Food in Brittany France (Bretagne) and Wine

• Seafood
• Pancakes
• Cakes
• Vegetables
• Pork Meat Dishes
• Cheese
• Wine & Drinks

Seafood

If you are a seafood lover, then Brittany is your garden of heaven. With over 2800 km of coastline, seafood in Brittany is found in abundance everywhere you go. Brittany actually accounts for nearly 80% of France's total shellfish production. In some small harbours, you can even buy straight from the fishing boats while unloading for the Criée (fresh fish auction).

Oysters are absolutely delicious and are widely farmed all across the region. You have 2 sorts of oysters, rock oysters (huitres creuses) and flat oysters (huitres plates). Two third of France's production of flat oysters is actually based in Cancale near Saint-Malo on the Emerald Coast. Although oysters can be enjoyed all year round, they are at their best between September and April (as the French say: during the months with the letter "r"). This is because during the summer reproduction time, they become fat and milky which might not be of everyone's taste. They are typically served with salted butter, rye bread, lemon and a shallots red wine vinegar mix that you pour on your oyster before eating.

The famous seafood platter, Plateau de fruits de mer as pictured, is not to be missed, usually for minimum 2 people to share served on a bed of seaweed with white and rye bread, salted butter, mayonnaise. Typically consists of crabs, langoustines, small prawns on shell, winkles, clams and oysters. Be prepared to get your hands dirty and have plenty of time to enjoy !

Moules Marinières (steamed mussels with white wine, shallots, laurel leaf and thyme), served with or without French fries, is a commonly affordable dish served in nearly any type of restaurants. If you are a fan of mussels, we advise you to try the ones from the Baie du Mont Saint-Michel, they are exquisitively delicious and for such are AOC (Appelation d'Origine Controlée) registered.

Another speciality dish is the Soupe de Poissons, a delightful rich soup made from fish and shellfish, served with "rouille" (garlic mayonnaise), grated gruyère cheese and bread croutons.

By seafood products, we obviously think of shellfish and crustaceans but Brittany is also well renowned in France for two other types of seafood and this includes harvesting seaweed and salt. Hundreds of different species of seaweed grow off the coast of Brittany and for centuries it has been collected for mainly fertiziling production. Today it is also farmed as to meet the demand of other industries like cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and food products.

The other Brittany's seafood product harvested for centuries is salt which is still collected today off the Mont St-Michel's Bay, in the Morbihan's Gulf and off the Côte d'Amour near Guérande. It is above all a speciality salt which cannot compete on quantity with other regions like the Méditéranée but which is respected for its high quality. To find about more the craft of harvesting salt and visit the protected marshes of Guérande, check Terre de Sel. To go straight to the English page, follow this link.

Back to top

Pancakes

Another main speciality dish is pancakes. You cannot visit Brittany and not try them, known as crêpes (sweet featherlight pancakes) and galettes (savoury buckwheat pancakes). When you go for a meal at a Crêperie, you would usually have a galette with a filling that can vary from a simple mix like cheese, egg and ham called "La Complète" or a more speciality one, following by a crêpe, again with various available fillings. A crêpe with chocolate sauce, chantilly (sweet whipped cream) and almonds is an absolute delicious treat.
If you visit any establishment with the "Crêpes Gourmandes" label, Brittany's official label to reflect the quality of its products, you are rest assured to enjoy authenticity and quality.

GALETTE RECIPE

- 250g of buckwheat flour - 2 teaspoons of light white flour - 1 egg - 500ml of water - 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil - Salt and pepper

Mix the buckwheat flour with the egg yolk in a large bowl and add the water progressively until you obtain a thick paste mix. Whisk the egg white with a pinch of salt and pepper until they form soft peaks. Slowly add the white flour and then the vegetable oil. Add the above mix into the buckwheat paste and add more water if required as to obtain a fluid mix. Leave to stand for one hour. If the mixture has thickened to much, you can always some more water to dilute it. Warm a large fried-pan to high temperature, oil slightly, pour a small amount of the galette mix and quickly keep on tourning the pan as to obtain an homogeneous cover as much as possible. Cook for one minute or so until the fried side does not stick to the pan anymore, and flick it over with a wooden spatula. Cook for 30 seconds or so. It should not be brown but cooked enough as to not stick to the pan anymore yet still moist. If they are too dry, it is over cooked so try again, there is not nothing worst than a dry galette.

