Although the friendly and gregarious American thinks well of his fellow citizen in home territory, he suffers a strange change of heart when traveling in Europe. He suddenly finds himself saying, “Well, the place would be all right if it weren't overrun by Americans.” He yearns to get off the beaten path, away from his compatriots. But he keeps right on walking down the rue de Rivoli and the promenade des Anglais. He motors to Brittany and the Touraine, lakes a week end in Deauville and a fortnight on the Riviera, and concludes that his counterpart, like his shadow, is unshakable. Although aloofness is not necessarily a positive virtue, it gives us some pleasure to be able to point out that the Poitou is one of the off-the-beaten-path provinces where very few Americans travel, yet where the countryside is seductive, the architecture inspired, and the regional cooking delectable.
It is an unsung province in the western part of France, composed of three département —Vienne, Deux-Sèvres, and Vendée. It rubs elbows with Brittany and the Touraine and borrows wine from them. It is unspectacular, very peaceful, and imbued with that peculiar quality which is called, for want of a better name, nostalgic. Le Poitou is the pure essence of France, quilted with fields and forests, dotted with châteaux and Romanesque churches. Its citizens are not particularly famed, with the exception of Georges Clemenceau, France's vieux-tigre Premier of World War I, who was a native of the Vendée. It is a land of folklore, native costumes, and long working hours. The eastern part is agricultural. You drive past prosperous fields given over to grain and sugar beets and scattered vineyards. The villages are mostly clusters of farmyards, and the farmyards are thickly populated with ducks, chickens, white geese, goats, and rabbits.
On the west, bordering the Atlantic, is the Vendée, a low, mysterious land crossed with canals and generously moistened with salt marshes (which augur well for the quality of the mutton). Fishermen set out from several ports—Les Sables d'Olonne is the most important—in quest of tuna, sardines, shellfish, and the usual Atlantic miscellany. It is a hard life, and the gains are small, but these hard-bitten fishermen will accept no alternative. The fisherman's wife in Les Sables-d'Olonne is bedecked on Sunday with an elaborate white coiffe, a roomy blouse, a short red-and-white-striped skirt, and wooden shoes. If you are enthusiastic about native costumes, she merits a detour.
The traveler in the Poitou will find few, if any, uniformed guides with monologues, yet there is almost as much to see here as in the Touraine. The architectural gamut runs from prehistoric dolmens to modernistic churches. You will find a Roman theater in the village of Sanxay. feudal dungeons in Loudun and Niort, and Romanesque treasures almost everywhere. They say that Romanesque architecture, like beer, is an acquired taste. If you have made this happy acquisition, a memorable experience awaits you in many villages of the Poitou, particularly in Chauvigny (Vienne) and St. Généroux (Deux-Sévres).
The pinnacle of Romanesque beauty, of course, is reached at Notre-Dame-la-Grande in Poitiers. Only the eathédrale St.Pierre in Angoulème attains the same eminence. Ancient stone bridges also flourish in the Poitou, notably in St. Généroux, Airvault, and Parthenay. The rolling hills are punctuated with Renaissance châteaux, less imposing than those of the Touraine but more likely to engender that acquisitive urge. The Château d'Oiron is perhaps the most outstanding. You will find a village of unutterable charm in the Vendée if you search out Fontenay-le-Comte.
The summary could go on and on. but we are also here to discuss fine fare and where to find it. Let it be Stated with emphasis—the Poitou regional cookery is exceptionally good. It doesn't equal the splendor of Burgundy, Périgord, or the Lyonnais. but it has the virtue of honest simplicity combined with absolutely flawless materials. Fine butter is its keystone. The fat of the goose and the oil of the olive are not in favor for cooking. The aim of the Poitou cook is to enhance the natural taste of things, not to disguise it with aromatic sauces. “Absolutely nothing replaces butter”—that is his credo. And the butter which he employs is the finest in France, bringing a higher price in Les Halles in Paris than the best from Normandy.
