We Ate Really Well on the Chemin du Puy

Le Chemin du Puy, in addition to be being a religious pilgrimage, is known for its food. The route passes through the heart of some of France’s best agricultural regions. Eating well is not easy when you’re walking 20 or more kilometres per day, but we did our best.

Petit Dejeuner (Breakfast)

It’s France. Breakfast was almost invariably the same. Baguette, confiture (jam), yogurt and coffee. Occasionally orange juice. Twice we got cheeses. The only exception was La Ferme du Bicatou in the village of Maslacq. Our host Matthias prepared an exceptional dinner. The next morning he laid out the best breakfast spread on the entire Chemin. Enough said about breakfast.

Dejeuner (Lunch)

Lunches were a challenge. There were few restaurants or bars along the way. Even finding water could be a challenge. We had to carry our own lunches.

Some gîtes (bed & breakfast) offered pique-nique lunches. Typically it would be a ham and cheese baguette and some simple snack or fruit. There were exceptions. One gîte gave us boxes of freshly-cooked Chinese food worthy of a Chinese takeaway – chow mein, eggrolls and wontons. Another gave us lentil salads, chunks of homemade saucisson and pieces of local cheese. Occasionally we bought prepared salads at convenience stores and carried them with us in the 30 degree heat. Very healthy. The rest of the time, we would stop at the first (usually the only) boulangerie to buy ham and cheese baguettes. We’d stuff the baguettes into our backpacks until lunch time rolled around.

Our most memorable lunch was compliments of our friend Adam. We’d purchased our usual baguettes. Along the way, we passed a table full of melons set out by a farmer for purchase by donation. Maria joked “What crazy pilgrim is going to buy a two-pound melon to carry all day”. Turns out, Adam would. He caught up to us later, carrying the big melon. Adam explained that Moissac, the town we were approaching, is famous for melons. He couldn’t resist.

A few kilometres later we came across Mehri, another friend, sitting in the shade of an old tree having her usual lunch – a banana and a cigarette. We sat on the ground to join her. Adam pulled out a knife and carved up the melon. It dripped with juice and was full of flavour. He also had a ring of saucisson sec he’d bought the week before at the market in Espalion. For dessert he pulled out a big bar of chocolate. Adam was a veritable mobile epicerie (grocery store).

Dinner

Dinners, and sometimes late lunches if we finished our walk early, were where things got serious. We had some exceptionally good, and a few exceptionally bad, dinners. Every region had its own speciality. We did our best to try them all.

Puy lentils around Le Puy-en-Velay; tender, juicy Aubrac beef and decadent mounds of Aligot (a ridiculously unhealthy dish of mashed potatoes, butter, crème fraiche and obscene amounts of gooey Tome de l’Aubrac cheese) on the Aubrac plateau; duck in every possible form in the Gascogne; smoky sausages and stinky cheeses unique to every village; Poulet basquaise in the Basque region; black Gascon pig in the Gers.

Of course we washed it all down with whatever local wine was on offer. Oh, and Armagnac. Several villages in the Gascogne claim to be home to Armagnac. George had to try each village’s version.

A Few of the Notable Meals

Most dinners were communal meals at the gites. Generally, it was whatever was fresh and local. However, a few hosts went all out and provided restaurant-worthy meals. We also had a few memorable restaurant dinners. Here’s a few that stood out.

Loft Cafe – Éauze

Au Comptoir de L’Adour – Aire-sur-l’Adour

Au Chemin de Traverse – Lascabanes

Le Ferme de Bicatou – Maslacq

Gîte d’étape Les Volets Bleus, Chez Sébastien – Decazeville

Sébastien at Les Volets Bleus didn’t prepare a gourmet meal, but he did a barbecue, something we’d been craving. While we sat in the courtyard drinking local craft beer, he grilled an array of local meats. The smell alone was worth the price. Dinner started with a smoked salmon salad. Then Sébastien laid out platters mounded with grilled marinated chicken, chorizo, pork sausage, and, the pièce de résistance, tenderloin of local black pig. Dessert was fresh strawberries with cream.

In Case You Need More Food Pictures

Lyon

If you’re reading this blog because you’re into food, forget everything you’ve read above and just go to Lyon. We stayed a few days there before and after our trek. We spent most of our time eating. Nowhere in the world compares. Street markets with miles of tables laden with fresh produce, neighbourhood Bouchons serving traditional Lyonnais food, boucheries (butchers) and boulangeries (bakeries) on every corner, fourteen Michelin-starred restaurants, and the spectacular Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse. It’s all there. Even the Carrefour supermarket had aisle after aisle of gourmet food.

Les Pres d’Eugenie

Those of you who read our previous post will know that we took a detour off the Chemin du Puy to celebrate our fortieth anniversary at Les Pres d’Eugenie, a Relais & Chateaux hotel.

The hotel has three restaurants. Its signature restaurant is Restaurant Michel Guérard, with three Michelin stars. It looked dazzling, but we didn’t have appropriate attire in our backpacks. Next down was L’Orangerie, with “only” one Michelin star. We might have gotten in without them turning their noses up at our outfits. (We did sneak in for breakfast.) To be on the safe side we opted for the third restaurant, the less formal La Ferme aux Grives. Despite not having any Michelin stars, they served us a memorable anniversary dinner.