France is considered as the home of gastronomy. The character of each region of France is reflected in its cuisine. This is just a quick generalised overview of the main regions. To find out about individual dishes, click here.
The North.
In the North of France, people like simple cooking and have a "sweet tooth", for things like sugar tarts, chocolates and lollies. Because Belgium is nearby, people drink lots of beer.

Une tarte au sucre. http://www.novodiet-france.com/region
The East
In the East, both the style of cooking and what you drink are influenced by nearby Germany. People eat Sauerkraut - cabbage cooked with white wine from Alsace, Strasbourg or Frankfurt sausage and pork.

La choucroute http://www.saveurs.sympatico.ca
Quiche Lorraine comes from the East of France. People eat a very smelly cheese called Munster accompanied by good Alsatian wines or beer.

Une quiche lorraine
The South
In the South of France, the cuisine becomes more colourful and spicy. People there eats lots of vegetables and fresh fruit: zuchini, egg plants, apricots, peaches, etc. That's where they grow.
People also eat lots of fish; Bouillabaisse is a Mediterranean fish soup, a speciality from Marseille. It's made from thirteen different types of fish. The olive comes from Provence and forms the base of all the regional dishes.

La bouillabaisse marseillaise.
http://toquentete.net/style/photo/ bouillabaisse_marseillaise.
The South West
In Toulouse, people eat cassoulet, a dish made from white beans, in a tomato sauce, with sausage, goose meat and local herbs. This is washed down with rose wine from Provence or red or white wine from Bordeau.

Des vins de Bordeaux
The West
In the West of France, in Brittany, people eat fish, artichokes and very fine Breton style crepes or pancakes. It's traditional to drink cider when you eat pancakes in France.

Une crèpe
Normandy is famous for its Camembert cheese, and since there are lots of apple trees here, people drink cider and Calvados, an apple liqueur.

Du Calvados
Also, try out Tripe Caen style, which is a regional dish. This is accompanied by wines from the Loire Valley.
The South West
The South West is known for its luxury products such as truffles - the "black diamonds" (les diamantes noires) and Confit of duck is another well known dish that comes from this region. This is duck meat preserved in its own fat, which is then roasted. The dish above, is served with chestnuts.

Du confit de canard
Goose liver pâté - foie gras - comes from a goose that has been force fed over a period of a few months so that its liver grows larger than normal.

Du paté de foie grashttp://www.frenchvisit.com/boutiques/images /ferme/millet
The Centre
In the centre of France, in the Auvergne, people like the stews made from vegetables and pigs trotters. Lyon is the food capital of the world, with its world famous chefs. In the thousands of restaurants in this city, you can taste delicious savoury dishes such as brains or pike ( a fish), pictured on the right.
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