French regional cuisine is characterized by its extreme diversity and style. Traditionally, each region of France has its own distinctive cuisine accepted by both its bourgeoisie and peasants and other general citizenry of the regions.Paris and Ile-de-France are central regions where almost anything from the country is available as all train lines meet in the city. Over 9,000 restaurants exist in Paris and almost any cuisine can be had here. High-quality Michelin Guide rated restaurants proliferate here.
Champagne • Lorraine • Alsace
Game and ham are popular in Champagne as well as the special sparkling wine simply known as Champagne. Fine fruit preserves are known from Lorraine as well as the famous Quiche Lorraine. Alsace is heavily influenced by the German food culture as such the wines and beers made in the area are similar to the style of bordering Germany.
Nord--Pas-de-Calais • Picardy • Normandy • Brittany
The coastline supplies many crustaceans, sea bass, monkfish, herring. Normandy has top quality seafood like scallops and sole, while Brittany has a supply of lobster, crayfish and mussels. Normandy is home to a large population of apple trees, which is used in dishes as well as cider and calvados. The northern areas of this region especially Nord, grow ample amounts of wheat, sugar beet and chicory. Thick stews are found often in these northern areas as well. The produce of these northern regions is also considered some of the best in the country including cauliflower and artichokes. Buckwheat grows widely in Brittany as well and is used in the region's galettes called jalet, which is where this dish originated.
The Loire Valley • Central France
High quality fruits come from the Loire Valley and central France, including cherries grown for the liqueur Guignolet and the Belle Angevine pears. The strawberries and melons are also of high quality. Fish are seen in the cuisine as well as wild game, lamb, calves, Charolais cattle, Géline fowl, and high quality goat cheeses. Young vegetables are used often in the cuisine as are the specialty mushrooms of the region, champignons de Paris. Vinegars from Orléans are a specialty ingredient used as well.
Burgundy • Franche-Comté
Burgundy is known for its wines. Pike, perch, river crabs, snails, poultry from Bresse, Charolais beef or game, redcurrants, blackcurrants, honey cake, Chaource and Epoisses cheese are all specialties of the local cuisine of both Burgundy and Franche-Comté. Kir and Crème de Cassis are popular liquors made from the blackcurrants. Dijon mustard is also a specialty of Burgundy cuisine. Oils are used in the cooking here, types include nut oils and rapeseed oil. Smoked meat and specialties are produced in the Jura.
Lyon-Rhône-Alpes
Fruit and young vegetables are popular in the cuisine from the Rhône valley. Poultry from Bresse, guinea fowels from Drôme and fish from the Dombes lakes and mountain in Rhône-Alpes streams are key to the cuisine as well. Lyon and Savoy supply high quality sausages while the Alpine regions supply their specialty cheeses like Beaufort, Abondance, Reblochon, Tomme and Vacherin. Mères lyonnaises are a particular type of restaurateur relegated to this region that are the regions bistro. Celebrated chefs from this region include Fernand Point, Paul Bocuse, the Troisgros brothers and Alain Chapel. The Chartreuse Mountains are in this region, and the famous liquor Chartreuse is produced in a monastery there.
Poitou-Charentes • Limousin
Oysters come from the Oléron-Marennes basin while mussels come from the Bay of Aiguillon. High quality produce comes from the regions hinterland, especially goat cheese. This region and in the Vendée is grazing ground for Parthenaise cattle, while poultry is raised in Challans. Poitou and Charente purportedly produce the best butter and cream in France. Cognac is also in the region along the Charente River. Limousin is home to the high quality Limousin cattle as well as high quality sheep. The woodlands offer game, high quality mushrooms. The southern area around Brive draws its cooking influence from Périgord and Auvergne to produce a robust cuisine.
Bordeaux • Perigord • Gascony • Basque Country
Bordeaux is known for its wine, as it is throughout the southwest of France with certain areas offering specialty grapes for its wines. Fishing is popular in the region for the cuisine, sea fishing in the Bay of Biscay, trapping in the Garonne and stream fishing in the Pyrenees. The Pyrenees also support top quality lamb such as the "Agneau de Pauillac" as well as high quality sheep cheeses. Beef cattle in the region include the Blonde d'Aquitaine, Boeuf de Chalosse, Boeuf Gras de Bazas, and Garonnaise. High quality free-range chickens, turkey, pigeon, capon, goose and duck prevail in the region as well. Gascony and Perigord cuisines includes high quality patés, terrines, confits and magrets. This is one of the regions famous for its production of foie gras or fattened goose or duck liver. The cuisine of the region is often heavy and farm based. Armagnac is also from this region as are high quality prunes from Agen.
