Cooking in Provence

Truffles: the Black Diamond - When living in Provence, how can one not be tempted by the winter diversion of truffle hunting, nor be left unaffected by the dramatic shift at the top restaurants to menus featuring these treasures?

Olive Oil les Baux de Provence - Though some attribute the use of olive oil to an Italian influence, in fact, olive oil has been a main source of cooking oil in Provence -- as well as oil for light and lubricating wheels -- for over two millennia now.

Herbs: thyme, rosemary, and sage grow in the wild, especially amid the rocks of the dry scrub land called "garrigue". Zucchini and eggplant are grown almost the entire year.

Cooking in Burgundy

Chicken from Bresse: It's impossible to evoke Burgundy without evoking the famous chicken from Bresse.Star of the first agricultural shows, this delicious poultry will enchant you by his firm flesh, its taste and its savour which make of it the king of the best tables of France.

Burgundy snails: The Burgundy Snails is without any doubt one of the best ambassadors of the Burgundian and French gastronomy throughout the world. Their collecting and their preparation are today strictly controlled, this to allow their protection. The Burgundy Snails has a subtle taste, slightly grassy which deserves not to be drowned under a ton of garlic like one too often tends to do it, still today.

Cooking in the Loire

A gastronomical stay in the Country-of-the-Loire will enable you to discover the specialities of this superb area. The Guérande salt-water and its marshes, mixed with all kinds of spices, will make you learn many original recipes to renew the art of the seasoning. While going down towards the Vendée, the amateurs of iodized savours will regale themselves of a dozen Vendée-Atlantic Oysters. Go up towards Nantes for a small sweetened break. You will learn there the history of these delights which are the Berlingots Nantais.

Cooking in the South West

Foie gras: Made with goose or duck, the realization of a good Foie gras requires much time. If the goose Foie gras considered soft and is refined, the duck Foie gras attracts the fans of true savours with the frankness from its taste.

Potted Duck: This speciality of Gascony, France, is derived from an ancient method of preserving meat (usually goose, duck or pork) whereby it is salted and slowly cooked in its own fat. The cooked meat is then packed into a crock or pot and covered with its cooking fat.