The Slow Craft of Charcuterie: Frédéric Tandy of Ratinaud

Last Updated on March 9, 2026 by Maggie Duffy

At Ratinaud, Frédéric Tandy practises a quiet devotion to ingredients, craft, and community. Trained in France and settled in Nova Scotia for more than two decades, Tandy builds his offerings from what is local, seasonal, and honestly sourced, working closely with regional producers and foraging ingredients, from wild mushrooms to spruce tips, sumac, and more. His charcuterie and cooking are refined, yet simple, anchored in a deep reverence for ingredients and the hands that cultivate them.

Ratinaud was built slowly and deliberately, shaped by time-honoured techniques: curing and drying meats by hand, smoking and preserving with care, and making everything from scratch. When the shop first opened, charcuterie was still unfamiliar terrain in Halifax, so much so that there were no clear regulations to support it. Because of this, Tandy found himself working under near-constant federal inspection, yet persisted, and successfully carried Ratinaud forward.

Today, Ratinaud’s offerings are shaped by availability, instinct, and collaboration; ingredients lead, ideas follow. Behind the counter, hierarchy dissolves. Tandy works shoulder to shoulder with his team, approaching cooking as a shared responsibility rather than a title. The result? Food that feels humble, richly flavourful and inseparable from the community it serves.

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