a good
taste of
country flavors
Somme gourmande, a good taste of local produce
- 6eggs in beaten cake
- 7market gardeners in the hortillonnages
- 16th century: creation of the Amiens button
Picardy specialities
Le coin des Grands Gourmands
From the great cereal-growing plains to the shores of the Baie de Somme, from the market gardens of the Hortillonnages d’Amiens to the ponds of the Haute Somme, the variety of landscapes has given us a wide range of local produce around which to build a rich and varied cuisine.
Market gardening, for example, is practised all along the Somme, and particularly in the fertile lands of the Hortillonnages. Even today, these gardens, surrounded by water, stretch over 300 hectares in the heart of Amiens, and can be visited by traditional horn-boat. Radishes, cauliflowers, turnips, lettuces, leeks, artichokes, blackcurrants, redcurrants and even melons make up part of the production. Two emblematic recipes to sample: Hortillon Soup and Leek Flamiche!
The Ponthieu and Santerre regions produce 3/4 of France’s endives. Prepared in salads, braised or with ham, endive cultivation spread to the Somme between the wars.
A region of crops and livestock
When it comes to meats,salt-meadow lamb is the star! This is the name given to a sheep raised on the seashore, whose meat acquires a distinctive, pleasant flavor. Since 2006, it has benefited from an AOC (protected designation of origin) and is marketed under the brand name “estran” – mouton de pré salé, a guarantee of quality for consumers.
For centuries, the Baie de Somme has also been an extraordinary natural reserve for waterfowl, for which a local trade existed as far back as the Renaissance.
Colvert de la Côte Picardeduck comes from a strain of wild duck, and its meat is tasty, full of character and very tender.
Hochepot is a generic term for a culinary preparation based on meat and vegetables cooked in a broth. Caqhuse is a piece of pork leg surrounded by onions and roasted in the oven. This dish is traditionally eaten cold.
Duck pâté is a speciality of Amiens. It’s actually a whole duck, preserved in spices and incorporated into a pastry. This dish, which the Marquise de Sévigné prided herself on having eaten, has made the reputation ofAmiens. Other duck-based products are offered by breeders: foie gras, rillettes…
Another queen of Amiens : La Ficelle Picarde
It’s a thin, salted crêpe rolled around a slice of ham with a thinly sliced mushroom. The whole thing is baked au gratin in a creamy sauce. You can try it in most traditional restaurants in Amiens.
Potato land!
To the east of the département is a region known as Santerre, or potato land par excellence. Taste Picardy gastronomy with the different varieties of potatoes produced in the Somme: pompadour, ratte, vitelotte, juliette des sables which grow in the sandy soil of the Baie de Somme and nowhere else.
Bistrots de Pays, a new-found conviviality
What better way to enjoy local dishes than in a friendly country bistro? It’s the perfect place to pick up a few tips on local curiosities, or to get advice on local specialties. We just love it.
Savor the taste of good things! Our small country markets bring you the best of Picardy…
A little sweetness
Beaten cakes, rapes, tuiles and other macaroons…
It was the Maison Trogneux that gave birth to the “Macaron d’Amiens ” as we know it today, in a confectioner’s shop on Amiens Cathedral Square, a delicacy made from almonds, sugar, honey, egg white, sweet almond oil and bitter almond. The Amiens macaroon is considered one of the oldest in France, dating back to the 16th century.
More recently created, the Pavé de Corbie or Pavé Picard is its hazelnut cousin. You’ll find it at Pâtisserie Langlet in Corbie.
Other sweet treats include the tuile au chocolat d’Amiens and the Rabotte picarde, a pastry made from a peeled, cored and sugar-filled apple baked in a square of puff pastry or shortcrust pastry, not forgetting the indestructible Gâteau battu.
It’s a kind of brioche, tall and cylindrical, with golden-yellow dough and a beautiful brown crust. It was traditionally eaten at Easter and during ceremonies (village feasts, weddings…). Today, it is still appreciated at receptions, as a dessert as well as for breakfast. The most famous is from the Fréville bakery (4 locations: Abbeville, Quesnoy-le-Montant, St Valery-sur-Somme, Fressenneville).
