French Cycling Holidays - A Culinary Odyssey Part 4 Burgundy
Part 4 - Burgundy
Whilst Burgundy (or "bourgogne" in French) is famed for its refined red wines and elegant whites, neither the Burgundians, nor the rest of the world, tend to pair their hallowed vintages with mac 'n' cheese or beans on toast. Sitting down at the table with a bottle of Clos Vougeot or Puligny Montrachet calls for something a little more gastronomique.
Thankfully, the Dukes of Burgundy realised this when they turned their domain into lavish theatres of consumption. They shopped around for all the best produce, and helped affirm the region's importance on the trade routes of their day.
Burgundy, then is home to some rather wonderful dishes that stand up to its legendary wines. Join us as we explore Burgundy's cuisine in our latest Culinary Odyssey...
The Classic Beef Bourgignon
If experiencing the rich flavours of an authentic Boeuf Bourguignon in Burgundy is not already on your French bucket list, it should be!
By origin, this slow-cooked beef casserole is a rustic dish, made with love for a family meal, although of course the local Burgundian restaurants also do rather a good job.
Whether in a homely kitchen or among the stainless steel of a restaurant cuisine, the chef sheds tears to chop the onions, carefully cuts the bright carrots and earthy mushrooms, tenderly ties up the bouquet garni and is spattered with hot fat as the Charolais beef is browned in a very hot pan.
They may well take a little sip of the vin rouge before sloshing the rest of the glass in the casserole dish, seasoning carefully and putting into a low oven for several hours to allow the ingredients to infuse.
As the hours tick slowly by, the beef yields its hard-earned flavour and relaxes to the point where it succumbs to the gentle pressure of a fork held by a diner whose tummy has been rumbling with increasing intensity as the aroma of this hearty dish has diffused into the surrounding atmosphere.
A chef chops onions in a restaurant kitchen [Credit: Ronan Kruithof]
Dijon: Cité de la Gastronomie et du Vin
The Charolais cows used in the hallowed Bougignon recipe originate in the upland areas of west of Dijon, a town recognised for its contribution to food and drink. Proclaimed the “Cité de la Gastronomie et du Vin”, is in fact, a renovated building dedicated to showcasing France’s prowess when it comes to eating and drinking.
You can attend tastings, cooking sessions, conferences and shows as well as shopping and dining.
Any foodie will be in seventh heaven as they mooch around the boutiques and stands. And that’s before they’ve visited the market! Les Halles was designed by Eiffel himself, and when you gaze at its ironwork, you’ll see the resemblance to his Tower.
Cheeses, wines, artisanal breads, olives, mustard, fresh veggies and fish, top-to-tail meats, snails, pâtés and pastries, you’ll find it all here, four days a week. There’s a small café in the centre, and restaurants and bars sit shoulder-to-shoulder around the outside, all looking equally enticing to passers-by.
Les Halles market in Dijon [Credit: Caitlin Smith]
Must-have Mustard
Did someone say mustard? Although mustard seeds have for centuries ground into a paste and used in cooking by the Greeks, the Chinese and the Romans, it is the city of Dijon that has become synonymous for the stuff in France.
This was a major town on the spice route, and was governed over by the Dukes of Burgundy who apparently even gave its name to the condiment. "Moutarde" (mustard in French), allegedly comes from the Dukes’ motto, "Moult me tarde", meaning "many await me"...
Since 2009, it has enjoyed Protected Geographical Indication status: "Moutarde de Bourgogne".
The seeds must be grown in a specific geographical area: Côte-d'Or, Saône-et-Loire, Nièvre and Yonne. The ground seeds are made into a paste with water, Bourgogne AOC white wine, salt, sugar and spices.
One of the highlights of our Burgundy wine cycling tour is a trip to Beaune and the Fallot mustard factory which dates back to 1840. Their cute little pots of traditional or exotically flavoured condiments make a great – and easily transportable – souvenir.
Our guide David, hard at work transporting mustard in Beaune...
