Delectable !

So here we are, on the edges of the Millevaches Plateau (not the land of a thousand cows, but of a thousand springs!) Tables and chairs are already waiting in the picturesque lanes around the Benedictine abbey at Meymac, providing a luminous setting for this jewel of a building with its slate roofs and ancient granite walls. The cheerful crowds gather around the local farmers’ stalls, eager to share in the fun and good food. A wonderful smell of Limousin beef roasting on improvised barbecues wafts into the air. And the first trout from Monédières will soon be grilled to perfection. Colette is busy unpacking her jars of duck preserves, arranging them alongside the pots of jam and baskets of fresh blueberries on her stand. Someone has opened a bottle of local Branceilles wine: Mille et une pierres (a thousand and one stones!) The party can begin ... This atmosphere of celebration and friendliness they create in the villages, around local products presented by the farmers and artisans who produced them, is what makes these Local Producers’ Markets so unique.

Set up a few years ago at the initiative of the Chambers of Agriculture, the Marchés des Producteurs de Pays provide a direct contact, with no middlemen between the producers and consumers. They are the best showcases for the traditional skills of a region. Most of the items for sale are food products, but craft work is also well represented with pottery and jewellery, for example. And where better to stock up on walnut oil or walnut wine aperitif? Find the best boudins (black or white sausages) and andouilles (tripe sausage)? Learn to appreciate the unique flavour of veal raised with its mother? Here, by buying straight from the producer, you have a real guarantee of freshness, quality and traceability, backed up by a charter that binds all the participants. Going to these markets is a pleasure for all the senses. If you’d like to go to one, they are generally held in the summer, once or twice a week in villages that are as delightful as the products you will find to buy there. In Sainte-Féréole, 10 km north of Brive, the market takes place every Thursday evening in July and August on the village square. Here you can taste pork butchery products made on the farm from the cul noir pigs so famous for the excellent taste of their meat.

Farm-made tomme from Saint-Laurent or the Feuille du Limousin are delicious local cheeses. And so are the fruit and vegetables; Annie’s tomatoes sit side by side with Mireille’s raspberries and Laurette’s strawberries. Every Thursday is a day of busy cheerfulness at Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat too.

This charming medieval town on the banks of the Vienne will introduce you to its massepain, a kind of small oval macaroon made with eggs and almond paste, best eaten warm and well-risen. There are also milk direct from the farm, home-made yogurt and poultry: ducks, guinea fowl and goose raised organically. If you happen to go through Saint-Pardoux, a small village known for its lake, try and do so on a Thursday sometime between mid-July and the end of August. You can also enjoy a feast of a meal there on certain dates. On the menu: rabbit terrine and paste, ratatouille stew of vegetables from the garden, potato pie, and so on. And to round the meal off, a typical master baker’s cake, the Burgou, in this case made by Jacky. At the Marchés de Producteurs de Pays, you will often find chairs, tables and music provided to better enjoy the fun of a tasty journey through the heart of France.

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