Now, you can add any type of fillings of your choice, like for instance a slice of ham with an egg on top covered with some grated cheese.

CREPE RECIPE

- 250g of light white flour - 3 eggs - 1/2 litre of milk - 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil - Salt

Take a large bowl and add the white flour with a pinch of salt. Make a hole in the middle of your flour and add the eggs one by one. Add slowly the milk and whisk until you obtain a lovely liquid mixture. Then add the vegetable oil. Leave to stand in the fridge for one hour. If the mixture has thickened too much, you can always some more water to dilute it. Just as the Galette recipe, Warm a large fried-pan to high temperature, oil slightly, pour a small amount of the galette mix and quickly keep on tourning the pan as to obtain an homogeneous cover as much as possible. Cook for one minute or so until the fried side does not stick to the pan anymore, and flick it over with a wooden spatula. Cook for 30 seconds or so. It should not be brown but cooked enough as to not stick to the pan anymore yet still moist. If they are too dry, it is over cooked so try again, there is not nothing worst than a dry galette.

For lighter crêpes, you can use 250ml of milk and 250ml of water. You can also use blond beer as well as substitute. Some people also like adding some sugar or even some dark rhum. It is a matter of taste.

Back to top

CAKES

The most famous cake in Brittany is its delicious KOUIGN-AMAN, a slow produced caramelized yeast pastry oozing with butter, speciality of Douarnenez. Do not buy the ones you find in supermarkets, always buy extra fresh from a boulangerie-patisserie. If you can, try to eat it warm, it makes all the difference.

In second place is the FAR BRETON, a rather heavy eggy pudding with prunes, followed by GALETTES AU BEURRE (rich butter biscuits).

Back to top

PORK MEAT DISHES

The Charcuterie, cold pork meat dishes, is worth experimenting with. You will find numerous types of dried sausages with the renowned, Andouille de Guénemé, beautiful patés of liver, rabbit, duck and goose mouse, just to name a few.

Back to top

VEGETABLES

Go to the local markets in towns, usually one or twice of week, where you can purchase the freshest ingredients, vegetables and fruits. Brittany is a key vegetable growing area of France for potatoes, cauliflowers, artichokes and the delicious Coco de Paimpol, white beans. If you happen to be around the end of August, you can easily buy large bags of 10kg of these fresh white beans which you can keep frozen and use during winter times to make the most delicious casseroles.

Back to top

CHEESE

Brittany might not be the best known region of France for its cheese but if you are a cheese lover, you will enjoy the wide range of choice of locally produced goat and cow cheese especially available at local markets. The best one of all is the "Curé Nantais", a Muscadet wine refined soft cow cheese.

Back to top

WINE & DRINKS

You will not find vineyards in Brittany until you actually reach the very south to the Loire river where Nantes is situated on the Côte d'Amour. There, the well renowned Muscadet, a light, fresh and fruity white wine, is produced across 12,000 acres. It is perfect to drink with your seafood platter or any fish dish. The area also produces a dry white wine under the name of "Gros-Plant" for the local market only. We advise you to go and visit some of the vineyards and buy directly from the producers. Over the next few weeks, we will add some of our favourite addresses. In the meantime, just drop us a line, we will be happy to give you the names of local producers where we return years after years.

>> FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE VINEYARDS OF MUSCADET HERE

While driving through the deep countryside in central Brittany, you will notice the abundance of apple orchards which are used to make cider, the other favourite drink of this region, typically served in crêperie restaurants from a bolée, a ceramic cup.
Over the last few years, the region has also seen a growing number of local beer breweries opening where local cafés will be more than happy to serve you their local specialities.
If you prefer something stronger, we recommend you try Chouchenn, a sweet honey based spirit.

There is a special time of the day where French and Bretons will stop whatever they do to enjoy an "apéritif", a time where you have a drink and socialise with friends, family and neighbours. Around noon, especially during holiday time, terraces of cafés will fill up with people going for their "apéro", to drink typically a Pernod/Ricard, a Kir Breton (blackcurrant sirop with cider) or simply a Kir (blackcurrant sirop with Muscadet).

Back to top