For Julien the cockchafer (or May bug) was an irresistible choice – as characterful as Julien himself. Our largest scarab beetles, unmistakable with their flamboyant antennae, they zoom and buzz around at dusk, clumsily searching for one another.

Julien is championing these intriguing creatures, once persecuted as crop destroyers - even sentenced to exile by a medieval French court. Cockchafers nearly vanished due to pesticides but today, gentler biological methods allow them to coexist with the grains that become Julien’s flour - reminding us that good bread, like healthy land, depends on balance, patience and perhaps a touch of eccentricity.

Cover image: Lukasz Szabo