A rough guide to traditional Brittany Gastronomy: Food and drink

Drinks

Cider
After picking, the apples are stored in canvas bags, sorted and piled up according to the variety, sweet or bitter, so the cider can be sparkling, traditional, dry or sweet. The cider of Cornouaille was the first product from Brittany to be awarded “Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée” status.

Breton beer, or traditional Brittany beer.
Traditional beer has been brewed in Brittany goes back to the XVII century and thanks to renewed interest from young brewers, small scale production of artisan beers has survived. The best known Brittany brands are Coreff de Morlaix, Lancelot, the buckwheat beer Telenn Du and the wheat beer Blanche Hermine.

Chouchen
The local Brittany name for mead. This liqueur is known as "chemillard" in Gallic regions and "chouchen" in Brittany. An alcoholic drink based on honey and water with the addition of yeast, mead ferments rapidly but acquires its flavour slowly.

Pommeau
This liqueur aperitif is made by combining sweet cider at the start of its fermentation with apple brandy, in the proportions 2/3 to 1/3, exactly the same as in neighbouring Nortmandy.

Food:

Starters

Escargots, in French cuisine, is a dish of cooked land snails, usually served as an appetizer. In France, escargots are typically only eaten on festive occasions. Don't get too carried away by the word Escargot, or snail as being traditional Breton fare becasue we know for certain that France imports vast amounts of snails for the gastronomic delights of it's restaurants and their clients from England and Scotland. So, escargots with a dash of best bitter or Scotch...Yumm!

Seafood

There are lots and lots of seafood on offer in Brittany. A traditional Breton seafood platter must contain at least three types of crustaceans and three of shellfish, but of course this has to depend on the season and the life cycle of the crustaceans and shellfish. More often than not you will find that it comprises of crabs, various types of oysters and clams, whelks, shrimps and prawns which are served on a bed of seaweed. Restaurants signatories to the “La charte du plateau de fruits de mer frais Bretons” (Breton seafood platter charter) - the guarantee of the freshness and variety of their products.

Main meals

Brittany has it's own version of the sausage which is renowned throughout Europe. The traditional Breton sausage is really thick and makes for a superb BBQ.

A la cuillere is the exact opposite of the other French way of serving lamb which is to serve it pink and underdone. Seven hour mutton is easy to prepare, relatively cheap and makes a wholesome, comforting meal during the colder months. Sounds good if you can wait that long.

Merlan au Chou, which is Whiting with Braised Cabbage

Mussels with Apple & Shallot sauce....Mmmmmm.