In Centre and Burgundy
Each of France's many regions has its own typical cuisine to offer. Auvergne's traditional dishes include la soupe au chou (cabbage soup), le petit salé aux lentilles du Puy-en-Velay(smoked pork products with lentils from Puy-en-Velay), the famous potée auvergnate (Auvergne-style boiled meat with cabbage) or le clafouti (fruit cakes). One cannot forget Cantal and Saint-Nectaire cheeses, which are a great accompaniment to seasonal salads.
In Burgundy, you'll delight in a plate of escargots au beurre persillé (snails in a parsley-butter sauce), a good cut of Charolais meat with Dijon mustard, beef bourguignon, as well as pot-au-feu before moving on to Epoisse cheese and traditional spicy bread.
In the Loire Valley, river fish covered in grilled almonds garnish plates, while rillettes du Mans (minced spread of pork), goat cheese from Valençay or a crottin de Chavignol (a type of goat cheese) are great toppings for a country loaf. For dessert, a tarte Tatin (apple pie) is a must.
Getting to know regional products and dishes
Association of green lentils from Puy: www.confrerie-lentilleverte-dupuy.com
Saint-nectaire cheese: www.fromage-aoc-st-nectaire.fr
Escargots from Burgundy: http://escargot.free.fr/
Charolaise meat: www.charolaise.fr
Dijon mustard: www.moutarde.com/francais/jeu1.htm
Le crottin de Chavignol: www.crottindechavignol.com
Tatin pie: www.tarte-tatin.com
Gastronomic trip ideas
www.ouahkans.com/descriptifgourmandises.htm (Corrèze)
www.lecalounier.fr/accueilfrancais.htm (Yonne)
www.3ponts.edu/cuisine.htm (Loire)
www.bourgogne-tourisme.com/vin/cours_de_cuisine.htm (Bourgogne)
www.hostelleriebourguignonne.com/cours.php (Saône et Loire)
Eastern France
Eastern France has countless culinary specialties. In Champagne-Ardenne you can savor boudin blanc (white sausage) or andouillette de Troyes (andouillette sausage from Troyes), while Lorraine's popularity has crossed borders with its famous quiche Lorraine and Mirabelle (small sweet yellow plum). Alsace offers a variety of famous dishes including sauerkraut, Flammeküche (a thin-crusted savory tart, covered with cream, onions and bacon), Strasbourg sausage, Bäckeofe (a white-wine and meat soup), muenster cheese and Kouglof, for a touch of something sweet.
Further south, in Franche-Comté, cheeses and cured pork products delight visitors. Other recipes to discover are poularde au vin jaune (hen cooked in a yellow wine and morel mushroom sauce) and croûte forestière (crusted garnish of wild mushrooms, bacon and potatoes).
Getting to know regional products and dishes
Mirabelle of Lorraine: www.mirabelles-de-lorraine.fr
Cancoillotte cheese: www.raguin.com
Le Comté: www.comte.com
Morteau sausage: www.morteausaucisse.com/histo1.asp
Gastronomic trip ideas
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/annerose.denis/index.htm
www.faude.com/faude-fr/coupsdecoeurs-cours-cuisine.htm (Haut-Rhin)
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