He has his little secrets, too. A trickle of wine. lemon juice, or brandy at just the right moment lifts his dish above the commonplace. He uses an immense quantity of shallots, plenty of onions, but is sparing with the garlic, He employs a wide range of herbs and is more partial to slowly cooked fowl than red meat. He is “born a cook, and not a rôtisseur,” to alter the phrase. The hurried minute steak with shoestring potatoes is contrary to the reposeful cookery of this quiet country. They much prefer to have something gurgling gently in an earthen casserole on the back of the stove.
This rich province is like the Nivernais—everything grows in abundance. Fruit, grain, and vegetables burst from the soil. The finest of the dry white beans, called mojettes, come from here. Furred and feathered game populates the forests, plump steer roam the pastures. They make a celebrated cheese from ewe's milk, the little white cylinder known as chabicbou. Its taste is gentle at first but it becomes stronger with age. It also hardens, sometimes to the point where you have to attack it with a hammer. Poitevins are rabid fresh-water fishermen, bringing back eel, carp, shad, and pike to rival the Atlantic salt-water catch. Snails and frogs' legs appear on many menus. Nature is kind to Le Poitou!
Its wines are not outstanding or well known, They recall the neighboring Touraine and Anjou vintages, without their subtlety. Nevertheless, they are charming vins du pays, fresh and palatable. Since they do nor travel well, they become a purely local luxury, to be consumed at an early age. The best of the lot is probably St.-Léger de Montbrillais, grown near Loudun and found in many hotels of the region. Most wine lists lean heavily on Muscadet, Bourgeuil, and Vouvray from the adjacent provinces.
If you are just a bit sated with rich sauces, the forthright, unaffected food of this province may prove a blessing. There are several hotels and restaurants where you may judge its virtues. First, in the département of the Vienne, is:
Poitiers
Mention of this ancient city, capital of the Poitou, usually evokes the picture of a fascinating, uncorseted lady by the name of Diane, who achieved the rare distinction of being the mistress first of Henry the Second, king of France, and later of his son and successor. But Poitiers has other distinctions besides Diane. Its Roman ruins are still plentiful, its vibrant university is one of the best, and its churches are a delight to architects and laymen alike. Our photograph of the Church of Notre-Dame-Ia-Grande shows, in addition to its Romanesque splendor, some of the animation which surrounds the area on market day. The citizens clustered at the right are not seeking to buy food but to get a good look at an ingenious exhibitionist. This resourceful fellow makes a living with the cooperation of one small grass snake and a flat drum. He puts the drum on the pavement in front of him and when sufficient francs ate tossed on it by the crowd, he undertakes his trick. Holding luck his head and opening his mouth wide, the man lifts the meek snake by the tail. Whereupon the little fellow crawls obediently down his master's throat until only his tail remains exposed. I'm not sure that this account is gastronomic, but it's true, and the crowd was more than satisfied.
A long pause and a new paragraph seem in order before approaching the subject of food in Poitiers. There are three consoling shrines of Poitou cooking to choose from:
HÔTEL DE FRANCE,28 rue Carnot, near the place d'Armes. This is a thoroughly reliable, clean, and comfortable hotel for your Poitou stopover. The cooking is very good, and the prix fixe menu with wine, which comes to about a dollar and seventy-five cents, is ample and appetizing. Some of the regional specialties should tempt you—especially côte de veau farci à la poitevine, sole au Bourgeuil, and the chef's own way of preparing sweetbreads. Good local and Touraine wines.
MAXIM'S,4 rue St. Nicolas. This pleasant restaurant has little of the splendor of its namesake on the rue Royale, in Paris, hut it has the same culinary integrity. Monsieur Maxime Thiaudière, the proprietor, is a gifted chef and produces quenelles de brocket which rival the best in Burgundy. He also prepares chicken with a delicious sauce poitevine. Prices are reasonable.
LE CHAPON FIN,place Général Leclerc. This has long been a local favorite for regional dishes and still maintains its fine reputation.
Châtbllbrault
This cheerful town, located at the convergence of four river valleys, provides the epicurean highlight of the entire province, in our modest opinion:
HÔTEL DU FAISAN,6 rue Roffay-des-Pallus, is a very exciting place for an exacting gourmet. Occupying an attractive spot on the banks of the river Vienne, the hotel, conducted so capably by Monsieur Colpaert, is overshadowed by its wonderful restaurant. Here at last is la grande cuisine, with all its refinements and luxurious dishes, in a country town. We tried the escalope dv veau Maintenon and the irresistible tournedos béarnaise and were serenely content though frankly envious of a robust gentleman at the next table who was confronted with a beautiful lobster thermidor. The wines were splendid and the prices fair, considering the exalted cooking. We recommend it with every confidence that you will be more than pleased.
