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Looking for great food-centric/other activities in much of southern France this fall

Looking for great food-centric/other activities in much of southern France this fall

Old Aug 15th, 2022, 10:42 AM
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Looking for great food-centric/other activities in much of southern France this fall

Hello all,

I’m leaving mid September for a three month location scouting trip for a possible move to France and will be in nine different areas for roughly ten days at a time. In this post I am looking for great food oriented and other activity recommendations in the following areas, specifically within 1.5 - 2 hours of the towns/villages indicated. They are listed in chronological order.

Averyon. Estaing

Dordogne. Val de Louyre et Caudeau

Tarn et Garonne. Septfonds

Pays Basque. Sare

Northern Aude. Caunes Minervois

Pyrenees Orientales. Prades

Gard. Donnat

Provence. Apt

Provence. Cotignac

As an ex Paris trained chef and editorial photographer I am greatly interested in all things food oriented. Markets, artisan food producers (bakers, organic gardeners,cheese producers,wineries,chefs,charcuterie producers)

I would appreciate any personal contacts people have for any of these artisans as I will be working on a “potential” personal photo project of these types of individuals. Restaurants on the more casual, regional, rustic, authentic side of the scale. I enjoy exploring villages, hiking a bit, scenic drives, vide greniers, festivals, photographing landscapes and local architecture. I may try to do a bit of canoeing,biking and fly fishing. Not into museums in a big way and will be spending most of my time outside of cities proper.

Looking forward to any potential responses and thanks so much for reading my post.

Last edited by Moderator1; Aug 16th, 2022 at 07:58 PM. Reason: removed excess white space
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Old Aug 15th, 2022, 02:24 PM
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Within an hour’s drive of Apt, Domaine la Camarette just outside Pernes-les-Fontaines, is operated by Nancy Gontier and Hugues Marrec. Does it mean something to you that their wines have in the past been bought by the rather choosy Liquor Control Board of Ontario? Anyway, they are good honest organic wines and the same can be said of their olive oil.

The restaurant has changed its operating hours since COVID times, but it attracted customers from far for its fairly priced table d’hôte making creative use of seasonal local ingredients.
I’ve only dined there twice but it was a special trip each time. Their web site suggests it will be serving individual tables from October, only booked groups till then.
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Old Aug 15th, 2022, 02:47 PM
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Here is a list of gastronomic festivals in France....

https://www.france-voyage.com/events...astronomie.htm
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Old Aug 15th, 2022, 06:19 PM
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Thank FTOttawa, I'll check out Domaine la Camarette.
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Old Aug 15th, 2022, 06:21 PM
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Originally Posted by shelemm
Here is a list of gastronomic festivals in France....

https://www.france-voyage.com/events...astronomie.htm
Thanks for the link Shelemm, much to explore on that site!!!!
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Old Aug 15th, 2022, 06:56 PM
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When we stayed in Sare we drove across to the Aldudes valley and stopped at Pierre Orteiza's shop and farm. He worked to develop the Kintoa pig breed. You can walk around the farm and he also has a shop and small cafe where we had charcuterie plates and crisp Basque cider. Very nice. This is my report on our stay Scroll through to the relevant section.

Country Roads in Autumn. Ten weeks in country France.

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Old Aug 15th, 2022, 07:03 PM
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WVD, I forget how far Estaing is from Figeac, but the latter has a great market, plus a superb deli-greengrocer combo in the main square. And also not sure about the distance to Belcastel, but its famed restaurant is worth any amount of time to get there.
Dunno whether it'd be your cup of tea, but nearby Villefranche de R. has a worthy restaurant d'application.
Good luck.
I am done. the south of France
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Old Aug 16th, 2022, 05:31 AM
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Originally Posted by rhon
When we stayed in Sare we drove across to the Aldudes valley and stopped at Pierre Orteiza's shop and farm. He worked to develop the Kintoa pig breed. You can walk around the farm and he also has a shop and small cafe where we had charcuterie plates and crisp Basque cider. Very nice. This is my report on our stay Scroll through to the relevant section.

Country Roads in Autumn. Ten weeks in country France.
Rhon, thanks for the response. I did go to Orteiza's spot in 2019 and plan on going back for a more personal tour as an old cooking school friend of mine from Hong Kong has become a wine expert and has a contact there for me. And thank you for the link to your trip report!
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Old Aug 16th, 2022, 05:37 AM
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Originally Posted by zebec
WVD, I forget how far Estaing is from Figeac, but the latter has a great market, plus a superb deli-greengrocer combo in the main square. And also not sure about the distance to Belcastel, but its famed restaurant is worth any amount of time to get there.
Dunno whether it'd be your cup of tea, but nearby Villefranche de R. has a worthy restaurant d'application.
Good luck.
I am done. the south of France
Zebec, thanks for your reply. I've eaten at the restaurant at Belcastel and it was a great experience. While it will be within distance I'm not sure if I'll go this time or not. I do plan on making it to Villefranche which is about 1:20 from my gite. Do you have a resto recco there? Figeac will be closer when I am in Septfonds in the Tarn et Garonne and am plannign on making it there.
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Old Aug 16th, 2022, 07:45 PM
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It sounds as though you are fairly organised already. You have some not so well known places in your plans. You may be interested to read this blog which has a couple of posts about Septfonds. She lives in Caylus and also posts interesting little vignettes about places in the area.

https://vanessafrance.wordpress.com/...-in-septfonds/
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Old Aug 17th, 2022, 11:56 AM
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Yo Rhon,
Caylus market days are TU and FRI. Some favor the nearby Caussade market instead.
Yo yo WVD (I responded to your PM) btw): Villefranche various & sundry below.
The St. Joseph lycee at the top of town offers a Restaurant d'application experience. Check for days/hours. Tends to be on their exam days apparently.
The fromage store 'Chez Ludo' is worth every effort. Comte, Cantal, and much more.
The popular restaurant 'Cote de Saveurs' has a new location in Pl. Fontagne.
Charcuteirie Lavergne, Boucherie Nicolas Trinquier & Boulangerie Mirault are popular with locals. We preferred the former.
The Thursday market in pl. Notre Dame is a good one. Vendors come from Falgayroles, St Antonin, Lioujas and elsewhere. Maybe look for 'Les Grecs', the couple Jean-Marc et Sophi Velati, for their stand.

*in Albi, je propose Le Clos Sainte-Cecile restaurant.
Good Luck!
I am done. the south of
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