Over the last few hundred years, Gascony has developed a strong reputation for its distinctive cuisine. This is largely because cooks, whether professional chefs or private individuals, have direct access to excellent local and very varied produce, whether straight from the grower or via one of the hundreds of Weekly Markets throughout the area. The flavours are intense, rich and traditional, and usually complemented by authentic country wines.

 

From Lectoure with its Charentais melons in the North, to the Black pigs of Bigorre in the foothills of the Pyrenees in the South, from the Basque Country and the fish of the Atlantic coast in the West, to the restaurants of the city of Toulouse in the East, a culinary tour of Gascony will not disappoint. The food has real taste and doesn’t shy away from plenty of ingredients and flavour. Think deeply traditional French cuisine, but with plenty of warmth and aroma.

 

To start off with, ‘Le Gers’, the department that makes up much of historic Gascony, is home to a lot of livestock; in fact, livestock greatly outnumber human residents in this area! Particularly popular are duck, which are gradually replacing goose. Although well-known for the traditional delicacy ‘foie gras’, no part of the bird is wasted, with portions of the breast meat known as ‘magret’ served in a variety of different ways, while the legs and wings are often preserved as ‘confit’ and the gizzards used in a ‘Salade Landaise’. Goose and duck fat is never wasted and is traditionally a corner stone of Gascon cooking – potatoes roasted in duck fat are delicious! Gascony also produces some of the finest ‘White Garlic’ in France, perhaps in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When it comes to fresh fruit and vegetables, you’re spoilt for choice thanks to the warm Mediterranean climate with its long growing season and lots of sunshine. There is a market somewhere nearby every day of the week, even in the smaller villages, and the displays of fresh fruit, vegetables and cheeses are a marvellous sight, guaranteed to get you cooking! Root vegetables are the order of the day when it comes to hearty stews and soups in winter, whilst the appearance of new crop asparagus tells everyone that summer is just round the corner. And then we start on fresh summer fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, plums and the famous Pruneaux d’Agen, followed later by figs, apples and pears.

 

Last but not least, no corner of France is without its own native cheeses. Roquefort to the north-east of Toulouse produces its world-famous blue cheese, but Gascony has its own excellent local (especially goat and sheep) cheeses, less well known but also delicious, such as these three farm cheeses selected by ‘Fleurons de Lomagne’.

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- Ferme Baylocq, from near Fources, a pure sheep’s cheese

- Fromagerie Arribe, in the Pays-Basque, a pure sheep’s cheese

- Ferme du Serré, close to Auch, a pure goat’s cheese