Regional Foods - The Lot Valley

Farmer Bruno Beaupère stands in his farmyard in the Lot Valley and sniffs the air. “Ça sent bien la campagne! (that smells nicely of the countryside)” he says. Surrounded by fields of pigs, poultry, horses and cows, as well as fruit trees bearing quinces, cherries and plums, the smell of the country is certainly in the air. Bruno works on his rural farm in southern Cantal with four generations of la famille Beaupère and the pâtés, foie gras and other local specialities that he produces are based on family recipes handed down from generation to generation.

In this part of France, food is strongly linked to traditions and the offerings of the terroir, which is extremely varied. The River Lot meanders from its source in the Cévennes, flowing west through forest-clad gorges, valleys, prairies and pastures until it meets the Garonne at Aiguillon after running a course of 480 kilometres. The regional cuisine is greatly influenced by this changing landscape, such as succulent Aubrac beef from cows that graze the high plateaux in western Aveyron to chestnut-inspired delicacies from the wooded pays de la Châtaigneraie in southern Cantal and fresh trout from the Lot’s clear waters.

Traditional farms such as Bruno and Nadine’s Ferme de Bedou are common in the Lot Valley. They use old family recipes to produce sausages, pâtés, foie gras, black sausage and tripe, as well as prime cuts of meat. In fact, Bruno’s pâté is famous—he recently featured on France’s TF1, divulging the family recipe to the nation. And there’s no doubt his traditional wholesome produce is in demand—his butcher’s shop in the nearby town of Maurs is renowned in the area and the couple even go on road trips in a Ferme de Bedou ‘tour bus’ selling the farm produce around France and Switzerland.

Bruno’s grandmother (the oldest generation of la famille Beaupère) is proud that the farm still works with the same recipes that were used in her day. After a tour of the farm, she kindly offers me a glass of her home-made prune eau-de-vie. This powerful, fruity concoction is typical of the farm’s philosophy: using generations-old recipes and know-how while combining the very best in seasonal produce.

CHESTNUT CUISINE

Another traditional ingredient found in southern Cantal is the sweet chestnut, the châtaigne. Years ago, the pays de la Châtaigneraie, literally meaning ‘land of chestnut groves’, was covered in dense forest where oak and chestnut trees thrived. The tree played an important role in everyday life: its rot-proof wood was used to make houses, wine barrels and stakes and chestnuts formed an essential part of the diet, especially for the poor, who could not afford to eat meat. By the 1970s, the forest was gradually cleared for agricultural use and chestnuts slowly disappeared from village cuisine.

That was until 1990, when a small group of local enthusiasts from the village of Mourjou in the heart of chestnut country, sensing the demise of the nut, held a fair to celebrate their beloved châtaigne. Now, every October an annual fair is held in the village, the Fièra de la Castanha—Occitan for Foire de la Châtaigne—and it attracts some 20,000 visitors who come to celebrate the sweet chestnut in all its forms.

Due to the revival of the chestnut, the mayor of Mourjou created a museum in the village paying homage to the local delicacy. I visited the Maison de la Châtaigne to find out more about chestnuts and to meet Peter Graham, a British writer and journalist whose love of the humble chestnut goes back a long way. Peter has lived in Mourjou for 28 years and is so passionate about chestnuts that he sold his barn to the mayor so that it could be turned into a chestnut museum in 1999. He is a Grand Master of the chestnut society and has also written a book, Mourjou: The Life and Food of an Auvergne Village. Peter explains that he decided to move here because the wild unspoilt countryside of the southern Massif Central reminded him of his native Scotland, with the advantages of being much warmer in summer, of course.

Today, chestnuts are savoured in a variety of forms, most of which can be found in the museum’s shop. As well as the popular marrons glacés, the nut can be used to flavour flour, stuffing and desserts and can also be made into alcohol. Crème de châtaigne is a distinctive, sweet apéritif which is usually drunk with white wine as a novel alternative to kir de cassis. Chestnuts are also traditionally fed to pigs, producing meat with a distinctively nutty flavour.

In the nearby sleepy village of Calvinet, the Michelin-starred chef Louis-Bernard Puech uses local produce, such as chestnuts, in his restaurant at the Hôtel Beauséjour—but with a completely different approach.

