Burgundy Cuisine - by food author Howard Hillman

Burgundy Cuisine

French
regional cuisine

Burgundy

a concise guide
for diners & travelers

Why the culinary area of
Burgundy is special

Between the cities of Dijon in the north and Lyons in the south lies France's finest culinary area. The cooking of Burgundy is relatively uncomplicated. It relies principally on the high quality of the local cooking ingredients for which the Burgundy countryside is famous.

Insights on the
cuisine of Burgundy

Praised ingredients

Among its outstanding ingredients are the flavorful chickens reared in the Bresse subregion, the beef from the white Charolais cattle, and the wild game from nearby forests and streams.

Dijon

From Dijon come two celebrated products: the wine based Dijon mustard and the spiced gingerbread honeycake called Pain d'Epices.

Famous specialties

Boeuf Bourguignonne

Beef braised with onions, mushrooms and other vegetables in red wine.

Escargots a la Bourguignonne

Snails served in their shells with garlic-infused parsley butter.

Oeufs a la Bourguignonne

Eggs poached in red wine.

Pommes Lyonnaises

Potatoes cooked with onions.

Poulet a la Demi-Deuil

Literally, "chicken in half mourning," referring to the shroudlike appearance of the breast when black truffle slices are inserted underneath the skin.

Quenelles de Brochet

Light and delicious pike dumplings.

Wines of Burgundy

Some Burgundy wines rank at the pinnacle of winedom. The very best comes from the fabled Cote d'Or district that produces celestial red wines like Romanee-Conti, La Tache Richebourg, Grands-Echezeaux, Clos de Vougeot, Musigny, Bonnes Mares, Clos de Tart, Clos-de-Beze, Chambertin, and Corton. This last is also a great white wine, as is the illustrious Montrachet, which has been labeled by most authorities as the finest dry white wine in the world.

Still other Burgundian wines - Chablis, Beaujolais, and Pouilly-Fuisse - have lesser credentials but have become even greater household words and "musts" for restaurant wine lists both in France and abroad.

Best city for gourmets
Lyons is the top all around food city in the Burgundy region. Criteria include cooking, food markets, cooking ingredients, cooking schools, beverages, dining and restaurants. Dijon and Beaune are runners-up.

Click a French region to
learn about its cuisine
and famous dishes

Also learn
about these exciting
world cuisines

My food & wine
credentials
My books have been critically acclaimed by major magazines and newspapers. Click the button below to read a sampling (in Acrobat format).