Originally an ice cream counter, the business was transformed and relaunched with the help of artisan Bruno Lai, for distribution in 500ml tubs in February 2013.
While the recipes have not changed, the production has been a real challenge in order to preserve the artisan's working methods: non-standardised raw milk and raw cream, prices not negotiated with farmers, flavours prepared in the workshop, ingredients with no or minimal processing outside our workshops, no food powders, no flavourings, and so on.
And all of it 100% organic.
So, does Sikou remain an artisan product, despite its distribution in neighbourhood shops, for the widest audience?
Sikou was officially recognised as an artisan by the Commission des artisans following the entry into force of the law of 19 March 2014.
That said, everyone has their own idea of what craftsmanship means: A trade based on ancestral know-how, on the use of a certain type of equipment, or primarily on the human hand? On the idea of rigour and quality? On the use of noble raw materials, processed according to the rules of the craft? Is artisanship reserved for preparations made on the sales premises, or for small-scale, neighbourhood production?
This idea of small-scale production has always been the opposite of our initial intention: to make ice cream done properly, in the tradition of a good artisan, accessible to as many people as possible, in a market deemed disappointing in terms of quality.
You know enough about our philosophy and our ingredients to form your own opinion, so as we like to say to our consumers: You be the judge — for us, these are just parochial disputes.