The Controversial Hams That Helped a French Cathedral Save Its Organ
In Saint-Flour, a town in the Auvergne region of central France, the highest cathedral in Europe perches at 892 meters (nearly 3,000 feet) above sea level. Saint-Pierre sits at the confluence of the dry winds blowing across the surrounding plateaus, making it, surprisingly, the ideal place to age local hams to perfection.
This church-aged charcuterie was the brainchild of Philippe Boyer, who became rector of Saint-Pierre in 2011. Soon thereafter, he encountered his first challenge: The 600-year-old cathedral was in need of some TLC, specifically for its 19th-century choir organ. Repairs would cost several thousand euros, money no one had: not the diocese, and certainly not the French state, despite technically owning 87 of the country’s cathedrals, including Saint-Pierre.
Boyer was undeterred. “I said to myself, ‘Why not make a product in the spirit of the great medieval abbeys, who made their own food, which they sold to survive, to live?’” he says. “In this case, it’s not for us to live, but to give new life to heritage.”
