Things to do in Montluçon

Nestled in the heart of central France in the Auvergne region, Montluçon offers a delightful blend of medieval charm, great cuisine and a warm welcome. From exploring the picturesque old town with its timber-framed houses to indulging in local foods and cheeses, this vibrant town has something to offer every visitor. Discover some of the top things to do, see, and eat in Montluçon.

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Kern – A fabulous lunch in Seytroux

This restaurant is the passion and inspiration of Jean Philippe Lemaire an experimental and talented chef who hails from Brittany. As described in his bio on his website:

“Jean-Philippe Lemaire is a perfectionist who constantly questions his work, developing a refined cuisine with clear and honest tastes”

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It’s Mardi Gras…Let’s eat Bugnes!

Les Bugnes are delicate and small twisted ribbon style beignets and are made from a dough very much like a doughnut and coated in a sugar icing. They are also known as Angels Wings and many other names throughout Europe.

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Snow Cooks – A Chalet Host and cooking course in The Alps

So you want to be a chalet host and cook?
Well this is the course for you…
What a fun experience I had this summer attending a Snow Cooks course for a week with Mel in the most gorgeous alpine village of Peisey Nancroix. We stayed in a lovely restored large village house that is over 200 years old, within walking distance of the local amenities.

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A weekend in Beaujolais, Grand Bourgogne

Enjoy a weekend in Beaujolais and find yourself surrounded by rolling hills, grape vines as far as the eye can see, pastel stone houses with pantile roofs all within about one hour and 40 minutes of the Haute Savoie and Geneva. The contrast in the countryside is astounding, considering this is so close to the alpine mountainous region of the Haute Savoie. I had the sense I was delving deeper into the heart of real France, into one of the most important wine regions and one of the main things that France is known for.

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Endive and Potato Gratin

The endive is a very popular vegetable in France, in fact it is the 3rd most consumed vegetable in France;
Endives also known as chicory are a versatile vegetable, great cooked in gratins, braised, sautéed and topped with cheese, make good soups, can be used in stir fries and also tasty raw in salads. They make great decorations to a plate and good canapes as their boat shaped leaves can be filled with pâte or used to dip into cheese and dips…

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What to do with leftover Cheese Fondue?

What is leftover cheese fondue I hear you cry! Well one of my lifelong traits is to over cater, which is exactly what I did recently when making a big pot of cheese fondue for a group of friends. I made my Savoyard cheese fondue using my Taste of Savoie recipe (link)

So I had quite a lot of leftover cheese fondue to work through. You can save your cheese fondue in the fridge quite safely for a few days, best in a sealed container. Do make sure it is cold before refrigerating.

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Five more ways with Reblochon

Here are my latest Reblochon recipes from the Taste of Savoie Kitchen.

From fusion tartiflettes, the cauliflower and Diots one is keto-friendly! Swapping out the potatoes for cauliflower makes this a posh cauliflower cheese really! Then I felt the humble turnip needed some press so I used turnip in place of potato, this is a great alternative. the classic Croziflette uses Crozets pasta from The Savoie region. To a Reblochon tart and little Reblochon pillows for Apero time.

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Cookery Workshops, Haute Savoie

Well, what a great fun day out I had at the Atelier of At My Table near Bonne. I joined a vegetarian cookery workshop run by Tamsin and Michelle from Bon App based in Morzine, followed by a delicious lunch. We arrived at the beautiful venue of At My Table very close to Bonne which is only about 20 minutes from Geneva and 40 minutes from Annecy and were welcomed by Vivian, the creator of At My Table.

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Road Trip to Italy

About a 9 hour drive from the Haute Savoie is Todi in Umbria. Todi is about half way between Perugia and Terni, or Orvieto and Spoleto. Umbria is in the middle of Italy in the most beautiful countryside with an abundance of hilltop and medieval villages and towns. Not to mention fabulous restaurants, wonderful food, delicious wines and incredible olive oils.
Fun fact Umbria is the only region of Italy without a coastline!

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