Montmorillon
This old-fashioned town on the banks of the river Gartempe has a country hotel of genuine merit; HÔTEL DE FRANCE.Recollections of delicious lamb chops and a very different duck dish remain in mind months after our luncheon in this old inn. Here is a good opportunity of assessing the simplicity of Poitou cookery and its superb ingredients. The prices are very fair.
Chaunay
If you happen to be motoring near this hamlet around lunchtime, you are in luck, for the atmospheric little HÔTEL CENTRAL is equipped to heap epicurean riches upon your table. Madame Motillon's menu contains the fine fundamentals but also lists such luxuries as truite meunière, pâté de foie gras, and poulet flambé. You are likely to have a charming rustic adventure in this modest inn.
In the département of the Deux-Sèvres are at least two towns for the inquiring gourmet—Thouars and Niort. Both are rather picturesque.
The HOSTELLERIE ST. MÉDARD in Thouars is a quiet country inn where you may taste some of the celebrated Poitou game dishes in season. Partridge in aspic, lark pâté, and the classic civet de liètre are a few of the temptations offered by Madame Boulithe.
The CAVEAU DE MESTRE PIERRE in Niort is something of a curiosity. In the stony confines of an old cellar, Monsieur Gillot has established a genial restaurant, amusingly decorated with murals. Troubadours sing old French songs, and an atmosphere of good humor pervades the place. The cooking is conscientious, the wine excellent, especially a local rosé, and the entertainment is not too insistent. It is a refreshing novelty.
In the Vendée, a coastal region strongly reminiscent of Brittany, you may well find gastronomic adventures in the towns of Chantonnay and Pouzauges and a seaside idyll in the village of Croix de Vie.
HÔTEL. CHÊNEVERT in Chantonnay is a typical crossroads inn with better-than-typical food. The Vrignaud ménage provides the traveler with fine fish and shellfish specialties and a cellar of delectable wines—Muscadets, white and red wines from the Anjou and Touraine.
HÔTEL DE FRANCE in Pouzauges demonstrates that fine Poitou cooking in pure butter once again. Monsieur Tricot is particularly adept with sauces, and you will certainly like his escalope de veau à la crème. His cellar contains some fine-dry Muscadets and old Vouvrays. The menu is generous, and the prices we considerate.
The HÔTEL EMBRUNS in the little Atlantic fishing town of Croix de Vie offers much more than good food. If you cherish a few days at an unsophisticated seaside resort, this could be the answer. Here is a small summer hotel located on the beach, with a garden, a café terrace, and clean, comfortable rooms. Such a description applies to hundreds of seaside hotels, however. The Hôtel Embruns is different because of its truly excellent cooking. As you can imagine, sea food is a glorious specialty. Homard à l'amériaine and langouste Neubourg [sic] are daily occurrences, and sole appears in several delectable disguises. The wines are good, the prices inviting, but you'd better write ahead for reservations!
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We have tried out a sheaf of Poitou recipes which adapt themselves to the American kitchen. Most of them come from a delightful little book, La Cuisine en Poitou, written by Maurice Béguin, a jovial and scholarly archiviste. The book represents years of research in old libraries and more years of questioning amateur cooks, professional chefs, housewives, and innkeepers of the Poitou.
With a bow to Monsieur Béguin and his varied informants, we submit the following adaptations:
Dindon Roulé (Rolled Turkey)
Cut a turkey in half and bone it, leaving meat and skin as intact as possible. Spread out each half and cover with a layer of the following stuffing: Cut ham or lean bacon in small dice to make ½ cup. Mix with 1 cup sausage meat and 1 cup ground cooked veal or beef. Add and combine well 2 beaten eggs, a little salt and plenty of freshly ground pepper, 2 tablespoons mixed chopped parsley, tarragon, basil, and thyme, and a pinch each nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove. Roll the turkey halves and tic each with a number of lengths of string to resemble two large fat sausages. Tic a few strips of bacon under the strings.
