Un coing de Paris - Jam

After more than 8 years studying molecular biology in Greece, his native country, and a few years working in France, Kostas Paolas decided to retrain. It was during a sabbatical year, between his childhood memories and his strolls through the streets of Paris, that the idea was born to create Un Coing de Paris, a company offering products made from fruit harvested in Parisian gardens, then cooked and sold at markets.

"Quince is a somewhat forgotten fruit, few people know about it and its potential".

Currently a biology teacher for BTS classes, he dreams of making a living from his activity. Every year, he increases his production so as to be able to sell his products all year round. He harvests up to 80 kilos of quinces from Parisian gardens and designs each product at home before selling them on markets.

Deeply affected by food waste and the fruit abandoned on the streets of Paris, Kostas has developed a recipe that valorizes every part of the fruit, from the skin to the seeds, to create textured, sweet jams and jellies. Through this committed approach, he aims to raise public awareness of the importance of combating all forms of waste. Convinced that transmission is essential, he also organizes awareness-raising programs in schools, to help people discover often-forgotten fruit trees and restore quince, among others, to its rightful place in our diet.

"There's a lot of talk about food waste, short circuits and how to strengthen the local economy: for me, it was an obvious, useful and fair project, and nobody thought of it".

Since 2022, its products have been awarded the Fabriqué à Paris label every year. On several occasions, they have been awarded the Prix Coup de Cœur by Parisians. The label gives her the opportunity to continue consolidating, developing and promoting her project by taking part in more events (Christmas market, Foire de Paris...).

"As I don't have a physical store, this is a real springboard for promoting local crafts and confirms the usefulness of my project".

Kostas Poalas dreams of a scheme equivalent to shared gardens, but for fruit trees to reduce food waste. Above all, he wants to encourage Parisians to harvest and design their own produce.

Practical information:

Paris La Boutique

29 rue de Rivoli, Paris 4th arrondissement

Tuesday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.