Toulouse • Quercy • Aveyron
Gers in this region has high quality poultry, while La Montagne Noire and Lacaune area offers high quality hams and dry sausages. White corn is planted heavily in the area both for use in fattening the ducks and geese for foie gras as well as the production of "millas", a cornmeal porridge. Haricot beans are also grown in this area, which are central to the dish Cassoulet. The finest sausage in France is commonly acknowledged to be the saucisse de Toulouse, which also finds its way into their version of Cassoulet of Toulouse. The Cahors area produces a high quality specialty "black wine" as well as high-quality truffles and mushrooms. This region also produces milk-feed lamb. Unpasteurized ewe's milk is used to produce the Roquefort in Aveyron, while Cantal is produced in Laguiole. The Salers cattle produce quality milk for cheese as well as beef items. The volcanic soils create flinty cheeses and superb lentils. Mineral waters are produced in high volume in this region as well.
Roussillon • Languedoc • Cévennes
Restaurants are popular in the area known as Le Midi. Oysters come from the Etang de Thau, to be served in the restaurants of Bouzigues, Meze, and Sète. Mussels are commonly seen here in addition to fish specialties of Sète, Bourride, Tielles and Rouille de seiche. In the Languedoc jambon cru, sometimes known as jambon de montagne is produced. High quality Roquefort comes from the brebis (sheep) on the Larzac plateau. The Les Cévennes area offers mushrooms, chestnuts, berries, honey, lamb, game, sausages, pâtés and goat cheeses. Catalan influence can be seen in the cuisine here with dishes like brandade made from a purée of dried cod wrapped in mangold leaves. Snails are plentiful and are prepared in a specific Catalan style known as a cargolade.
Provence • Côte d'Azur
The Provence and Côte d'Azur region is rich in quality citrus, vegetables and fruits and herbs – the region is one of the largest suppliers of all these ingredients in France. The region also produces the largest amount of olives, and creates superb olive oil. Lavender is used in many dishes found in Haute Provence. Other important herbs in the cuisine include thyme, sage, rosemary, basil, savory, fennel, marjoram, tarragon, oregano, and bay leaf. Honey is a prized ingredient in the region. Seafood proliferates throughout the coastal area. Goat cheeses, air-dried sausages, lamb, and beef are popular here. Garlic and anchovies are used in many of the region's sauces, and Pastis is found everywhere that alcohol is served. The cuisine uses a large amount of vegetables for lighter preparations. Truffles are commonly seen in Provence during the winter. Thirteen desserts in Provence are the traditional Christmas dessert, e.g. quince cheese, biscuits, almonds, nougat, apple, and fougasse.
Corsica
Goats and sheep proliferate on the island of Corsica, and kids and lamb are used to prepare dishes such as "stufato", ragouts and roasts. Cheeses are also produced, with "brocciu" being the most popular. Chestnuts, growing in the Castagniccia forest, are used to produce flour, which is used in turn to make bread, cakes and polenta. The forest provides acorns used to feed the pigs and boars that provide much of the protein for the island's cuisine. Fresh fish and seafood are common. The island's pork is used to make fine hams, sausage and other unique items including coppa (dried rib cut), lonzu (dried pork fillet), figatella, salumu (a dried sausage) salcietta, Panzetta, bacon, figarettu (smoked and dried liverwurst) and prisuttu (farmer's ham). Clementines (which hold an AOC designation), lemons, nectarines and figs are grown there. Candied citron is used in nougats and cakes, while and the aforementioned brocciu and chestnuts are also used in desserts. Corsica offers a variety of wines and fruit liqueurs, including Cap Corse, Patrimonio, Cédratine, Bonapartine, liqueur de myrte, vins de fruit, Rappu, and eau-de-vie de châtaigne.
