Read on for more information about the gastronomy of the Nord Pas de Calais region or visit their website at
www.comitedepromotion-npdc.com
*Cuisine and traditional products
Between sea and Artois plains, Avesnois farmland and the Monts de Flandre, the region offers an unexpected cuisine that will appeal
to curious appetites seeking adventures and nice surprises.Traditional dishes include: hochepot, escavêche, carbonade, waterzoï,
potje'vleesch… Meats, poultry, fish, market garden produce… they don't hesitate in drawing on the wealth of regional produce,
to combine tastes and flavours: rabbit accompanied with prunes, smoked tongue with foie gras. In short, this cuisine has
flavour, not to mention character, reflected in its cheeses that you will willingly taste with one of the numerous beers
brewed in the region. So come and sit down… and let yourself savour…
Inspired by the past to create a modern day, up-market cuisine, is the challenge undertaken and succeeded by numerous
restaurant owners in the region. To be convinced of this, you just need to open the major culinary guides at the page
Nord-Pas de Calais to find: 'Le Château de Ligny' in Ligny-en-Cambrésis, 'L'Huîtrière' and 'Le Sébastopol' in Lille,
'L'Auberge Fleurie' in Sars-Poteries, 'La Matelote' in Boulogne, 'Le Château de Montreuil', 'Le Cerisier' in Laventie
or 'Le Meurin' in Béthune…
so many prestigious places that know how to combine quality surroundings with sophisticated cuisine!
*The 'Savoir Plaire' label
This tourist quality label distinguishes establishments that are committed to offering a quality welcome,
perfectly adapted to the tourist clientele. Besides pleasant surroundings, you will be able to find tourist information
on the main sites and events in the region and especially an emphasis on the wealth of regional produce found on regional menus.
They are easy to recognize by the sign outside.
*Different products
Beer
The beer "Ambroisie du Nord" has been in existence since Antiquity. It was called barley beer by the Gaulois and was spread throughout Flanders by Jean Sans Peur, Duke of Bourgogne and Count of Flanders, who developed the job of hop growing in the 'brasseries' (breweries). Today, the hop fields of Flanders remind us that Nord-Pas-de-Calais is one of the two largest brewery regions in France.
Beers known as "special" beers, with a high fermentation (between 15 and 25 °C - as opposed to 6 to 12 °C for low fermentations) make up the most typical production of the region. These beers often have original names (l'Angélus, la Cuvée des Jonquilles, la Choulette, la bière du Ch'ti) and are tasted and shared if possible, in the warmth of the 'estaminets' (taverns): these small cafés decorated with objects from days gone by, where one enjoys meeting up over a tasty typical dish or traditional game for a wild party!
Places to go: The Micro-Brewery Hommelpap in Bailleul, the La Choulette Brewery in Hordain, the Castelain Brewery in Bénifontaine, the Saint Poloise Brewery in Saint-Pol-Sur-Ternoise.
Le genièvre (Hollands drink)
Made from cereals (oats, barley, rye), the 'genièvre' was first used for medicinal purposes in the Middle Ages before being commercialised as a drink during the 16th century. The juniper berries, that give the drink its distinctive fragrance, are added during the phase of distilling. Only two distilleries, in Houlle and in Wambrechies, still produce this eau-de-vie alcohol in Nord-Pas de Calais, where the process has remained unchanged since 1817.
Places of interest: The Claeyssens Distillery in Wambrechies (Tel.: +33 (0)3 20 14 91 96) and the Persyn Distillery in Houlle (Tel.: +33 (0)2 21 93 01 71).
Cheese
The numerous pasture areas in Artois, Flanders, Hainaut, Avesnois, make Nord - Pas-de-Calais an important cheese producing region that has been so for a long time, since the famous 'Maroilles' was already being produced in the 10th century.
There are 34 regional cheeses and some of them are both strong and subtle in taste, such as the Maroilles cheese already mentioned, the Dauphin, the 'Boulette d'Avesnes', the 'Cœur d'Arras' or the cheese from Bergues, not to mention the 'Vieux-Lille' also known as "puant" (stinky).Places of interest: The Ferme du verger Pilote in Maroilles (Tel.: +33 (0)3 27 77 71 56) and the Mont des Cats goat breeders in Berthen (Tel.: +33 (0)3 28 49 41 54).
Sea produce
Reflected in Boulogne-sur-Mer, the first fishing port in France, the region definitely looks out to the sea. It is therefore quite natural that fish and shellfish can be found in the cuisine of the Nord-Pas de Calais. All over the Côte d'Opale, fishermen's stalls are overflowing with sea produce: flatfish, bass, mackerel, cod, crabs, mussels… and of course, the eternal herring savoured in many different ways: fresh, smoked, marinated or in a salad accompanied by warm potatoes. Places to go: L'Atlantic in Wimereux (+33 (0)3 21 32 41 01) and the Restaurant du Cap in Escalles (+33 (0)3 21 82 32 61).
La gaufre (waffles)
In the olden days prepared by grand mothers and given out to children on New Year's Day, today the waffle is a treat for all, adults included! Traditionally oval shaped and finely criss-crossed, it was filled with vanilla or brown sugar. Today you can find them flavoured with 'genièvre' from Houlle, 'Grand-Marnier', rum and even chicory. It is even said that General
de Gaulle in person, took no qualms in having them delivered…
Places to go: The Méert pâtisserie (cake shop) in Lille. The oldest confectioners in Lille (1761) with its famous waffles filled with vanilla from Madagascar.
'La Gaufre du Pays Flamand' in Houplines. An old fashioned waffle-maker where each visitor leaves with a packet of brown sugar- or violet-waffles.
(Tel.: +33 (0)3 20 77 40 19).
