The Lot Valley lies in the heart of France's gastronomic south west. Every spot of land - or terroir - has its own speciality. Eat up the landscape, from Quercy's Cabécou cheese (which varies from creamy in texture when young to hard and strong when more mature) and the finest truffles to the tender lamb from upland pastures. Check out our holiday suggestions below - with Quercy saffron on centre stage - and more!

Lozère: Wild mushrooms - oreillette (little ears) and morel - thrive in the limestone soil and shady banks. Tomme (fresh sheep's cheese) and pélardon (goat's cheese), fresh pork products and salted meat, and fresh trout are more favourites. End the meal with a shot of vervein liqueur and sweet almond croquants. Try the local cooking at any restaurants with the label 'Tables Gourmandes de Lozère'.

Cantal: Enjoy Auvergne pork, as ham, sausage (fresh or cured) and pâté, and the carefully aged, hard Cantal and Salers cheeses which may be mild or strong. There are 5 AOC Cantal cheeses made in the Cantal. Pay a visit to the department's local markets and cheese-makers for tastings. The local chestnuts make delicious oils, pâtés and cakes. Colette Castanier shows how to cook theirs at the Maison de la Châtaigne (Chestnut Museum) at Mourjou.

Aveyron: No hunger can go unsatisfied in the face of the hearty Aligot. This garlicky mixture of potatoes, cream and cheese transforms into an amazingly elastic purée, stretching into spaghetti-like strands when heated. Delicious after a morning's walk, and excellent with steak, sausages, magrets and cornichons (pickled gherkins). Around Figeac, Decazeville and Villefranche, try l'Estofinado in winter and spring - prepared from wind-dried cod, potatoes, garlic, milk and eggs moistened with just a little walnut oil. This dish was brought to the Lot by Norwegian traders.

Quercy: The truffle adds flavour to the simplest omelette, as well as to foie gras, sausages, roast poultry and pâtés. Sniff it out at truffle markets between December and March or in Quercy restaurants. Walnuts feed flavour into bread, cakes, oil and liqueur. Goose and duck are firm favourites, their robust flavours meeting their match in the local Cahors wine. Saffron adds flavour and a hint of gold to many a dish. Try the creamy and tangy Cabécou goat cheeses. Various kinds of small Cabécou cheeses are to be found all over the region. Rocamadour is the jewel in the crown of Cabécou cheeses with its own 'appellation contrôlée'. Cabécou is made on the Quercy hillside, while four million Rocamadour cheeses a year are produced in the hilltop village of Rocamadour, north of Cahors.

Agenais: Almost anything grows in this lush countryside - try peas, green beans, melons, and nectarines, greengages and peaches. But the star of the show is the famous Prune of Agen (pruneau d'Agen), the main export of the Lot-et-Garonne region. It appears under fine layers of pastry in tarts known as tourtières or soaked in Armagnac, coated in chocolate or served with white meats, poultry and fish. Uncover prunish secrets in the shade of the plum orchards at the Musée du Pruneau Gourmand (Prune Museum) at riverside Granges-sur-Lot.

Saffron has since ancient times been hugely prized throughout the world for its medicinal and culinary properties. Its flavour is unique, its colour a soft gold. The spice comes from the Crocus Sativus Linnaeus which is once more being grown and harvested in the ancient Quercy province renowned for its gastronomy. It is in October that the flowers are at their best, ready for harvesting. Your weekend break includes a visit to a saffron grower's to learn all about Quercy saffron and the hugely delicate, painstaking operation of harvesting the ‘stigma' of the crocus; your evening meal is prepared by one of the region's top chefs (member of the “ Bonnes Tables du Lot ”) with saffron at centre stage! Make sure you get to Cahors' lively market (Saturday mornings) and to St-Cirq-Lapopie (classified as “ un des plus beaux villages de France ”).

DON'T MISS THE 9th SAFFRON FESTIVAL & PRODUCERS MARKET at CAJARC at the END OF OCTOBER!

Available for the weekends of: 14-15, 21-22 & 28-29 Oct 2006.

Booking reference: LLSAFRAN

Price for 2-day/1-night weekend stay: 106€ per person (sharing double room) half-board (bed, breakfast, and evening meal)

The price includes: your overnight stay with breakfast at a 3-star hotel; the “Tout Safran” dinner including wine and coffee; a small gift of Quercy Saffron (1g for 2 people); the programmed visits and demonstrations; a route map with suggested visits and tips on where to shop or eat.

The price does not include: lunch; optional travel insurance including
cancellation (2% of total cost of your booking); booking fee (8€ for up to 3 nights).

Extra night (bed & breakfast): 20€ per person (sharing double room).

Single room supplement: 21€ - including a small gift of 0.3g of Saffron.

Children aged 4-10 (sharing parents' room): 18€ (bed & breakfast).

To find out more and to book:

Loisirs Accueil Lot

Tel: +33 (0)5 65 53 20 90

Email: Loisirs.accueil.lot@wanadoo.fr

Web: www.reservation-lot.com

This break goes beyond just eating well. Salers is one of the 100 or so «Sites Remarquables du Goût» in France - an official classification established in 1994 to define places where learning about and appreciating local culinary traditions are as important as eating well. They share a belief that the cornerstone of good eating is based on the quality of raw ingredients; on the local ‘terroir’, heritage and traditions; on the people who grow, prepare and serve the food; and on the quality of welcome afforded to visitors. It is an attitude that involves everyone - producers, hoteliers, families, students, museums, etc.

You will be staying at a Logis de France (owner-run) hotel, with full-board, in the little medieval ‘city’ of Salers, listed as one of the most Beautiful Villages in France.

Here’s what’s in store for you :
Day 1: Check-in to your hotel. Around 8pm, it’s time for a complimentary aperitif at your hotel, followed by a delicious, typical ‘auvergnat’ (i.e. from Auvergne) dinner.
Day 2: you set off after breakfast to visit the St Bonnet de Salers Dairy (to learn how the local cheeses are made and to taste them too), followed by lunch at Riom-ès-Montagnes - a pretty town with an 11th/12thC Romanesque Church. At 3pm, your visit of the Espace Avèze begins - taste and learn about the famous “Avèze” aperitif, based on locally grown gentian. You get back to your hotel in Salers late afternoon, and will finish the day with a gastronomic meal.
Day 3: after breakfast you will go on a guided ‘discovery tour’ of medieval Salers, exploring its atmospheric little lanes. You will have lunch at your hotel before setting off on your journey back home.

Available: from 04 Feb to 10 June 2006.
Price: 198 Euros per person (sharing double room).
The price includes: 3-days/2-nights full board (bed, breakfast, lunch and dinner) at a 3-star Logis de France hotel in Salers - from dinner on day 1 to after lunch on day 3. The various visits planned for you during your stay.
The price does not include: drinks; travel (including getting to sites to be visited); single room supplement (37.5 Euros for your 2-night stay); personal expenditure (telephone, bar, etc), holiday tax (if applicable), cancellation insurance; booking fee (13€).

To book and find out more:
Destination Cantal - Green France
Tel: +33 (0)4 71 63 85 15
Email: cantal@greenfrance.com

www.cantal-tour.com

For details click here

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