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A rough guide to Gastronomy in the Vendee: Food and drink
Drinks
Wines from the Vendée Fiefs whose history goes back hundreds of years to the Middle Ages when it was the monks who cultivated their patches of vines. Brem sur Mer, Pissotte, Mareuil sur Lay and Vix are the four Vendée Fiefs whose wines are classified as VDQS "Vins Délimités de Qualité Supérieure". Other specialities also need to be tasted – such as Troussepinette , a local aperitif made from hedgerow fruits, or Kamok which is an alcoholised liqueur made from a mix of roasted Arabica coffees.
Food
The Vendee has two main industries; agriculture and tourism, so it should come as no surprise to anyone that there is a plethora of locally produced meat and poultry products to satisfy all tastes. Charolais beef and salt marsh lamb, poultry from Challans area, foie gras etc etc. Mogette beans and Noirmoutier’s Bonnotte potatoes are speciality delicacies for the palate, as are other locally grown vegetables, accompanied by Vendée V.D.Q.S. wines, products of a grape-growing tradition that goes back hundreds of years.
We have to say that casual visitors to the Vendee may not immediately become fully acquainted with the local Gastronomy, which is a paradise for lovers of fresh and authentic foods and condiments such as the White Gold which is the famous Fleur de sel with its perfume of violets, a rare and delicate product which can only be harvested in the traditional manner.
Noirmoutier produces either pan-cooked or used as a condiment, the delicate samphire which grows around fringes of the saltmarsh, and should we forget the wonderful bonnottes which are stars among potatoes with the taste of hazelnuts and which are served for a few days a year in France’s best restaurants.
Try the abundant oysters which are to be found growing from the Baie de Bourgneuf to the Baie de l’Aiguillon, or sole sablaise with lemon, barbecued sardines from Saint Gilles Croix de Vie, baked white tuna or mussels from the Baie de l’Aiguillon cooked in white wine, all so delightful and especially so when accompanied by a glass of local chilled white wine from Brem sur Mer.
Keep a lookout for Mogettes, locally produced beans traditionally grown in the Bocage country. They are eaten simply with a knob of butter, or as a vegetable to accompany ham, duck or leg of lamb.
Brioche is another pride of the Vendée. Sweet and highly flavoured with either brandy, orange-flower water and/or a combination of the two, it has always been eaten in large quantities by the people of the region.
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