A shallow bowl of large, glossy green malossol cornichons in pale brine with dill fronds, a split garlic clove and a bay leaf, on a worn oak board beside a few small extra-fine cornichons

Maison Marc: Three Generations of Burgundy Cornichons

September 28, 2026

Maison Marc, a family house in Chemilly-sur-Yonne, in the Yonne department of Burgundy, grows its own cornichons, picks them by hand and jars them on the spot. It works in a market where, as France 24 reported in 2017, about 80 percent of the 60 million jars of cornichons sold in France each year contained cornichons from India, with about 20 percent from eastern Europe. Its malossol, the largest cornichon the house makes, comes in a brine with dill, garlic and bay. For the vegetable itself, start with the guide to what a cornichon is, and for the work in the field, the guide to how cornichons are grown and picked.

Who they are

Maison Marc's own history begins with Marc Jeannequin, who by the house's account was born in Chemilly-sur-Yonne in 1923 and grew his first cornichons in the 1950s. France 3 describes the start as a family patch grown for the household. The local tourist office says the small operation supplied a nearby cannery. His son Florent took over in 1975, by the house's account, and raised the volumes, selling to the industrial canneries. In a 2017 profile by the journalist Florence Campenon, the family said they had supplied the Amora-Maille cannery at Appoigny for a long time, and that the cannery closed, undercut by Asian production.

The sources date that closure differently. The Bourgogne-Franche-Comté regional council gives 2004 and France 3 gives 2009. The council adds that 35 cornichon growers were still working when the factory shut, and that one family carries on today. According to the house, when the industrial groups moved their sourcing to India in the early 2000s, Florent became the last cornichon producer in France. In 2017, France 24 reported that five French farmers had signed up to grow cornichons for the packer Reitzel. France 3's 2023 report calls the Jeannequins the last cornichon producers in Burgundy.

Henri Jeannequin, the third generation, took over in 2012, founded the Maison Marc name and built a cannery in the village. His reason, as the house quotes him: made in France was in fashion, and the 100 percent French cornichon had disappeared completely, so he decided to relaunch production. The regional council reports an investment of one million euros in a first cannery, then three million more in a second in 2019.

The field

Campenon's 2017 profile gives the calendar. The cornichons are sown between 15 and 20 May and picking starts about 60 days later. Picking then runs for about another 60 days and ends around 10 September. That year the family farmed 15 hectares of cornichons, harvested 50 tonnes and hired about forty seasonal pickers. Fifty tonnes from 15 hectares works out to about 3.3 tonnes a hectare.

The house and its online distributor, Les Producteurs de Caractère, describe the method. The cornichons are grown in the open field under what the house calls agriculture raisonnée, without herbicides or pesticides. They are picked by hand, sorted by hand, graded by size and put into brine. The house's cornichon page sums up the timing: aussitôt récoltés, aussitôt mis en bocaux, jarred as soon as they are picked. The tourist office confirms that planting, picking, grading, cleaning and jarring all happen on site in Chemilly.

How the house has grown

No single source gives the whole picture. Assembled by date, the published figures show growth on every measure since 2017.

Measure	Earlier figure	Later figure	Change
Land in cornichons	15 hectares, Campenon, 2017	20 hectares, house site, undated (read 2026)	About a third more
Jars a year	200,000 jars of 250 g plus 1,000 buckets of 3 kg, Campenon, 2017	350,000 jars, regional council, 2022	About 75 percent more jars
Seasonal pickers	About 40, Campenon, 2017	About 50, alongside 15 permanent staff, regional council, 2022	About a quarter more
Points of sale in France	More than 400, Campenon, 2017	More than 2,000, ICI, 2022	About five times
Export countries	More than 15, ICI, May 2022	About thirty, France 3, November 2023	Up to about double, per two different outlets

The range, read jar by jar

Maison Marc publishes an ingredient list for each of the ten cornichons in its range. Eight of them fall into three recipe families; the other two are a basil jar with coriander seed, and a jar in white balsamic vinegar made from Chardonnay vinegar and grape must.

Jar	Acid	Seasoning
Extra-fins; Fins	Vinegar, water, salt, sugar	Mustard seed, peppercorns, tarragon
Aigre-doux	Vinegar, water, salt, sugar	Mustard seed, chile, dill
Malossol	Vinegar, water, salt, sugar	Mustard seed, dill, garlic, bay leaf
Au vinaigre de Chardonnay; au vinaigre de Champagne-Ardenne; Recette Originale de l'Élysée	White wine vinegar, water	Mustard seed, peppercorns, tarragon
Recette Exclusive de l'Élysée	Cider vinegar, white vinegar, salt	Tarragon, mustard seed, maceron, pepper

The tarragon jars are in the French style Henri Jeannequin described to France 3: a small, sharp, vinegared cornichon eaten beside pâté. The wine-vinegar jars keep the same herbs and change the acid, and they list neither salt nor sugar. Les Producteurs de Caractère lists the range from extra-fin and fin up to malossol, the largest. The cornichons and pickles guide explains the calibre numbers behind words like these.

The house says it uses no additives of any kind. None of the eight in the table lists a firming agent, a color, a flavoring or an added preservative. The white-balsamic jar declares sulfites, which come with its Chardonnay vinegar.

The malossol

Henri Jeannequin told France 3 how his two markets differ. In France, cornichons are eaten sharp with vinegar beside pâté or raclette. Buyers abroad prefer a larger, less vinegary cornichon they can eat every day as a condiment. The malossol fits the second description: it is the largest calibre in the range, and Campenon's 2017 profile calls it lightly vinegared and sweetened. The shop's product page describes these cornichons as sweeter than the house's small ones, seasoned with dill, garlic and bay.

A cornichon this size works as a vegetable as well as a garnish. Slice it lengthwise onto buttered rye, or chop it into a tartare sauce. It sits well on a board with the cured meats in our jamón ibérico guide, and beside the tinned fish in the Brittany sardines guide. Maison Marc also makes mustards and vinegars, and the Dijon mustard guide covers the neighboring tradition. The storage section of the cornichons and pickles guide covers how long an opened jar keeps.

The Élysée and the chefs

According to the regional council, Maison Marc cornichons have reached the kitchens of the Élysée Palace. ICI and the tourist office both say they are served at its table, and two recipes in the range carry the Élysée name. The council also names chefs who serve them, including Yves Camdeborde, Cyril Lignac, Anne-Sophie Pic and Thierry Marx. The tourist office says they are sold in certain fine grocers and cheese shops, and at the tourist office itself. Campenon's 2017 profile adds 3-kilogram buckets for restaurants. In 2023 France 3 reported that the house was branching into vegetable veloutés and spreads, and both now appear on its site next to the cornichons.

The large jar in the dill style is the Maison Marc malossol (shop Maison Marc malossol cornichons). For the small French jar in the tarragon style, Edmond Fallot extra-fine cornichons (shop Edmond Fallot extra-fine cornichons) carry the name of the family-owned Burgundy mustard mill that also makes Fallot Dijon mustard (shop Fallot Dijon mustard). The shop is at 263 Josephine Street in Cherry Creek, Denver.