Mickaël Mariaud, Compagnon of the Compagnons du Devoir and the Tour de France, lays down his tools in Murlin to fulfill his duty

16 April 2021

Compagnon cooper

Originally from Corrèze, Mickaël was initially destined for the profession of cabinetmaker.With a Bac STI in Applied Arts in hand, he went, on the advice of a friend, to the Compagnons du Devoir et du Tour de France with the idea of following practical training linked to wood.But he quickly understood that opportunities were limited in cabinetmaking, and he was then offered to follow the cooper training.

He likes the trade. The connection to the raw material, wood, is there.He therefore embarks on this path, for which nothing seemed at first to predestine him. No family connection to the wine world or to cooperage…
Mickaël even confides on this subject that, at the time, he wasn’t even aware of the existence of the cooper trade. And yet…

During his training, during which Mickaël was adopted as an aspirant, before being received as an itinerant compagnon, the young student-worker carried out his stages of the Tour de France, which lasted five years, in several cooperages, some of which belong to the Charlois group. He finished his training in Chile at Nadalié, where he worked in particular on a cooperage workshop project for a Panamanian rum distillery.

To transmit

When he returned to France in 2020, he took on the role of trainer at the CFA of Beauneand split his time between training apprentices at the training center and the coopers at the La Grange cooperage manufacture, where he stayed until the end of the 2021/2022 school year.

Transmission, inherent to the compagnonnage, is at the heart of his priorities. To pass on in turn what he received from his elders is now essential for Mickaël: « “I really appreciate stimulating young people, helping them push their limits and surpass themselves.And then, they are always happy, despite the difficulties, to see the final result of their work.”»

For him, training must rhyme with personalized support: « “Training must be adapted to each person. You cannot approach anyone in the same way because no one progresses or evolves in the same way”. » With a basic principle: to introduce those he trains and supports to the various techniques and working methods of the cooper. With all the tools in hand, each person can then adopt the techniques that suit them best and thus create their own working method based on a common foundation of know-how.

And to emphasize that, as in stave-making, reading the wood is essential in cooperage, especially when all the stages of production are carried out in an artisanal manner.

Training of La Grange’s Coopers

The production at la manufacture tonnelière La Grange is unique in that the relationship with the material and the finished products is not the same as in a mechanized cooperage. Handcrafting, at every stage of production, creates a special connection between the cooper and the barrels he produces. The time spent reading the wood and shaping the pieces allows for optimizing the raw material but, on the other hand, makes it harder to accept breakages or sealing defects in the finished products.

At the moment, the coopers at La Grange are training by crafting curved wooden objects and small containers (buckets, vinegar barrels, small casks, and quarter-barrels). Mickaël observes that while « the foundation is the same, no object is identical in terms of finishes, such as the hooping, or in terms of manufacturing details, like the height or the shape of the croze. Each object bears the mark of the cooper who made it. And since the coopers at La Grange already have a lot of experience, I push them to their limits by encouraging them to dare. Some minor manufacturing defects can be corrected during the toasting process. It is up to each cooper to establish their own level of tolerance.It is essential to give them this freedom during their training because I absolutely do not want them to produce “Mickaël” during their careers. I want to see “Dany,” “Antoine,” and “Romain.” But we have to be realistic. We can afford this luxury because there are only three of them training at La Grange. »

The size of the manufacture indeed allows Mickaël to provide individualized support, tailored to each person’s skills and knowledge. In this regard, Mickaël sometimes has more flexibility at La Grange than at the CFA, where he is currently training 13 young apprentices.

At the same time, Mickaël is supporting Alexandre Zefner, workshop manager at La Grange, in his preparation for the MOF competition, which he will present at the next session.

A competition that Mickaël himself may take part in one day. But for now, he does not wish to project himself beyond his commitment to the CFA de Beaune and the manufacture tonnelière La Grange : « In a year and a half, many things can change. Above all, I want to take a break and travel. Or why not take part in an interesting workshop project abroad, like the one I worked on for the Panamanian rum distillery. That said, I really enjoy training and passing on knowledge. I truly appreciate following the apprentices and seeing them progress. So why not continue in this path… but most likely in a different setting than the CFA. » A journey that we will follow, whatever direction it may take in the future, with the greatest interest.

Training and transmission are essential to ensure the preservation of the Charlois group’s expertise. They are at the heart of its social policy. It is in this spirit that the group called on Mickaël Mariaud to refine the training and knowledge of the coopers at the La Grange cooperage manufacture. Alexandre, Antoine, Dany, and Romain thus benefit from his experience. He supports them individually, according to each person’s background, in mastering the techniques, gestures, and know-how of the cooper’s craft.