Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
FOOD SEASONS
Winter
It may be cold and grey outside but inside, Provençal winter specialities will dazzle
you: feast on pungent truffles, try all 13 desserts on Christmas day and add some zest
to your food with Menton's lemons.
Spring
Lamb is the traditional Easter meat across Provence; in Camargue, bull meat (stewed
or cured in
saucissons
) is another spring favourite. Fill up on olive oil from the harvest
just gone.
Summer
Sun-ripened fruit and vegetables are at their very best: tomatoes, peaches, cherries and
melon burst with sugar and taste. Grilled meat or fish are alfresco dinner staples.
Autumn
It's vintage time; wine makers celebrate with family meals and festivals. It's chestnut
harvest in Collobrières, just in time to make the
marrons glacés
(glazed chestnuts) for
Christmas.
Thinking, dreaming, living food is the norm in Provence, where days are geared around
satisfying a passionate appetite for dining well. Some culinary traditions are upheld every-
where: oodles of olive oil, garlic and tomatoes find their way into dozens of dishes. Yet
there are regional differences, which see fishermen return with the catch of the day in sea-
faring Marseille; grazing bulls and paddy fields in the Camargue; lambs in the Alpilles;
truffles in the Vaucluse; cheese made from cows' milk in alpine pastures; and an Italianate
accent to Niçois cooking.
Ultimately, the secret of Provençal cuisine lies not in elaborate preparation techniques or
sophisticated presentation, but in the use of fresh local ingredients. In Provence it is the
humble rhythm and natural cycle of the land that drives what you eat and when.
