Jean-François Bizalion holding a $5 BerkShare
By Katy Sparks
A lively conversation with Bizalion’s Fine Food co-owner Jean François Bizalion that explores the unexpected connections between Provence and the Berkshires, the merits of Volcanic grown olive oil, the importance of gaining fresh inspiration through travel and of valuing your community.
KS: Jean-François, you said that you just got back from Copenhagen- was that a food buying trip?
JFB: Technically not, but I would say it was very inspiring. It seems like a super society where they have perfected harmony and social exchange. And everyone is on a bicycle! There are very few cars- it’s almost a utopia.
KS: And here we are in a wonderful part of the world ourselves- the Berkshires. Tell us a little about how you came to open your business here and how it has been going?
JFB: In the late 1980’s, my wife Helen and I bought an old farm in Hampshire County. It was an 1850’s farmhouse with a barn and 100 acres of pasture and woods. We also lived in Brooklyn with our 2 young kids and eventually getting to the farm from there and back got a little draining on the family. When we bought the property, my idea was to create some kind of business that linked the country and the city. I was even thinking of opening a general store in Williamsburg, but the commercial properties there were unaffordable. Then I got a call from a friend who told us to explore the town of Great Barrington.
KS: Were you in the food business in NYC at that time?
JFB: No, I was working at Nautica as a fashion director where I met my wife, Helen. When we both left the company, we knew we wanted to open our own business. I wanted a restaurant and Helen said, “no way!”
KS: She sounds like a wise woman.
JFB: So eventually we found this location we’re now in. This building is not quite the style I was looking for and we’re sandwiched between the graveyard and the Mobile station. But we took it, and it has turned out to be a really great location. My father, a French businessman, came up to see it and proclaimed, “parking means business” and his counter-formula, “no parking, no business”. And so, we built it up from nothing and I’m now happy with the business.
KS: Great Barrington is a crowded landscape for food businesses. What is your niche?
JFB: First, we’re a small shop and we try to get products on our shelves that are for the most part from France and that are also a little different from what the bigger stores stock. When you walk into our store you get this feeling that it’s both a shop and a café— it combines the two. So, you can buy a baguette, get a sandwich, a glass of wine or a coffee, some charcuterie. You can enjoy it here or we will wrap it all up and you can have a picnic— that’s sort of the idea. And we started bringing in olive oil. I think we were the first in this area to introduce olive oil in these big bulk kegs and not just in bottles. The idea is that you bring your bottle back and keep refilling it as you need.
KS: You do have a lot of countries of origin and varietals here- please tell us more about your focus on olive oil.
JFB: I was lucky to be born and raised in Provence, so I have a very strong affinity with olive oil. My father had a small olive orchard, and we were very involved in maintaining, pruning and harvesting the crop. Once we harvested the olives, we would bring them to a local cooperative mill in Arles where we were members of that co-op. And those experiences of going to the community owned oil mill keeps me close to where I come from. And over the years we have seen similarities in this approach in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece so that’s why we source from all those countries. For years, we’ve been buying from a Sicilian producer growing olives on the very fertile volcanic soil of Mt. Etna.
KS: And what kind of flavor profiles does the olive oil express when the trees grow in volcanic soil?
JFB: I would only be joking when I say it tastes a little smoky! Actually, the rich soil of the volcano produces a very high yield of fruit and so the flavor is mild and fruity and a little citrusy.
KS: Did you start taking BerkShares right from the beginning when you opened your food shop?
JFB: We were among the first businesses to be involved in the program. Alice Maggio who worked at the Schumacher Center (and later became a director of BerkShares) had worked with us before that, and she was our introduction to this local currency. We have always supported the philosophy of BerkShares in fostering a local economy. We have a great team here and our own kids work here when they’re not in school. I miss this place when we travel.
