In the gastronomic restaurant of the Château de Maubreuil, short circuits are honored. Favouring fresh products that respect the seasons, having a benevolent look at nature and others, these are the key ingredients of the creative, refined and sincere cuisine offered by our starred chefs. Much more than a meal, it is a philosophy that you are invited to share around our table. From this bias was born a meeting: that of the Château and the association Psy'Activ, which works for the social and professional integration of people suffering from psychological disorders.  

The wonderful thing about cooking is that it is above all a story of women and men. For several months now, in its desire to promote a locavore approach and to support neighboring producers to complement its own permacultural culture, the Château de Maubreuil has been using Psy'Activ to supply its restaurant. Much more than a supplier of local certified organic fruits and vegetables, the association has been running a care center for nearly 50 years that helps people with mental disabilities regain greater autonomy.

Open to the public, the Centre des Briords, also located in Carquefou near Nantes, includes a market garden and horticultural area, a store where the harvested products are sold, a kitchen and a restaurant. These activities, grouped into adapted workshops offering a framework close to that of work, are offered to patients in psychiatric post-cure housed within the center as well as to patients from outside. "With the support of the medical teams that accompany them, we work with them on punctuality, rhythm, work posture, community life, in short, everything that can help them get closer to a job situation," explains Séverine Cousineau, instructor of the market gardening workshop.

"We have always been committed to working with local actors. When the Château de Maubreuil opened its doors, the prospect of working with a gourmet restaurant and a 5-star hotel seemed like a great way to showcase the work of our patients and to offer them a concrete - and quite exceptional - illustration of the end result of their work," explains Marc Sécher, workshop coordinator. Every week, we offer the restaurant a selection of products based on our harvests. It is a real pleasure, at each delivery, to see in the eyes of the patients the wonder and pride of seeing the fruit of their work in the hands of star chefs," concludes Séverine Cousineau.