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From the plainest
food to the most elegant haute cuisine, our restaurants
offer modern-style dishes based on regional recipes specific
to an area where the land is fertile and the sea abundant in
mouth-warming edibles.
Melon
du Haut-Poitou
Poitou-Charentes is sun-drenched and its melons are among
the juiciest anywhere.
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Oysters from
Marennes-Oléron
The combination of fresh water and salty seas in a sunny climate
renders the Marennes-Oléron basin the largest oyster-producing
area in France. Oysters may be eaten throughout the year,
raw and just-opened with a few drops of lemon juice or shallot-flavoured
vinaigrette, or hot in a cream sauce, as a gratin or on a
kebab.
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Mussels
Born and brought up near Fouras, Brouage or Charron, on the
isles of Ré and Oléron or in the Baie de l’Aiguillon. |
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Snails
In Charentes, long-time residents call them "cagouilles";
in Poitou, they go by the name of "lumas".
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Poitou-Charentes Lamb
Born and bred in the Montmorillon and Confolens areas. Flocks
may contain more than 200 mother ewes. Local lamb is marekted
as "Agneau
du Poitou-Charentes".
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Beef
Limousine and Parthenaisian cattle are the offshoots of a
venerable way and style of breeding. They are raised for the
quality and flavour of their meat, unanimously acknowledged
as the utmost in time-tested quality. |
Dishes
from the Marais-Poitevin
"Bouilliture d’anguilles" (boiled eels), sauce
aux "lumas" (snail sauce), kid with green garlic,
leg of mutton, local ham, "mojettes" (haricot beans). |
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Goats’
Cheeses
Unusual and idiosyncratic names (chabis, chabichou, etc.)
often stem from where they're produced : Lezay, Bougon, Saint-Loup,
Chabichou,
etc... |
Charentes-Poitou
Butter
Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée
(guaranteed quality label) butter manufactured exclusively
from the cream of pasteurised milk. |
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Poitou-Charentes
Wines
- Wines from the Loudun area
: Saumur, similar to prime Loire Valley vintages.
- Les vins du Haut-Poitou : whites, rosés and reds
(the whole gamut!).
- Les vins du Thouarsais : whites, rosés and reds,
comparable to renowned Anjou vintages.
- Les vins de pays charentais : whites marketed as "blanc
marine", reds and rosés.
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Pineau
des Charentes
White,
red or rosé, the appetizing fruit of a painstaking
melding of Charente grape juice and equally local cognac.
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Cognac
Vineyards in the "Cognac"
area are to be found in Charente, Charente-Maritime and Deux-Sèvres.
Seven "crus" : Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne,
Borderies, Fins Bois, Bons Bois, Bois ordinaires and Bois
communs produce white wines suitable for double distillation
in a Charente-style still to create the "spirit".
Cognac, a blend of several crus (vintages), each with its
own flavour and aroma, is aged in oak casks where it slowly
develops its unique bouquet and beautiful golden amber colour.
For tours of the cellars, see: Sightseeing in Cognac.
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Too much alcohol can
be detrimental to your health.
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