France, part eight – Bourg-en-Bresse, Dijon and Bourgogne

After leaving the marmalade maker we drove, via Lyon, to Bourg-en-Bresse. Here we wanted to taste the alleged world’s best (and most expensive) chicken, the Bresse Chicken – or Volaille de Bresse. The king of poultry, the poultry of kings. The chicken has been known at least since 1591 and a fun fact is the color of the Bény variety, the blue legs, white body, and red comb, just like the colors of the French flag 🙂 After some stress driving through very narrow alleys in the old town, we found a suitable parking spot and went to Le Bressan, a wonderful little restaurant in the old town. To warm up we had foie gras and ham. THEN, the Poulet de Bresse à la crème et aux morilles – Bresse chicken with cream and morels…..it was indeed delicious, and completely different from any chicken we had ever tasted. Even the texture of the meat was different. Less than 200 farms breed this very special chicken, and the chicken must grow up in the region, the food must come from the region, and of course, the Bresse chicken runs around outside all day long, searching for insects, snails, worms, and what ever they can find.

For the night we were lucky to find a Bresse chicken farm just 20 kilometers from Bourg en Bresse, another France Passion host. We could park just a few meters from the fields where 100’s of the famous chicken were running around, some of them even walked around our camper – an interesting experience for Maggie. Fortunately, she is very well behaved. The super friendly lady at the farm even cooked us a Bresse chicken, which we could enjoy for dinner in the camper. The Bresse chicken didn’t make much noise at night, compared to what we experienced on some of the other farms. Another great France Passion stay.

In the morning we drove to Dijon to see the old town and visit the Maison Maille Dijon. The world-famous mustard brand established in 1747, makes very delicious mustards and all of them are sold in the shop that opened in 1845. Many of the mustards are filled directly in jars in the shop, almost like draught beer.

After lunch, we drove to Mercurey, also in the Burgundy area, where we could stay for the night by winemaker L. Tramier & Fils who is also a France Passion host. From the parking, we had a great view over the vineyards and a small lake. They make, of course – we are in Burgundy, very nice wine. So after the tasting we had to stock up again, especially the elegant pinot noir La Mûre de Roncier and the delicous sweet L’Abeille de Roncier.

In the morning we drove through the huge and beautiful vineyards to Beaune, the capital of Burgundy wine. Burgundy, Bourgogne, is home to some of the world‘s most famous wines, of course including Domaine Romanée Conti and wine has been made in Burgundy since, at least, the second century. But, this day we didn’t come for the wine. We had booked a tour at the Fallot Mustard Mill where mustard has been made since 1840. They have a huge range of mustards, strong or mild, and with a lot of different flavors. It was an interesting experience to see the production and after the factory tour, we were invited for a mustard tasting! Wow, unbelievable so strong a mustard can taste, lots of tears 🙂 There is of course also an outlet where all the different mustards are sold….so now we have a lot of mustard for any dish and occasion. I

In front of us is first a drive through the wonderful vineyards of Burgundy and then a longer trip to Alsace. If you wonder how long this will continue, this is the second last part of our „Tour de France 2021“. Then we will visit Eguisheim, and finally, make a status of our trip – about economy and facts. So keep an eye on our next post.