MYSTERY MENU

Puech is renowned in the area for his style of cooking, which is imaginative while still retaining the flavours of the local produce. Duck and foie gras are extremely popular in this part of France and dishes such as magret de canard regularly appear on the menu. Unlike these traditional dishes, Puech presents original dishes such as canette (duckling), ground up and mixed with herbs and then fried in light breadcrumbs and accompanied with fried foie gras and a creamy celery purée. This dish is a deliciously different way of using fresh, local ingredients with a new style.

The bespectacled chef explains to me that he often has no idea what he will cook for the evening menu until he has been to the morning market. This flexible approach means that he uses the very best seasonal ingredients while allowing for a truly innovative approach in the kitchen.

To complement the Lot’s rich gastronomic offerings, there are plenty of wines to choose from, the most famous being Cahors, a full-bodied red wine with AOC status, made predominantly from Auxerrois grapes grown in vineyards that span the Lot. As well as Cahors, there are many other excellent Lot Valley wines—Entraygues-le-Fel, Estaing, Marcillac, Coteaux du Quercy, to name a few.

The Lot is home to some of France’s oldest vineyards, and the wines of Estaing have been produced since the 10th century. At the Maison de la vigne, du vin et des paysages d’Estaing between the villages of Estaing and Espalion, it is possible to find out more about the wine-making process, as well as taste and buy the wines. The winery opened in April 2006 and is used by small cooperatives that produce red, white and rosé wine from their 19 hectares of vineyards. These wines are classed as VDQS, Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure, the second highest ranking of wine, after AOC. Jean-Pierre Marc, president of the Syndicat des Vins VDQS Estaing, takes me on a tour of the cellars followed by a dégustation. He pours me a glass of cuvée Saint-Jacques (2004), a smooth red with a fruity finish and, for €6 a bottle, it is an absolute bargain.

CHOCOLATE BOX

Estaing, at the heart of this wine-producing area, is one of the many chocolate-box villages that sit on the Lot’s verdant banks. The village takes its name from the important noble family that resided there, presenting history with numerous characters, including France’s former president, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing. Take a tour of the village’s cobbled streets and you’ll see clues to its medieval past at every turn. Of particular interest are the 15th-century château (residence of the Estaing family), the église Saint-Fleuret and the UNESCO designated 16th-century bridge.

In stark contrast with the lush green gorges and valleys of the Lot and its tributaries, the Aubrac plateau, in the west of Aveyron, presents a completely different terrain. This vast plateau sits at about 1,200 metres above sea level and is home to the Aubrac cattle with their rusty brown coats and distinctive long horns. The only buildings to break up this stark, wild countryside are the old herders’ cottages, burons, which were used to make Laguiole cheese in days gone by.

Unlike the pays de la Châtaigneraie, which shares similarities with Scotland, the Aubrac plateau is reminiscent of Ireland with its gentle inclines and peaty farmland, divided by low, dry-stone walls. The atmospheric landscape of the plateau has attracted numerous film directors including Jean-Jacques Beineix, who filmed part of Betty Blue there.

TREASURE CHEST

A walk across the plateau will reveal many natural treasures; wild mint, thyme and rare flowers, as well as frogs and insects. You may also stumble upon historic gems—I pass a large piece of rock on which there is a much-eroded carving of the Maltese cross, a symbol of the orders of Saint John, protectors of the pilgrims making their way across the plateau towards Santiago de Compostela.

Be prepared to wrap up warm for a walk across the plateau—the high ground is very exposed to the elements, although the flat terrain makes for easy walking, with captivating views. You’ll be sure to work up quite an appetite, but don’t worry, the local food is designed to fill you up. The buron at the lac de Born has been converted from a herder’s cottage into a cosy restaurant with wooden tables and an open fire. Here you can sample some succulent Aubrac beef, aligot (creamy mashed potato with cheese and garlic), sausages and truffade (sautéed potatoes with melted cheese).

