When you’re lucky enough to be pampered by nature, you can see it, breathe it and taste it!
When you’re lucky enough to be pampered by nature, you can see it, breathe it and taste it!
With both feet firmly planted in rich winegrowing soil, caressed by the sun and watered by the Charente River, Saintonge also has a connection to the nearby ocean. Between land and sea, the region has a singular identity with original flavours.
What if I made you a typical regional meal? You can’t leave without trying Saintonge’s most celebrated products! So, here is a list of must-try food and beverages…
At cocktail hour, try…
• a glass of pineau rouge, blanc or rosé. This sweet wine goes down with the greatest of ease…
• or a little glass of cognac! Here, we particularly enjoy it in a cocktail, for example with a little tonic water.
For your starter, choose…
- some Charentais melon. You can also try some cantaloupe, with its rough, netted rind.
- oysters: the famous Marennes Oléron are farmed right nearby!
For your main course, you can have…
• mojhettes piates (flat beans in Charentais) or Pont l’Abbé mojhettes cultivated in Pont-l’Abbé-d’Arnoult. These are small local white beans.
• grillons charentais (which you can also have as a starter on bread) made of large chunks of pork and spices (garlic and pepper in particular but also potentially sea salt from Ile de Ré and nutmeg). All of that, cooked for at least 5 hours! Grillon charentais has been covered by a quality charter since 1998.
• or some delicious fresh fish caught off the coastline! Thanks to the proximity of the ocean, we get daily deliveries of meagre, sole, sea bass, sea bream, mullet, mackerel and more. You’ll be spoilt for choice!
Is there anything for dessert?!
• Yes! Here is a galette charentaise, with its spongy shortbread… It is a traditional cake from Saintonge, often flavoured with angelica. This party cake has a moist, creamy texture.
• Angelica? Is it good? It’s delicious! It is a plant that is native to the Charente departments. It can be eaten candied on its own or else in cakes and galettes.
Where can you buy all this?
Find all the tasty local and regional products at farms in Saintonge or at the producers’ premises, in town centre shops, at La Ferme Santone or at one of our markets.
