Auvergne & Cantal food

The Cantal, or the Auvergne, is not noted as one of the top gastronomic regions of France. Nevertheless most Cantal hotels and restaurants offer quality "Auvergnat Cooking". As with many mountainous areas of Europe the local "specialities" were originally peasant dishes made from locally available ingredients. This is what Auvergnat cooking represents. It is interesting and good country-style cooking and makes best use of the resources of the region. Try it!

For example a popular main course dish is "Tripoux".This is a minced mixture of "fraise de veau", bacon, onion, garlic, salt, herbs and spices bound in a skin of "poche de veau". The Tripoux are cooked in a pot for 5 to 7 hours.

"Tome de Cantal" is the first pressing (i.e. unmatured) of Cantal cheese. This is used in two potato dishes. "Truffade" is a baked mixture of sliced potatoes and Tome de Cantal.

"Aligot" is a potato purée made with Tome de Cantal. It looks bland and somewhat unexciting but it has a very pleasant taste and texture and is very popular with both local people and tourists.

Bilberries ("myrtilles") grow wild on the mountains in the Cantal. They are used in "Tarte aux Myrtilles" in which the bilberries are cooked in a batter mixture made using crème fraîche. More traditional fruit tarts are also made with bilberries and can be strongly recommended.

Another speciality is "Pounti" which is a sort of vegetable loaf with embedded prunes.

All hotel/restaurants and restaurants in the Cantal offer Cantal/Auvergnat dishes. However, it would be wrong to assume this is all they offer. There are many excellent hotel/restaurants which serve classical dishes as well as local. In fact, the quality is very high and the value for money is extraordinary. Meals are available for less than £10 and £15 buys a first-class 4/5 course meal. It is worth recording that 4/5 hotel/restaurants in the Cantal mountains area are classified in the Gault-Millau "Guide Gastronomique 2002". There is a previously rated one-star Michelin restaurant (Jarousset) just north of Murat and just outside the Cantal area (on the Aubrac plateau in the Aveyron department) is the village of Laguiole. As well as being world famous for its cutlery (and an excellent cheese) it is also very well known for the acclaimed three-star Michelin rated restaurant of Michel Bras.