Put the rolls of turkey in a casserole with I cup white wine and 1 cup chicken or meat stock, a sprig of parsley, 2 onions cut in thick slices, 1 carrot, 1 small white turnip, quartered, 2 cloves of garlic, a sprig of thyme, 1 bay leaf. tarragon, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook on a low fire, turning the meat now and then, until it is tender. Remove as much fat as possible from the sauce, strain, and thicken it with 2 egg yolks beaten with ¼ cup cream. If there is too much liquid, reduce it before adding the egg yolks. If not enough, add a little stock.
Remove the strings from the turkey rolls, arrange on a hot platter, and pour the sauce over.
This dish is sometimes made with rabbit meat instead of chicken. It is a favorite at Eastertime in the Poitou.
La Tourtière Poitevine (Chicken Pie Poitou Manner)
Bone a 3-pound frying chicken, except for the wings which you remove and put aside for making stock. This boning is not so difficult as you may believe. Cut off the drumsticks, cut all the tendons against the bone, loosen the meat at the large end with your boning knife, and pull the meat off whole. Do the same with the second joints. Start then at the breast bone, lifting the meat with the left hand and freeing it from the carcass with a scraping motion. You will have six good pieces, two each of drumstick, second joint, and breast.
Sauté them a light golden color on all sides in 3 tablespoons butter, season with salt and pepper, cover, and continue cooking for about 15 minutes. Never overcook them or they will be hard and dry in the finished dish.
In another pan brown 6 or 8 sausage meat balls about the size of small walnuts, made by combining ¼ pound sausage meat with the chopped liver and heart of the chicken, 1 teaspoon chopped parsley, and 1 teaspoon chopped chives.
Place a lower crust of pastry in the bottom of an 8-inch pic dish and dispose the pieces of chicken (cutting each in half if you wish) on (his, interspersed with the sausage balls and pieces of 1 hard-cooked egg cut lengthwise. In the meantime, simmer the chicken bones, neck, and wings in seasoned water to make a stock. Put 3 or 4 tablespoons of this into the pan in which the chicken was cooked, blending with the butter and remaining juices. Pour this over the contents of the pie dish and set over all a layer of pastry to make a top crust. Moisten and pinch the edges with a little water to hold the crusts together and cut a small hole, or chimney, in the center. Bake in a moderate oven (350°F.) for about ½ hour. Never overcook, or the dish will be dry.
Serve with a sauce made by combining 1 teaspoon melted butter, 1 teaspoon potato flour, and ¾ cup chicken stock. Heat, stirring constantly, and reduce a little.
A goose's neck may seem a rather superfluous article, but the resourceful Poitou cook has adapted it to make a savory sausage casing lined with flavorftil yellow fat. The next time you have a goose, save the neck and try:
Cou d'Oie Farci (Stuffed Goose Neck)
Willi a sharp knife separate the skin of the neck at one end from the slippery tube which runs through its center. Peel back the skin and pull it off as you would the finger of a glove. While still inside out, marinate it for a few hours in a little brandy with salt, pepper, and a good pinch each of cinnamon and clove.
Turn it rightside out and stuff with a mixture composed of ½ pound sausage meat, the chopped liver and heart of the goose, and I truffle cut in small dice. Add the marinade and mix well. Tie or sew the skin of the neck firmly at each end. Cook this aromatic delicacy in goose fat (or other good fat) over a rather low lire. Serve hot, slicing it like a sausage.
Tournedos Héloïse (Beef Filets Heloise)
Cook in butter in a heavy skillet 4 slices beef filet, each ¾ inch thick, for 3 or 4 minutes on each side. Place each en artichoke bottoms which have been separated from the boiled artichoke and heated in butter, (Save the leaves to eat cold with French dressing.) Place on each filet a slice of foie gras and a slice cf truffle. Arrange these around the edge cf a round platter and fill the center with ¼ pound mushrooms which have been sliced or quartered, sprinkled with lemon juice, sautéed in butter until soft, and heated with ½ cup heavy cream. Over the filets pour a little Madeira sauce made by adding to the pan in which the beef was cooked 1 teaspoon meat glaze, ½ teaspoon potato flour, 3 tablespoons water, and ¼ cup Madeira. Simmer fur 2 or 3 minutes and strain.