Meeting with
Thérèse Nowak
Market gardener in the Hortillonnages
“After the holidays, make your own detox syrup by alternating black radish and candy sugar in a 1-liter jar. Close it up and put it in the bottom part of the fridge. Your syrup will be ready the very next morning.”
Where to go
shopping?
L’Escale Gourmande in Mers-les-Bains
13 avenue du Maréchal Foch
Delicatessen and local specialities that you can also order online
Les Halles du Beffroi, Amiens
Place Maurice Vast
A covered market known to the people of Amiens for the high quality of its fresh produce. You’ll find many Picardy products.
Au temps des Mets in Abbeville
18 parvis Saint Vulfran
Here you’ll find all the specialities for which the region is famous: Amiens duck pâté and Picard pâté, salicornes, local foie gras, Amiens macaroons, Saint-Vulfran d’Abbeville cobblestone, Picardy reinette and poirette…
At the Prés Salés farm in Noyelles-sur-mer
13, rue du général de Gaulle
At the Cap Hornu hotel-restaurant in St Valery-sur-Somme
Store selling regional products at the hotel reception desk
Aux Mets de l’Estran in St Valery sur Somme
2 rue du Docteur Lomier
Aux 3 Conserveries in Le Crotoy
9 rue de la porte du pont
At the Conserverie St-Christophe in Argoules
Little path
Other specialties
loose
- Le Rollot, et caetera
Known since the 16th century and appreciated by Louis XIV, Rollot is a heart-shaped cow’s milk cheese!
Other cheeses include Tomme au foin or au cidre, Bray aux graines de lin, Tricorne…
On sale at Chez Planchon (Amiens) or Chez Hermann (Amiens and St Valery-sur-Somme), Chez Caseus (St Valery-sur-Somme).
- Smoked eel
Eels thrive in our rivers, particularly in the ponds of the Haute Somme. It can be eaten in a variety of ways: in terrine or matelote, grilled or stewed in cider. But the most emblematic recipe is certainly smoked over beechwood. Eels are no longer fished in the Somme today, but local fishermen perpetuate the tradition by smoking eels imported from the Loire or the Netherlands.
On sale at Au Vivier d’Omignon in Saint-Christ-Briost, at the Halles du Beffroi in Amiens and occasionally at the Péronne market.
- L’Avocette and Riquier mill flour
A baguette born recently, in 2004, in the Baie de Somme, from the best varieties of wheat. This is also where the Avocette flour is carefully produced by the millers of the Riquier mills in Cahon-Gouy.
- Beer from the Somme breweries
The Somme also has a brewing tradition of which we have nothing to be ashamed. Brasserie De Clerck, Picardennes and Brasserie de la Somme are the 3 main beer producers. The brasserie de la Somme offers guided tours and even home-brewing courses. Come and discover all the secrets of beer-making!
To discover
also
Poppy products
The poppy, the symbolic flower of the Great War, is now recognized for its original taste qualities. Many producers in the Somme region use it in new and surprising versions: beers, ciders, cheeses, cookies, syrups…
On sale at Chez Planchon in the Halles du Beffroi in Amiens (cheese ‘The Poppy’ made with cow’s milk and poppy heart)
La Brasserie de la Somme in Domart-en-Ponthieu or brasserie Picardennes (beers with poppy) – La Cidrerie de la garenne (cider with poppy)
La Biscuiterie du coquelicot in Albert (wafers, sweets, jelly, syrup, etc. with poppy)
Terrines and pâtés: salted meadow lamb, mallard...
As a land of livestock farming and hunting, the people of the Samaritans have always made numerous pâtés and terrines. The Conserverie Saint-Christophe in Argoules carries on the tradition, bringing us the very best of the region in a range of delightful terrines. The most emblematic of these is the salt-meadow lamb terrine, which combines land and sea. To be enjoyed chilled to bring out all the flavors.
Don’t forget Muché à l’ail, a traditional Picard pâté “stirred with a fork”, now made by Domaine Picard.
On sale in the delicatessen section of most hypermarkets.
At the Conserverie Saint Chistophe in Argoules.
Lime blossom honey
Lime blossom is a wild species that thrives in our forests. Local beekeepers used to place their hives in the forest so that the bees could gather this precious nectar and produce the honey that is so clear and delicate on the palate.
On sale in most of the delicatessens listed opposite.
