Market day in Villereal - one of our favourite ways to spend a Saturday morning

Welcome to my annual French blog inspired by 3 gorgeous weeks in the French countryside. If you’ve been around for a while you’ll know that we love our annual drive to the Perigord region. We Brits call it the Dordogne, down in the South West of Nouvelle Aquitaine - the home of 1000 glorious castles, many of France’s “Plus Beaux Villages”, the secret location of black truffles, walnut trees and sweet chestnuts as far as you can see. Also foie gras (but let’s not talk about that today).

It takes 3 days to drive there from North Wales - a day down the Welsh borders across Somerset and Wiltshire to the port of Poole in Dorset, another day for the ferry to Cherbourg and 4 hours to La Rochelle (a lovelier stop-off you will not find), and a final day through Bordeaux into the glorious Perigord.

We always make sure to book lovely Airbnbs on the way down and enjoy visiting the places we stay over. Here are our favourites from this year if you fancy a peek

Little Gite in Brece

Brece, just outside Rennes - close to the motorway, delightful rural setting, pleasant helpful host, beautiful gite and a great night’s sleep.

Cottage in Marcille

Marcille, east of La Rochelle - very handy location for travelling south, gorgeous “cabin in the woods” vibe, beautifully restored out-house, lovely helpful host and a pool to lounge in after a long day’s driving.

Morning stop in Fouras

Fouras was a real suprise and a place we’ll definitely head for again. It’s a gorgeous little town just south of La Rochelle, right on the coast and well worth a visit if you’re nearby. We found Market Day, lots of quality shops, a top boulangerie with a queue down the street (always the best recommendation) and a pretty seafront with sheltered beach. If only we’d had longer.

Did you know that the Perigord is divided up into 4 coloured areas - Perigord Noir, Perigord Blanc, Perigord Vert and Perigord Poupre. How’s your GCSE french?

We have mainly visited the Perigord Poupre (purple for wine) named after the rich colour of the rolling vineyards and autumn leaves dotted with bastide towns and villages.

Perigord Noir - in the South East of Perigord - the land of black truffles - is so called for the dense forest and prized black truffles harvested during winter months.

Perigord Blanc around the town of Perigueux is named after the white limestone plateaus and cliffs

To the north of the region is Perigord Vert filled with lush meadows and sweet chestnut woods.

We love the Perigord. If you take a triangle from Bergerac to Sarlat la Caneda to Monflanquin - that’s our patch.

Now let me tell you about french village life.

In every French village up and down the country, you will find 3 essential shops that define and support community life. If you’re on holiday in rural France - my advice would be start in your local village, see what delights they have to offer and only visit the supermarket for essential storecupboard items. Although French supermarkets are quite fun too!

Le Tabac

Easily recognised by the red diamond shaped sign, the Tabac is central to village life. They’ve been selling every type of tobacco known to man since 1906 but thesedays function as cafes, newsagents and small convenience stores. If you need a pint of milk, a newspaper, and a quick coffee - the tabac is your first stop.

Sampling the “Brioche-a-Tete” in Eymet, where you’ll usually find more ex-pats per square metre than baguettes.

La Boucherie / Charcuterie

Second up, the Boucherie, sometimes combined with a Charcuterie, where you can buy all your fresh meat and cold cuts from the friendly butcher. When you visit the Dordogne, it’s hard to believe that French meat consumption is declining, but the village boucherie focusses on local sourcing and speciality cuts. The charcuterie will give you all the cured, and prepared meats, regional side dishes and more delicious cheeses than you’ve ever set eyes on.

Always a joy to try cheese from local producers. Bleu de Brebis was our firm favourite, with fresh crusty bread

Vive la Boulangerie

Third up, there will be a bustling boulangerie. If in doubt, sniff the air for the aroma of freshly baked bread, follow the crowd and join the line down the street. Did you know that a french boulangerie can only call itself a “boulangerie” if they bake their own bread products on the premises.

Oooh lala La Patisserie

And finally, I’ve saved the best until last! If you land in a french village that has a boulangerie / patisserie - you’ve “toucher le jackpot”.

Oh my goodness - this year our local village Cenac Saint Julienne did us proud. Just look at this spread. And it’s like this every single day. Well at least the 4-5 times we visited!

There are simply no words for this little lot. Which would you choose?

So here’s what we chose

On different days, of course!

Entremets framboise vanille - biscuit base, crunchy nut pink centre and whipped diplomat cream with scattered nuts.

Tarte aux fraises - sweet pasty shell, rich creme patissiere, fresh strawberries and a shiny glaze brushed over the top. A french classic

Tropezienne vanille framboises - made famouse by Brigitte Bardot on a film set in St Tropez, this delight is a soft, golden brioche filled with rich, vanila buttercream filling and fresh raspberries and topped with sugar crystals. A taste of the mediterranean in the Perigord.

Tarte Pistache Saint Honore - shortcrust tart, choux buns filled with pistachio cream, chantilly cream across the top, pistachio nut glaze. The cake originated on Rue Saint Honore in Paris - Saint Honore is the patron saint of bakers and pastry chefs.

Madeleines are very popular across this region of France. They’re very small sponge cakes baked in a special tin with distinctive scallop shape either plain or flavoured, sprinkled with pistachios or filled with chocolate. Delicious dipped into a cup of tea or hot chocolate.

These tiny french tarts are known as tartelette au citron meringuee. First there’s buttery, crumbly sweet pastry baked into a crisp tart. Then there’s a glossy lemon curd topped with miniature peaks of sweet meringue. Seeing as you asked - there’s other flavours too. How about raspberry and creme patissiere, chocolate ganache, almond and frangipane, caramel and spice. I know - it’s all too much isn’t it!

**LA ROULE AU CHOCOLAT ET AUX NOISETTES**

Sometimes called the Escargot au chocolate (chocolate snail pastry), the roule au chocolat is a bit like the “pain au raisins” except filled with nutella, rolled in hazelnuts or pistachios and piped with extra chocolate on top. Delicious with your morning brew.

And finally, after all those cakes, balanced out nicely with miles of country and riverside walks, it’s time for a stunning sunset on our last night.

Hope you’ve enjoyed my little french odyssey - now back to my kitchen and all your autumn orders.

That’s all for now

Judith x