At Rungis, Behind the Scenes in the Transgourmet Seafood Cutting Facility

1. On deck, day and night
On deck, day and night. It is 7 a.m. On site since 11 p.m., the 19 members of the night team hand over to their 11 colleagues from the day shift. There are fewer staff during the day because most of the products are received and processed at night to be delivered early in the morning, in Paris and all over France. Open every day of the year since January 1, 2013, the 2,000 m² Transgourmet Seafood workshop is the most recent of its kind at the Rungis market.

2. Strict equipment protocol for impeccable hygiene. Before entering the workshop, everyone must put on a gown, rinse their boots, and wear a hairnet (blue for staff, red for visitors). The workshop regularly and gladly welcomes guests. All clients are welcome; they just need to make a request. Some visitors are even prestigious, like multi-starred chef Alain Ducasse, who came by a few weeks earlier with nine chefs from his group’s fine dining restaurants.

3. More than a hundred marine species delivered every day. Upon arrival at the workshop, all products are labeled and numbered to ensure traceability. Fresh fish, smoked fish, shellfish, crustaceans, cured products — there’s something for every taste. Lobsters are kept in their tank, while wild and farmed fish (salmon, sea bass, sea bream, turbot, monkfish tail, mackerel, cod, meagre, John Dory, sole…) are stored before being delivered whole or cut, according to the client’s request.

4. Made-to-measure fish preparation. A true marine craftsmanship hub, the processing area brings together all the expertise: scaling, skinning, filleting, deboning, slicing. This is where things get serious. Movements are quick, precise, and perfectly controlled. Each filleter has their preferences, but salmon remains the most requested fish by clients. Watson (pictured bottom left) fillets about a ton of salmon per day.

5. Delivering to the customer no matter what. Any order placed before 11 a.m. is delivered in under 24 hours, anywhere in France — even in extreme circumstances. In 2022, when major roads were blocked by snow, light vehicles were urgently deployed to deliver to 110 restaurants across the country.

Alexandre Leplomb
Le capitaine de la marée au sang-froid à toute épreuve

This man, as imposing as he is charismatic, is the head of production at Transgourmet Seafood. With 27 years of experience under his belt, Alexandre knows the place like the back of his hand. No need to raise his voice — experience speaks for itself. His authority stems from a deep mastery of the trade. Affectionately nicknamed "le grand chef" by his team and simply "Alex" by his colleagues in procurement, he always seems to have a word for everyone. Friendly and playful, he’s happy to joke around with his team during a photo shoot. The atmosphere in the workshop is upbeat, but trust never replaces control. Alexandre is present both day and night. His workdays start at 1 a.m. and don’t end until late morning. On all fronts, he oversees the entire production chain, supported by his deputies "without whom it would be impossible to keep everything running smoothly." He leads a thirty-man team — for now, with no women on the floor. "We’ve had female colleagues before and would be happy to welcome more again." Message received.

This son and grandson of fishermen grew up surrounded by fish. On the plate, however, it’s not quite his cup of tea. He admits to occasionally eating sole, shrimp, or lobster — “but only at restaurants because I don’t know how to cook them” — and prefers seeing and handling the product rather than tasting it. And he’s seen all kinds of products since the beginning of his career. He recalls once, during a demonstration for a client, having to cut up a swordfish weighing more than 220 kg. “It alone took up the space of three pallets. We had to lay them flat on the ground because it was impossible to lift the beast.”
A sea giant, well within his reach.