OUR
HISTORY
THE LEGEND
OF BAYONNE HAM
According to legend, an extraordinary chain of events is at the origin of Bayonne ham. One day during a hunt, Gaston Fébus, Count of Foix, wounded a wild boar that fled and was discovered by hunters a few months later, fallen into a spring of saltwater in Salies-de-Béarn. The animal was perfectly preserved! Thus, salting in the Adour Basin is said to have been born…
THE ORIGIN OF
THE NAME "BAYONNE HAM"
Bayonne ham was not born in Bayonne but in the surrounding countryside of the Adour Basin. The first hams bore the names of local denominations: ham from Orthez, Lahontan, Garris, etc. However, the famous Basque city, with its intense port activity, facilitated the exportation and promotion of ham from the 15th century onwards, hence the name “Bayonne Ham.”
BAYONNE HAM, A CHERISHED DISH ON ROYAL TABLES
In their time, Jeanne d’Albret and her son Henri IV favored Bayonne ham at their tables, just like Louis XIV, who served it on the occasion of his marriage in Saint-Jean-de-Luz. Not bad for first ambassadors, right?
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