Look out for seasonal fruits and vegetables. The valley of the Loire is renowned as the ‘garden of France’ with an abundance of soft fruit, orchards and a huge variety of vegetables.
Freshwater fish from the Loire river dominate most menus. Sandre is a tasty local fresh water fish similar to Pike or Perch. It is sometimes served as a pike mouse called ‘Quenelles de Brochet’. ‘Rillettes’, a potted meat paste usually of pork, rabbit, duck or goose is very popular. Rillons are similar except that the meat is left in pieces.
The caves around Saumur produce more than half the mushrooms consumed in France and there will usually be a good selection of soft goats cheeses from a wide area of the Loire.