The Charente Maritime - Food & Wine

The fresh oysters of Marannes-Oléron are highly sought after all over France and there are also langoustines, prawns and mussels caught in the sea and rivers and lakes.

Seafood
Naturally, with such a long coastline, it’s not surprising that seafood is popular in this region. The Seudre estuary in the Arvert peninsula contains little villages of oyster farmers. Colourful painted huts line long channels between the beds. At La Tremblade, Arvert, Chaillette, and other places nearby you can taste the famous Marennes-Oléron oysters. The oysters of Marennes-Oléron are much sought after all over France and are very tasty as well as being fresh. Les moules de bouchot are another regional specialty and these bowls piled with mussels can be found in many restaurants.

Meat
In the East of the Charente region you will find herds of dark caramel coloured cattle grazing amongst buttercups. These are the Limousin cattle of the region, and the steak served in the region will be from these animals. The meat is low in fat but still tender and full of flavour.

In the Barbezieux area of the Charente another local speciality is the black chicken of Barbezieux. These chickens have been bred in the region since the Middle Ages and are renowned for their flavour.

At Saint-Marial-sur-Né, Manicot Geese are Bred at Élevage Manicot where the breeding of geese is an old family tradition. Here you can learn all about the breeding process on the farm from the hatching of the goslings to the final canning process. You can also buy confit, chitterlings or traditional foie gras

Cheese
The Charente area is particularly well known for its goats’ cheeses. In numerous restaurants and markets you will find goats cheese moulded into the shape of a log from which a portion is sliced.
Mothais sur feuille is often served on a chestnut or plain leaf and is shaped into a disc 4 to 5 inches in diameter and one inch thick, and then there is a sort of ‘camembert’ which is not the real item but hasa similar feel to it. Another cheese to try is jonchee, which is a softcheese made from cow’s milk and water first flavoured with bay leaves and then rolled in dry marsh rushes. Le tourteau fromagé, is somewhere between a cake and a cheesecake and it is made from cow’s milk. You'll find it in many places, just look out for its round shape and its blackened top giving it the appearance of having been burned.

Ile de Ré potatoes
Extremely tasty particularly when topped with butter and a little salt sprinkled on. They are said to have a subtle marine taste owing to the sandy soil and seaweed fertiliser in which they are grown. (Right: Ile de Ré potatoes)

Salt
Another culinary delight from the Ile de Ré is the salt which is loved by cooks around the world. There are various different types - the main ones being Fleur de Sel which is naturally white, fine and light and Grey Sea-Salt harvested from the bottom of the salt pans mainly used in cooking. 

Cognac
Here you will find the Équinoxe Cognac created especially to be drunk with soda water as an aperitif.

Pineau
The Rayon d'Or is a brand of Pineau-des-Charentes which you can either sample in the white or the rosé variety but don't forget that the French people recommend that Pineau should be drunk from a tulip shaped glass so as to preserve its fragrant bouquet!

Wine
Whilst this region might not be as celebrated as Bordeaux or the Loire, it still produces many fine wines. if you want to discover some of the best wines of this region, check out the winemakers of the Côtes de Saintonge who market their Vins de Pays Charentais very enthusiastically. Most highly recommended are the white wines made from the Sauvignon and Colombard grape varieties.