Farmers Market Finds: Local Pâtés and Spreads by Daguzan Charcuterie

Photo: Thomas Obungen

What: Locally sourced charcuterie, terrines and liver spreads
How much: $16 to $17
What market: Kailua Farm Lovers Markets
Vendor schedule: Sundays 8 a.m – noon
Instagram: @daguzan_charcuterie

After a week spent losing myself in the open markets that dot the villages of the central Loire Valley, there’s only one thing you should call me: spoiled rotten. My bag filled with white asparagus, mâche and clochard apples, local pork saucisson, unpasteurized cheeses and other hyperlocal ingredients from the region. It was a feverish dream I never wanted to wake up from.

Photo: Thomas Obungen

Back home, my discovery of Pierre Daguzan’s farmers market stall gave me hope that I just might survive until I can return to Europe. Daguzan makes pâté from local chicken, pork and venison under the namesake charcuterie label he started with his wife, O‘ahu native Courtney Ke‘alaohalaomapuana Daguzan.

A former video production and marketing specialist, and perhaps more famously a mixed-martial arts fighter, Daguzan brings his family’s affinity to cuisine from the Gascony region of France. It’s where his father authored a book of family recipes and told the story of Gers, a city in an area now known as Occitania, which borders Spain. Coming from a family that loved food, Daguzan wanted to recreate that appreciation in Hawai‘i.

Photo: Thomas Obungen

On a recent Sunday morning at the Kailua Farm Lovers Market, he sets out baguette slices so passersby can sample the pâtés and mousses he has chilling on ice. I pick up a slab of pork pâté (terrine) and a jar of chicken liver mousse from the ice bath, the beginnings of an epic afternoon snack. On my way home I nab a baguette and bottle of wine. Other accoutrements are waiting in the fridge.

Photo: Thomas Obungen

The Moa chicken liver mousse ($16) is a French aperitif snack staple. Daguzan whips the mousse into a fine paste that glides like melted butter across a warm baguette. It’s savory and creamy with a subtle tang from the yogurt he adds and spice notes from the cognac. Serve it with cornichons or a sweet confiture (jam) to complete the bite.

Photo: Thomas Obungen

So far, the Pua‘a pâté ($16) made with Mountain View Farms pork is my favorite. It reminds me of the self-serve country terrine during one of my meals in Saumur. Daguzan’s rustic pâté is full-flavored with a mixture of pork shoulder, pork belly, lard and spices; it’s the ideal topper for crusty bread with a dab of whole grain mustard. I would even make this into a sandwich with cornichons and butter or a slice of cheese.

SEE ALSO: The Local General Store Brings Meats and Sweets Under One Roof

Daguzan Charcuterie also makes Moloka‘i venison Pūpalō pâté ($16) and rillettes ($17) in small batches. The gamey options are unique to his lineup. The website has a tab for sausage and salami, but he has not released those yet.

The company was in the most recent cohort of the ‘Āina to Mākeke: Cottage Industry to Commercial Enterprise business incubator at the Wahiawā Value Added Product Development Center and just joined Mana Up’s tenth cohort. Offerings at Daguzan Charcuterie already speak for themselves. Skills and contacts gained from programs like these should position it to fulfill even more of its meaty potential.

Thomas Obungen is the special projects editor for HONOLULU Magazine.