Good morning,
After the huge success of our first Artisans’ Box, we’re excited to launch the second edition this spring. With carefully sourced new ingredients to try and firm favourites from the first edition, the concept remains the same: to uncover the culinary forerunners, the shokunin and the artisans, and to package their products into a box of precious ingredients.
The second edition of the Artisans’ Box contains nine truly spectacular ingredients, many of which are difficult to come by. Inside, you’ll find:
- A tin of French sardines preserved in organic olive oil from La Compagnie Bretonne.
- 3g of the finest hand-picked saffron from Khan Saffron, is accepted by chefs and connoisseurs to be among the best in the world.
- A 250ml bottle Extra Virgin Arbequina Olive Oil from Castillo de Canena in Andalusia.
- A wooden box of 8 candied Marrons Glacés from Sabaton.
- A jar of organic mountain honey from 3 Michelin starred chef Emmanuel Renaut in Megeve, Haute-Savoie.
- A jar of Bernachon chocolate spread with 60% nuts from Piedmont, and a mix of 10 different cocoa beans.
- 3 tasting bottles of 12-25 year old balsamic vinegars from Acetaia San Giacomo in Emilia-Romagna.
- A heritage Pack of the Finest Iberico Jamon from 2014, 2015 and 2016 from Arturo Sanchez.
- A tin of exquisite 24 month aged anchovies in extra virgin olive oil from El Capricho.
While researching the finest ingredients to put into the Artisans’ Box, we’ve got to know new producers and strengthen friendships with old ones. One ingredient we’re shining a light on this month is saffron, which you can read about in our interview with Daniel Salim, founder of Khan Saffron, whose passion for the ingredient has grown into a unique business sourcing what he describes as the “world’s finest saffron.”
In light of the war in Ukraine, we will donate 20 euros from each of the first 50 boxes to World Central Kitchen, a charity currently serving thousands of fresh meals to Ukrainian families fleeing home, as well as those who remain in the country. The organisation provides relief by immediately serving chef-prepared meals to communities impacted by natural disasters and during prolonged humanitarian crises.
We hope you enjoy the boxes as much as we’ve enjoyed sourcing and bringing together their contents.
Love,
Aiste and Evelina
DISCOVER AND CELEBRATE THE MASTERPIECES OF GLOBAL CUISINE…
IN A BOX.
Luxeat’s mission – to track down the culinary forerunners, the shokunin, the artisans, and those rightly celebrated with Michelin stars – is now packaged into a box. The second edition box includes the fruits of years of research and relationships-building, a curated mix of complementary ingredients, each considered by Luxeat to be the world’s best-in-category.
Khan Saffron
Saffron is the most magnificent of all spices, worth more than its weight in gold. Like many precious ingredients though, the market is filled with counterfeits. Khan Saffron is accepted by chefs and connoisseurs to be among the best in the world, with incredibly high Safranal and Crocin content, an unusually pungent aroma, and vibrant golden color when infused.
La Compagnie Bretonne sardines
La Compagnie Bretonne deals in only the very best sardines, caught off southwestern tip of Finistère in the heartland of the French Cornish fishing ports. They’re caught during the high season between June and October when the sardines are plump and flavoursome. The fish are caught in ring nets and are prepared by hand while they are fresh very early the following morning. The ‘old-fashioned’ method of frying sardines in sunflower oil allows them to improve over time, and the olive or rapeseed oil used to cover the sardines during the canning process is organic, as is the churned butter. This limited edition vintage-style tin is decorated with an illustration from artist Stéphane Butet, which captures the essence of Breton.
