an optimal taste and nutritional value of our ingredients and therefore of our recipes.

Our recipes are made from natural ingredients, mostly fresh, carefully selected, non-ionised, GMO-free (in accordance with organic regulations), without any additives (no colouring, preservatives, texture agents or flavour enhancers, for a list of consumer ingredients without “E”), no hydrogenated fats, no palm oil, no flavouring (artificial or “natural”).

Since its creation, Le Coq Noir has placed food quality and safety at the heart of its priorities, while simultaneously focusing on environmental and societal aspects.

Given the size of our company, every employee is a key individual. Our objective is to create a supportive chain of women and men, key to guaranteeing quality at all times, at all stages of production, in accordance with our company values. We have therefore chosen to focus the quality policy on the development of a quality and food safety management system, its implementation and the continuous improvement of its effectiveness.

• Organic Agriculture certification since 2010, which guarantees natural recipes free of synthetic chemicals and GMOs, respecting the environment and biodiversity.
• ISO 22 000 certification since March 2015, which guarantees a high quality of products while being part of a continuous improvement process.
• SME+ label since 2016, which guarantees ethical and socially responsible practices.
• FSSC 22 000 certification since 2020, which guarantees food safety.

For 40 years, this positive and independent family-run business has been cultivating a passion for taste, quality and healthy products, and is committed to a CSR approach.

The company is managed in a collaborative and participative way with an organisation chart that is no longer a rake but a circle of competence with referents for each department. Employees are involved in the company’s strategy and have a stake in the company’s profit. We have a real family spirit within a friendly, efficient and supportive team of 35 people.

Employee training is very important for the company, especially in the context of business development and new production practices. The strength of a company lies in the efficiency of its people. Training our teams for today and tomorrow is essential.

Internal promotion and improving the employability of our employees is part of the company’s policy. We are committed to limiting the use of precarious work (temporary work, fixed-term contracts) by using skills from an employer grouping in which the employees are on permanent contracts.

Finally, in addition to the establishment of a CSE, social dialogue is permanent within the company and is facilitated by the close relations maintained with each employee.

For 40 years, we have been implementing eco-responsible practices:

• Our waste (paper, glass, metal, cardboard) is recycled.
• Our office paper is shredded and reused as packaging.
• As far as possible, we aim for eco-design of our packaging and products: our labels, mailings and communication materials are printed on recycled or FSC paper (paper from a sustainably managed forest).
• Our printers, all Imprim’vert certified, reduce their impact on the environment. Our products are offered in glass jars, 100% recyclable. We avoid over-packaging. Only a few squeezing plastic bottle packages remain because they have been favored by our customers so far. But this topic is under consideration within our company.
• We are committed to a system of continuous improvement to reduce our impact on the environment.
• Raising staff awareness of how to reduce our water, electricity and gas consumption.
• We monitor our energy (gas and electricity) and water consumption through indicators and aim to reduce them.

Each new product is subject to in-depth sourcing for each of its ingredients (spices, fruit and vegetables, etc.). We guarantee a constant supply of varieties, provenances, terroirs, as well as consistency of taste.

The production periods of each recipe are programmed taking into account the optimal harvest dates. The selected raw materials are picked ripe and naturally coloured. Our culinary expertise balances the natural alterations of our ingredients due to climatic variations to provide consistent tastes in our recipes.

We take our inspiration from grandmother’s tips to innovate in manufacturing and packaging: the processes created respect the products and enhance the recipes, in strict compliance with quality and food safety standards.

We cook on a human scale in two artisanal production rooms, using traditional cooking methods, with no colouring, no preservatives, no texture agents, no flavourings, in short, no additives…

Based on our knowledge of spices, their virtues and their combinations, we make our own blends, adjusted to the European taste and to our sensibility, in order to develop the unique taste identity of the range. We are always looking for new spices and new combinations. Each composition is finely tuned, like our curries, which can contain from 8 to 15 spices.

We maintain and develop a production facility that complies with food manufacturing standards (HACCP, FSSC 22000 certification, with rigorous quality, safety and traceability systems).

Allergen control is a good example of our strict procedures: we ask our suppliers for guarantees on the raw materials supplied. We plan production according to allergens: separate storage to avoid the risk of cross-contamination, thorough and specific cleaning after the use of declared allergens in our production workshop, use of dedicated equipment for handling allergens.

We have concentrated our efforts on creating direct channels of guaranteed origin, in order to offer, in accordance with our values and our commitments, organic citrus fruits, incomparable in taste, for the greatest pleasure of gastronomes.

In order to reduce our impact and control quality, we now work mainly with French products (sourcing: 50% French and 20% European), which has led us to create our direct organic channels in France for the past 10 years. It’s happy world food by Le Coq Noir! After having established a direct French channel for organic chilli pepper, we are continuing our relocation process with the creation of a direct French channel for fresh organic lemongrass.

Since 2019, after convincing a farmer to convert an entire greenhouse and a processor to cut, clean, blanch and freeze the lemongrass, we can now present you with the 1st complete chain of processed French organic lemongrass.