It's good, it's local!
Loire eels, a large farmhouse chicken, a small bottle of Malvoisie, an Authentique mi-poire mi-raisin... Here, on the plate, you can enjoy an entire region rather than just one particular dish. This leaves the creativity of our chefs and local producers free to tantalise the taste buds and write page after page of the gastronomy of the Pays d'Ancenis.
L'Authentique, a travel cake to share!
If you had to choose just one product to bring back with you as a souvenir of the Ancenis region, we'd recommend the Authentique! Because it's a remarkable and measured addition, the symbol of the right balance of products grown on our land: grapes, pears and a hint of Malvoisie.
It owes its birth to the inventiveness of a collective. For several months, six bakers and confectioners worked to create a flagship product made in the Ancenis region. Through meetings with other bakers, they developed, refined and perfected this unique recipe.
They were accompanied throughout by Lucie Bolzec, a food designer, to create a product with a perfect combination of tastes and flavours and a visual expression of the values of our region.
An authentic cake that's easy to transport and can be kept at room temperature for several days without losing any of its flavour. You won't come and visit us without tasting it!
The authentic cake is available for sale in the following establishments:
- L'atelier du Boulanger - Boulangerie Gaborieau in Ancenis-Saint-Géréon
- Les Pâtes de l'Ours bakery in Couffé
- Le Pétrin des Saveurs bakery in Ligné
- Boulangerie Béziaud in Loireauxence (Varades)
- Le Grain de Folie Bakery in Loireauxence (Belligné)
- Le Fournil bakery in Riaillé.
Other sales outlets:
- Épicerie l'Atipik in Ancenis-Saint-Géréon
Don't wait any longer to come and taste this local delicacy!
Here, fish come in all shapes and sizes
Depending on the season, the famous pike-perch, eel, shad, catfish, lamprey and mullet wriggle their way through the Loire. These are river fish that our chefs bring to life with inventiveness on your plates, but which you can also prepare yourself in your own kitchen, accompanied by a good beurre blanc, half-cooked or in a terrine. Yummy!
My fish is fresh!
Arnaud and Amélie Guéret are a couple of professional fishermen based in Loireauxence (Varades). Passionate about fish in all its forms, which they catch in the Loire and Erdre rivers, they sell it fresh in fishmongers' shops, add it to restaurant menus and also offer it in preserves, terrines and rillettes in shops and grocery shops. A delicious idea for a 100% local spread to replace crisps and peanuts as an aperitif!
Fish sublimated by a chef
If you're a fish-lover and you're travelling along the banks of the Loire in Ancenis-Saint-Géréon, we recommend a gourmet stop-off at La Table du pêcheur! In this restaurant serving specialities from the banks of the Loire, the fish is delivered freshly caught. You're guaranteed fresh, seasonal fish, enhanced by a chef whose Japanese sensibility adds an unexpected touch!
Pan-fried in butter for pike-perch and shad, stewed in Anjou for lamprey, parsleyed for eel... You'll melt for their softness and deliciousness. For catfish, freshness is the order of the day with a gravelax marinade and a carpaccio presentation accompanied by tangy vegetable pickles...
We've made your mouth water, haven't we?
And in your kitchen?
Yes, there's nothing like a good home-cooked fresh fish to make and keep you happy! Here are a few tips to help you do just that, adapted to your location of course: there are plenty of good fishmongers in the Ancenis area!
1- Go to the Bordage fishmonger's in Ancenis. Go for seasonal produce! Pike-perch can be found all year round, but eels can only be caught from April to August, lampreys from Christmas to spring, and shad from spring to summer.
2- Cook the fish using the method you prefer: pan-fried, marinated or stewed.
3- Season with spices and preparations from Nishikidôri, Comptoir des poivres or Des épices à ma guise, all three of which are based in the Ancenis area.
What wine should I serve with my fish?
Match pike-perch with a Champtoceaux cru (see description below), lamprey with a red Anjou, and catfish with a 100% Chenin.
The wines of the Ancenis hillsides
Rooted in stony schist and gneiss soils, the wines of the Ancenis hillsides benefit from a temperate, sunny climate. Made from pure Gamay and Malvoisie grapes, they come in three colours: white, red and rosé. As a mark of their quality, the Côteaux d'Ancenis became an AOC wine in 2011.
Subtly mellow whites
Pineau de la Loire (Chenin), Pinot gris, Melon de Bourgogne or Malvoisie, we'll help you make the right additions to the table!
Muscadet Coteaux de Loire is a fresh, fruity wine to serve with fish and seafood.
The famous Malvoisie is a subtle blend of mellowness, fruitiness and floral notes, ideal as an aperitif or with dessert.
Champtoceaux is a new Muscadet cru, aged on lees for a minimum of 17 months. Fleshy and silky, elegant, fruity and spicy, it is a divine accompaniment to Loire fish.
Finely aromatic reds and rosés
Made from Cabernet franc or Gamay grapes, the red wines have an elegant red colour with purplish tints, while the rosés are frank in colour. Their flavours are aromatic, with a nose of cherry, strawberry and raspberry.
They go perfectly with white meats and poultry, as well as mild, fruity cheeses.
Happiness is in the meadow
Try our cows and poultry reared on our land. The Rouge des prés breed of beef will delight fans of soft, juicy meat with a fine mouthfeel. Our Ancenis chickens, labelled "Fermiers d'Ancenis" for a real guarantee of quality, are tender and fleshy on the plate.
It's a real treat...
our Brie from the Ancenis Valley! Bite into its bloomy rind and its aroma! A must on any cheese platter. Did you know that one in five French Brie cheeses comes from the Ancenis cheese dairy, and more specifically from the Laïta factory (which you probably know from its Etendard "Paysan Breton" brand)? Brie du Val d'Ancenis, a must on any cheeseboard!
A word to the wise
Are you the adventurous type? Then you're bound to try the Gros-Gris snails from the L'escargot des vallons farm!
Do you know our gogues? It's a local classic, a sort of derivative of blood sausage, made with vegetables (chard, chard, lettuce, spinach and leek) mixed with fatty bacon before being sealed in a balloon and eaten in slices. That's a lot of know-how! There's no better place to sample this than at the Loireauxence fair, held every year in March, which has been organising a competition for gastronomic products, including gogues, since 1980!
If La Mans has its rillette, we have our rillauds! Once again, a pork-based speciality, combining belly, coarse salt and lard. Not for the figure, but for the taste!
Recipes from the Pays d'Ancenis
The Pays d'Ancenis is a region where the art of living is combined with the richness of its soil. Our region abounds in exceptional produce that has inspired simple, generous recipes full of character for generations.
Our recipe booklet invites you on a culinary journey through emblematic dishes and specialities that are sometimes little-known, but always based on conviviality and sharing. Whether you're a lover of local produce, curious to discover new flavours, or a gourmet in search of authenticity, you'll find something here to tantalise your taste buds and celebrate the richness of the local gastronomic heritage.
Let yourself be guided by the recipes we've carefully selected, made with fresh, local produce, to recreate at home a little of the soul and taste of the Pays d'Ancenis.