With so much cheese on the menu, it seems fitting that my gastronomic tour of the Lot Valley finishes with a visit to a fromagerie. Francis Roujon’s sheep farm is set in the rolling green hills near the Tarn Gorges in the small village of Saint-Georges-de-Lévéjac. Like Bruno Beaupère’s, Francis Roujon’s fromagerie

is a family business which he runs with his father and brother. The farm’s 430 sheep produce around 200 small Lévéjac cheeses every day which are sold mostly in France but also in London and Spain. Two cheeses are produced; the larger round is matured for longer and has a drier, less creamy texture than the smaller round. Lévéjac is a refreshing change from the numerous cows’ and goats’ cheeses which feature regularly on menus in the Lot.

There’s no doubt that the Lot Valley offers a diverse range of culinary delights, from chestnut liqueur to succulent beef and much more besides—there really is something to satisfy all tastes.

The Lot Valley spans five départements (Lozère, Cantal, Aveyron, Lot and Lot-et-Garonne) and four regions (Languedoc-Roussillon, Auvergne, Midi-Pyrénées and Aquitaine). The Lot and its tributaries pass through numerous different landscapes— prairies, forest, lakes, gorges, valleys, pastures and high plateaux.

Picturesque villages which line the meandering river, such as Saint-Geniez-d’Olt, Conques and Estaing, are among those which have preserved their historic charms.

The Lot, Truyère and Célé rivers, as well as the great lakes, attract fishermen and water enthusiasts who come to practise canoeing, rafting, sailing and waterskiing.

USEFUL CONTACTS

Maison de la Châtaigne
le Bourg, 15340 Mourjou
Tel: (Fr) 4 71 49 98 00
www.mourjou.com

La Ferme de Bedou
15600 Quézac
Tel: (Fr) 4 71 49 00 40
www.bedou.com
The farm also has gîte accommodation. Visit the website for details.

Maison de la Vigne
L’Escaillou
12190 Coubiscou
Tel: (Fr) 5 65 44 04 42
cave.vigneronsdolt@wanadoo.fr

Francis Roujon (Lévéjac ewe cheese producer)
48500 Saint-Georges de Lévéjac
Tel: (Fr) 4 66 48 81 32
levejac@infonie.fr
Call in advance to make a reservation for a guided visit.

WHERE TO STAY

Hôtel Beauséjour
15340 Calvinet
Tel: (Fr) 4 71 49 91 68
Friendly hotel with good-sized rooms, decorated with style and care. The Michelin-star restaurant is excellent. Room rate: from €60-120.

Hôtel Sainte-Foy
12320 Conques
Tel: (Fr) 5 65 69 84 03
www.hotelsaintefoy.fr
Situated in the heart of Conques opposite the abbey church, this 17th-century hotel offers well-equipped rooms in an old-fashioned style. Room rate: €115-189.

Grand Hôtel Prouhèze
2 route du Languedoc
48130 Aumont-Aubrac
Tel: (Fr) 4 66 42 80 07
www.prouheze.com
Friendly hotel on the Santiago de Compostela route. Room rate: €64-110.

WHERE TO EAT

Domaine de Cambelong
Le Moulin
12320 Conques
Tel: (Fr) 5 65 72 84 77
cambelong@chateauxhotels.com
www.moulindecambelong.com
Authentic and typical regional cuisine from chef Hervé Busset, is based on local produce including truffles, foie gras, fillet of duck, cèpe mushrooms and trout.

Auberge Saint-Jacques
12320 Conques
Tel: (Fr) 5 65 72 86 36
Excellent regional cuisine at very reasonable prices. Sample aligot, tripe, regional sausages, trout and giblets. Set menus: €17.5 and €24.

Buron et lac de Born
Lac de Born
48260
Tel: (Fr) 4 66 32 52 20
Traditional Auvergnat cuisine in a rustic farmhouse. Sample the typical charcuterie, local Aubrac beef and creamy aligot. Set menus: €18 and €23.

HOW TO GET THERE

By air - Ryanair flies to Rodez several times a week from London Stansted.

Visit www.ryanair.com

TOURIST OFFICE

Lot Valley
111 boulevard Gambetta
46,000 Cahors, France
Tel: (Fr) 5 65 53 98 38
www.valleedulot.com