Favourite fromages
Keep an eye out for these amazing cheeses when you visit Burgundy:
- Epoisses: creamy and rather odorous, this soft cheese is “washed” with local alcohol called Marc de Bourgogne.
- Charolais: a rich and zingy goat’s cheese whose production dates back to the 16th century, this cheese from southern Burgundy has AOP (Protected Designation of Origin)
- Abbaye de Cîteaux: produced by monks from Notre-Dame de Abbey (near Nuits-Saint-Georges) whose motto is “prayer and work”.
- Delice de Bourgogne: you’ve heard of double cream? This stuff is made of triple cream! Buttery and tangy with a bloomy rind, it’s cheese at its most decadent.
- Chaource: a delightfully creamy but fresh cheese, One of the Duchesses of Burgundy demanded it be served at her court, and centuries later in 1970, it was given AOC status.
- Brillat-Savarin: this rather newer, but no less indulgent cheese was created in 1930 by Henri Androuet, in tribute to Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, who is known to have said, “A meal without cheese is like a beautiful woman with only one eye”…. But ridiculous comments aside, this is a very lovely triple-cream cheese, eaten fresh with no rind, or matured, after its rind develops.
Burgundy's Brillat Savarin cheese [By Frédérique Voisin-Demery Grenoble, France]
Request any of these cheeses on your cycle tour picnic and our guides will be happy to try and hunt them down for you!
Oeufs en meurette
If you like the idea of boeuf bourgignon, but don’t have sufficient stomach space to accommodate such a heavy meal, then this lighter dish of eggs in a bourgignon sauce might be just the ticket!
There are two ways of making this recipe: one is to poach eggs in water, then serve them in a red wine bourgignon sauce. The other way is to poach the eggs directly in the hot sauce, turning them a rich red Burgundy colour.
Here's an interesting fact: since 2020 an annual Oeuf en Meurette World Championships has taken place in Burgundy.
Dare you try an escargot?
Snails. Not everyone’s top pick from the starter menu, but for those who dare, Burgundian snails are reputed to be the best. All the other food in this area is rich and delicious, so why wouldn’t these be too?
If you haven’t already been tempted, then you should know that eating a snail is considered pleasant for two reasons: firstly, due to the delicious garlicky, herby butter in which it bathes, and secondly because you will have instantly gained a reputation as an adventurous epicurean!
Tucking in to a Burgundian speciality... [Image credit: Mads Schmidt]
A blue, white and red chicken
Bresse chicken is the only poultry to have been awarded a French AOC designation of origin label, and Burgundian restaurateurs are rightly proud to include it on their menus.
Indeed, the one and only Brillat Savarin proclaimed this particular bird a “Queen of chickens, chicken of Kings”. Even the look of a Bresse chicken is rather regal (or should that be republican?): white feathers, blue feet, and a fine red crest. "Hang on," you’re thinking, "that’s like the French tricolore flag!" But we want to know which came first, the chicken, or the flag?
Either way, it gained star status in Henri IV’s court and has been found loitering in creamy morel mushroom sauces and served to drooling foodies with great success ever since.
If you join our Burgundy Wine Explorer cycle tour, you will have the opportunity to try this delicious dish at one of the restaurants we dine in.
Not just for Christmas: Dijon gingerbread, aka pain d’épices
More of a cake than a festive gingerbread biscuit, French pain d’épices “spiced bread” is light and airy in texture but intense in flavour.
Rather like sourdough, the authentic recipe involves preparing a “mother” of flour, sugar and honey. After kneading, this mixture is left alone to rest for a couple of weeks… After this, egg yolks, raising agent and spices are added, and then it is given another rest, for a few days before cooking.
Look out for Maison Mulot & Petit Jean to try the original recipe handed down since 1796 and with its origins in 10th Century China! Suitable for keeping for long periods, a version of this cake was served to Gengis Khan’s forces… In the courts of the Dukes of Burgundy, it was pepped up with spices. Until the 20th Century, there were numerous producers in the area, but now only this artisanal manufacturer remains in operation.
