We loved Périgord so much the first time around, we returned this summer with my dad, brother and his family, renting out part of a picturesque château in Chalais. During what was the first of a series of very concerning heat waves this year, we splished and splashed with water guns at the pool, hunted…
December to February is truffle season in Périgord and each Saturday the Sarlat Truffle Market is abuzz with local producers selling their harvest to truffle-lovers from around France. These bumpy black bundles live a peaceful life buried underground in a mycorrhizal relationship with the roots of oak trees, until they are dug up by keen-nosed…
We arrived in the picture-perfect village of Domme on a Sunday at 1pm-ish on our way back home from Périgord, with no reservation and no hope about the prospect of finding anything decent to eat for lunch. So many Sundays spent stranded in like-sized French villages have given us a gloomy outlook on this subject…
One eats well in the Périgord. This is especially true in the colder months, when one craves the hearty, nourishing ingredients for which the reason is best known. Duck and goose, their magrets, their foie, their rillettes and terrines. Garlic, potatoes, walnuts, nut cakes. Mushrooms of all kind and, of course, the king of mushrooms:…
Whisperings about a collaboration between two of Bordeaux’s culinary giants began back in June and reached my ears through water cooler gossip with colleagues in wine by mid-summer. A promising new adventure for 1-Michelin-starred Tanguy Laviale of the now-closed fine dining institution Garopapilles, who would be teaming up with Chef and Owner of Racines, Daniel…
Ah, the “bouchon Lyonnais.” Staunch and unwavering bastion of French culinary tradition, where some of the country’s most learnèd chefs devote themselves fully to the time-tested and eternal classics of French food, fiercely proud of their nation’s gastronomic heritage. Some of them rise to considerable prominence, as in the case of Chef Joseph Viola, whose…
Named after the rue on which it can be found, just a stone’s throw from the Hospices de Beaune, is the restaurant Le Maufoux, the ‘tit bistro of Meursault institution Le Soufflot. Run by Chef Jean-Luc and his FOH side-kick Laurianne, this pint-sized eatery offers a rather reasonable lunch menu and an only slightly pared…
Where to find the best fried chicken in Burgundy? At La Lune restaurant in Beaune. I’m not sure how my friend found out about this treasure of a place, but we booked a few days in advance and arrived for a late-night snack, after drinks at Le Rouge à Lèvres bar, on a Tuesday night…
“Eating, mostly, and some wine stuff too” would be an accurate sum-up of my trip to Burgundy with a friend back in May. No messy contact list in my Notes for wineries to visit this time, although we did stop by Aloxe-Corton for a tasting and tour of Louis Latour. This was not a work…
Young, hopeful and totally carefree is how we felt as we zipped down the A6 towards the vineyards of the Côte-d’Or in our Burgundy-red Fiat 500. A cherished friend I had not seen for 3 years at the wheel, cool and at ease, and surprisingly so for a person who had not driven stick for…
That Best Bite 