Castillo de Canena Olive Oil
This exquisite extra virgin olive oil comes from the valleys of Andalusia, where ancient olive trees feed from the rich landscape and plentiful sunshine. It is made from 100% Arbequina olives, a heritage breed which are harvested exclusively in October and November. It is one of the finest products from Castillo de Canena, a historic farm dating back to 1780. The company takes its name from the family castle in the town of Canena which was built by the Arabas on the site of a Roman settlement and has been declared National Monument in 1931.The family business are constantly striving for greater sustainability, being so closely connected to the Spanish landscape themselves, and have installed solar panels and water saving techniques. As part of Luxeat’s Artisan Boxes of outstanding produce from around the world, this bottle is a kitchen staple that’ll bring everyday delight.
El Capricho Santoña Anchovies
The port of Santoña in Northern Spain has a long legacy of catching anchovies, among the finest in the Mediterranean Sea, but until recently they were almost all exported. Chevi Iglesias sought to change this, and 27 years ago he started a mission to start producing the best anchovies in the world, right here on the Cantabrian Sea. They are filleted by hand and matured slowly, allowing the taste to develop in the extra virgin olive oil. El Capricho tins contain twenty large anchovy fillets: upon tasting the umami and intense meatiness of these little fish, supermarket anchovies pale into insignificance. These Hansa Tins have been produced specially for Luxeat with a 24 month maturation period, which El Capricho don’t usually sell.
Arturo Sánchez Jamón Ibérico
Arturo Sánchez’ world renowned Iberico ham is a family business withmore than a century of history, an ode to the land and to this ancient breed of pig. Shrouded in mystery, Iberico pigs are fed off acorns and treasured throughout their lives, the slow-cured ham savoured for its rich and complex flavour. The secret to Arturo Sánchez’ success is simple, however – listening to the patterns of nature, following the same traditional methods, and refusing to cut corners or expand as so many of their competitors become more industrial.
Chocolat spread by Maison Bernachon
Founded by Maurice Bernachon in the French city of Lyon in 1952, the Bernachon family business have been making some of the world’s finest chocolates for three generations. Bernachon chocolates have an exceptional and unique taste: an original and subtle blend of 10 varieties of selected cocoa beans from Venezuela, Peru, Jamaica and Madagascar, to name a few. All the chocolates are handcrafted from natural products and made without coloring or preservatives.
Acacia honey by Emmanuel Renaut
With just 20 precious beehives, 3 Michelin Stars chef Emmanuel Renaut has spent a lot of time taking care of his buzzing residents around the 5* Flocons de Sel hotel and in the town of Megève. The flavours and fragrances of dandelion, lime, acacia and mountain flowers from spring and summer are put into pots and enjoyed spread onto crunchy toast, drizzled over yoghurt or just spooned from the jar. 2021 has been an especially good harvest, but then again it’s no surprise, given how much Emmanuel Renaut pampers his bees.
Acetaia San Giacomo Balsamico
In the heart of Emilia-Romagna, one of Italy’s greatest culinary regions, Andrea Bezzeccchi is hard at work creating small batches of what might just be the finest aceto balsamico out there. Without cutting any corners, his limited supply of vinegars are thick and syrupy not because he’s added molasses like so many competitors, but because the precious liquid has been slowly, slowly distilled for many years. Traditional Balsamic DOP is legally always sold in 100ml bottles with a protected design, but for the first time the government have approved these 10ml ampulla bottles to allow people to taste a smaller size, giving the opportunity to know this incredible product. The three 10ml ampulla bottles will be a 12 year old red label, a 20 year silver label, and a 25+ year extravecchio gold label.
Sabaton Marrons Glacés
Candied chestnuts, or marrons glacés, are one of France’s most treasured sweet treats. These artisanal marrons glacés are made by historic French confectioners Sabaton, who have been following almost the same method since the company started in 1907. The chestnuts themselves are sourced from Southern Italy, from the provinces of Avellino and Naples, where a single variety of impeccably peeled chestnuts work perfectly for the candying process. The candying process then takes place in Aubenas, a rural region in the southeast of France. The marrons glacés are produced according to a slow and traditional method, which maximises the flavour of the natural ingredients. Since 2007, Sabaton has restarted a small peeling activity of PDO chestnuts in collaboration with a local company.