You can buy pain d’épices in a variety of forms, from sliced loaf cake to little round Nonnettes, French for “little nuns” which also date back to the Middle Ages. These are filled with jam and drizzled with a lemon glaze.
Cyclists tucking into a well-earned picnic in the Burgundian countryside
A - very brief - introduction to Burgundy wine
Tomes upon tomes on the topic of Burgundy's wines have been painstakingly researched, compiled, written and digested, so we will refrain from delving deeply here and now. Suffice to say, if you have already heard that Burgundy is famous for wine, then you are not mistaken! Certainly the cult of Burgundy runs deep in the luxury goods market, prices driven ever more astonishing as stocks of famous heritage bottles dwindle.
But Burgundy wines are iconic for a reason: they taste utterly sublime! Titans of the wine world, the wines of this legendary region reveal the multitudinous facets of the pinot noir and chardonnay grapes and the precise location in which they grow. This expression of the 'terroir' - the individual characteristics of a vineyard, created by factors including micro-climate, sun exposure, rainfall, elevation and soil drainage - gives the wines different flavour profiles, even though they are made from the same grape variety (with a few minor exceptions).
A picture-perfect vineyard [image credit Boudewijn Boer]
Red burgundy: made from pinot noir grapes
This single - rather temperamental - grape variety is sculpted by each vineyard's micro-climates and variations in the complex soils to give rise to beautiful wines that are almost as delicious to hear, spoken in a French accent, as they are to drink. (Imagine your favourite French actor/actress whispering, "Puligny Montrachet... Gevrey Chambertin...")
Sensitive to excessive cold as well as overheating, in top vintages these pinot noir wines have a silky sensuality which only improves with age. Young reds from Burgundy burst with red fruit fragrance, whilst the more mature wines impart vanilla from their oak ageing, as well as deeper blackberry and even tobacco flavours.
White burgundy: made from chardonnay grapes
Chardonnay thrives in Burgundy's lime-stone rich vineyards and once again it is the terroir that makes Burgundian chardonnays stand out from the crowd for their elegance and finesse. As a grape variety it is much less sensitive to changes in temperature than pinot noir, although a classic Burgundy white has flinty or steely characteristics that shine when the grapes are not overripened in baking sun.
Chablis is defined by its ripe acidity, balancing mineral flavours with a citrussy zing. In the Côte d’Or, chardonnay yields buttery apricot and peach notes, thanks to its oak ageing, and these wines are known for racking up hefty price tags at auction.
Some famous names to look out for around Burgundy's vineyards:
- Clos Vougeot
- Nuits-St-Georges
- Côte-de-Nuits-Villages
- Hautes-Côte-de-Beaune
- Auxey-Duresses
- Aloxe-Corton
- Pommard
- Mersault
- Montrachet
- Santenay
- Rully
- Mercurey
- Givry
- Buxy
- Mâcon-Villages
- Pouilly-Fuissé
Book your place on our Burgundy Wine Explorer bike tour
Reserve a space on our Burgundy cycle tour, and you will have the opportunity to enjoy Epoisses cheese, Boeuf Bourgignonne, Nonnettes and of course, Burgundy wine in the restaurants we visit and on picnics during the day time rides. (Snails will also make an appearance but are no means obligatory!)
Our bike tour of Burgundy is rated four out of ten for cycling level - the cycling ranges from easy on some days to moderate on others, but should be comfortably achievable for anyone of reasonable fitness. You can also choose to do the tour on an e-bike if you prefer.
Burgundy Wine Explorer cycling tour highlights
- The majestic Abbey of Cluny
- A portion of traffic-free biking along dedicated cycleways & canal towpaths
- Sweeping landscapes of vineyards, forests and hills
- Wine tasting in prestigious Cote d'Or area
- Medieval masterpieces in Tournus and Beaune
If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to get in touch, we're always very happy to chat.
- fch@frenchcyclingholidays.com
- +44(0) 1923 894305 or +44(0)20 8357 8934