The farci au pot is a dish distinctive cf the Poitou. It is a kind of pudding of green vegetables, eggs, and flour, always cooked in a special filet, or net bag, lined with cabbage leaves. Our adaptation is as follows;
Chon Farci an Pot (Stuffed Cabbage in Not)
Slice very finely 1 pound sorrel, 1 head, or about ½ pound, lettuce, and ½ pound spinach leaves and combine with 2 or 3 spring onions, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, and 2 shallots, chopped. Add to this ½ pound bacon, diced, ¼ cup cream, pepper and a little salt, and 2 beaten eggs. Mix in 2 cups bread crumbs and about 3 tablespoons flour.
Place a cheesecloth in a bowl so that it hangs well down over the edges. Line this with cabbage leaves and pack tightly with the above farci. Pull the cheesecloth together at the top and tie firmly with a siring. Place this ball in boiling stock or salted water and simmer for 2 hours. To serve, remove from the cheeseclothand slice.
Swiss chard and cabbage hearts may also be used in making this dish.
This is a daintier hamburger than most, easy and economical
Biftecks à la Miremoude (Ground Steak Miremonde)
Crumble 1 ½ slices stale bread and soak with 4 tablespoons milk. To this add ¾ pound ground beef containing a little far, 1 onion, finely chopped and sautéed in butter, 2 eggs, beaten, 1 tablespoon uncooked cream of wheal or white corn meal, salt, pepper, and a little grated nutmeg. Mix well together and let stand for 1 hour or more.
Form into cakes about 1 inch thick and cook slowly in butter in an iron skillet, covered, for about 10 minutes on each side. Place on a hot platter and pour into the butter remaining in the pan ¼ cup white wine and 1 teaspoon chopped paisley. Heat and stir and allow this sauce to boil for 1 or 2 minutes. Pour it over the biftecks, which should be brown end a little crusty on the outside but soft and light inside.
Gâteaux au Miel (Honey Cakes)
Beat 2 eggs very thoroughly. Add ½ cup granulated sugar and a scant ¼ cup honey. When well blended, sift 1 scant cup flour and add it gradually to the egg mixture. This should now be of a semiliquid consistency. Let it stand for 45 minutes before spreading it on a buttered cooky sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes in a preheated 375 oven. Cut in squares and place them on a cake rack to cool. They will harden as they cool. Keep in a covered tin box.
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FOR THOSE fortunate gourmets who are sailing or flying to France this year, here is a handy checklist of the restaurants and hotels already recommended by Samuel Chamberlain in “An Epicurean Tour of the French Provinces” which began in GOURMET,March, 1949.
Alsace
Départment of Bas-Rhin
- Chatenois—Hôtel de la Gare
- Haur Koenigsbourg—Hôtel Schaenzel
- Marlenheim—Hôtel Cerf
- Moosch—Hôtel de France et Relais 66
- Obersteinbach—Restaurant Anthon
- Schirmeck—Hotel Donon
- Stambach—Hôtel Famcuse Truite
- Strasbourg—Maison Kammerzell; Restaurant Valentin Sorg; Restaurant Zimmer
- Wasselonne—Hôtel de la Gare
- Wissembourg—Hôtel Ange
Département of Haul-Rhin
- Colmar—Restaurant des Tètes
- Kaysersberg—Hôtel Chambard
- Ribeauvillé—Restaurant Pépinière
Bearn
Département of Bastes-Pyrénées
- Ascain—Hôtel Etchola
- Biarritz—Ambassade de Bourgogne
- Bedarray—Restantant Noblia
- Biriatou—Bonnet-Atchénia; Hôtel Hiribarren
- Cambo-les-Bains—Hôtel Saint-Laurent; Maison Basque
- Giboure—Hostellerie Ciboure
- Jurançon—La Belle Casis
- Pau—L'Etrier; Le Romano; Rôtisserie Périgourdine
- St. Etienne-de-Baigorry—Hôtel du Trinquet et Pyrénées
- St. Jean-de-Luz—Petit Grill Basque
Département of Landes
- Peyrehorade-Hôtel Central
Bordelais
Département of Gironde
- Le Barp—Hôtel Dulucq
- Belin—Hostelleries des Pins
- Bordeaux—Hôtel Biscouby; Hôtel de Bordeaux: Le Chapon Fin; Le Château-Trom-pctie; Restaurant Dubern; Restaurant Etche Ona; Hôtel Splendide
- Langon—Hôtel Oliver
- Libourne—Hôtel Loubat
Bresse
Départment of Ain
- Artemate—Hôtel Berrard
- Bourg-en-Bresse—Hôtel de France; Hotel de l'Europe; Restaurant à l'Escargot
- Ceyzeriat—Restaurant Balcon
- Ferney-Voltaire—Hôtel dc Pailly
- Nantua—Hôtel de France
- Pérouges—Hostcllcrie de Pérouges
- Priay—Hotel Bourgeois
- St. Germain-de-Joux—Hôtel Rcygrobcllei
- St. Jean-de-Gonville—Restaurant Demornex
- Thoissey—Hôtel Chapon Fin
Brittany
Départment of Côtes-du-Nord
- Dinan—Chez la Mère Pourcel; Hôtel de la Poste
- Perros-Guirec—Hôtel Printania; Hôtel le Sphinx
- Pointe de l'Arcouest—Hôtel le Barbu
- Sables d'Or—Hostellerie des Dunes d'Armor
- Saint-Briac—Hostellerie du Centre
- Saint-Brieuc—Hôtel Croix Rouge
- Saint-Efflam—Grand Hôtel Saint-Efflam
- Le Val-André— Le Grand Hôtel
Départment of Finistère
- Huelgoat—Hôtel d'Angleterre
- Landerneau—Hôtel des Voyageurs ct du Commerce
- Locronan—Auberge Saint-Ronan
- Port Manec'h—Hotel Julia
- Quimper—Hôtel de l'Epée et Relais Saint-Corentin
- Quimperlé—Vieille Maison
- Riec-sur-Bclon — Restaurant Roust (Chez Mélanie)
Département of Ille-et-Vilaine
- Hédé—Hostellerie du Vieux-Moulin
- Saint-Malo—Hôtel de l'Univers
Département of Loire-Inférieure
- Nantes—Hostellerie du Change; Restaurant Mainguy
- La Baule—Hôtel Toque Blanche
Département of Morbiban
- Auray—Hôtel du Pavilion; Lion d'Or et Poste
- Lu Trinité-sur-Mer — Hôtel-Restaurant des Voyageurs
- Vannes—La Rôtisserie
Lower Burgundy
Département of Youne
- Auxerre—Hôtel de l'Epée: Tour d'Orbandelle
- Avallon—Hôtel de la Poste
- Chablis—Hôtel de l'Eroile
- Joigny—Hôtel Escargot
- La Cerce—Relais Fleuri
- Sens—Hôtel dc Bourgogne; Hôtel dc Paris et de la Poste
- Valée du Cousin—Moulin des Ruars
- Vézelay—Hôtel de la Poste
- Villevallier—Pavillon Bleu
Upper Burgundy
Département of Côte d'Or
- Beaune—Hôtel de la Cloche; Hôtel de la Poste
- Chatillon-sur-Seine—Hôtel Côte d'Or
- Chenove—Hôtel de l'Escargotière
- Dijon—Hôtel du Nord; Grande Taverne; Restaurant Pré-aux-Clercs; Restaurant aux Trois Faisans
- Let Laumes—Hôtel de la Gare
- Saint-Seine-l'Abbaye—Restaurant de la Poste
- Saulieu—Hôtel Côte d'Or
Département of Saóne-et-Loire
- Anost—Restaurant Guyard
- Auton—Hôtel Saint-Louis et de la Poste
- Chalons-sur-Saône—Hotel Royal
- Charolles—Hôtel Moderne
- Fleurvilie—Hôtel Chanel
- Mâcon—Auberge Bressane
- Pontanevaux — Hostellerie Compagnons de Jehu
- Tournus—Hôtel du Sauvage
Languedoc
Département of Aude
- Carcassonne—Hôtel de la Cité; Restaurant Auter
- Castelnaudary—Grand Hôtel Fourcade
Département of Aveyron
- Roquefort-sur-SouIzon—Grand Hotel
Département of Gard
- Alès—Hôtel de Luxembourg
Département of Haute Garonne
- Toulouse—Restaurant Richelieu
Département of Hérault
- Gignac—Hôtel Central
- Montpellier—Chez Nénette
Département of Tarn
- Albi—Hôtel Vigan
Département of Tarn-et-Garonne
- Montauban—Hôtel du Midi
Lyonnais
Département of Loire
- Feurs—Hôtel Pare et Provence
- Sainr-Priest-en-Jarez—Le Clos Fleuri
Département of Rhóne
- Bans—Restaurant Cros
- Les Halles—Hôtel Charteton
- Lyons—Restaurant Morateur; La Mère Guy; La Mère Filloux; La Mère Brazier; Le Molière; Garcin; Purge; Restaurant du Café Neuf
- Tassin-la-Demi-Lune—Restaurant la Sauvagie
Niverais
Département of Nièvret
- La Chanté-sur-Loire—Le Grand Monarque
- Nevers—Hôtel de France et Grand Hotel; Auberge de la Porte du Croux
- Pouilly-sur-Loire—Hôtel l'Espérance
Perigord
Département of Corrèze
- Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne—Central Hôtel
Département of Doráogne
- Bergerac—Hôtel de Bordeaux
- Beynac—Hôtel Bonnet
- Brantôme—Hôtel Moderne
- Les Eyzies-de-Tayac—Hôtel Cro-Magnon
- Périgueux—Hôtel Domino
Département of Lot
- Rocamadour—Hôtel Lion d'Or
- Saint-Céré—Touring Hotel
- Souillac—Grand Hôtel
Provence
Départment of Alpes-Maritimes
- Antibes—Taverne Provence; Chez Félix au
- Port Beaulieu-sur-Mer—la Réserve La Brague—La Bonne Auberge
- Cannes—Morjolaine
- La Colle-sur-Loup—Hôtel de L'Abbaye
- La Napoule-Plage—La Mère Terrats
- Nice—Restaurant Raynaud; Restaurant St. Muritz; Petit Brouand; Chez Garac
- Vence—Hostellerie du Lion d'Or
Département of Basses-Alpes
- Barcelonnerte—Touring Hotel
- Dignc—Ermitage Napoléon; Hotel Grand Paris
- Forcalquier—Hostellerie de la Louette
Département of Bouches-Rhône
- Aix-en-Provence—Hôtel Roi-René
- Les Baux—Mas de Beaumanière
- Cassis—Hôtel des Roches Blanches
- Marseille—Restaurant Isnard; Brasserie de Strasbourg; Restaurant Campa; Restaurant
- Gardanne
Département of Var
- Carqueiranne—Chez Justin
- Cavalaire-sur-Mer—Le Lido
- La Celle—Abbaye de la Celle
- Le Luc-en-Provence—Hostellerie du Parc; Hôtel de l'Etape
- Saint-Raphael—La Voile d'Or
- Toulon—La Potinière
Départment of Vaucluse
- Châteauneauf-du-Pape—Restaurant La Mule du Pape; Restaurant Mère Germaine
- Orange—Restaurant le Provencal
- Vaison-la-Romaine—Hôtel le Beffroi
- Vaucluse—Restaurant Philip
- Villeneuve-lès-Avignons—Hôtel le Prieuré
Touraine
Département of Indre-et-Laire
- Amboise — Auberge du Mail; Hotel dc
- Choiseul; Hôtel de Lion d'Or
- Chaumont—Hostellerie du Château
- Chenonceau—Hôtel Bon Laboureur et du Château
- Chinon—Hostellerie Gargantua
- Langeais—Family Hotel
- Loches-Hôtel de France
- Monnaie—Hostellerie Coq Hardi
- Tours—Hôtel de l'Univers; Grand Hôtel;
- Hôtel Métropole; Restaurant Lyonnais;
- Hôtel Moderne; Hôtel Bordeaux
- Vouvray—Hôtel Pont de Cisse