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The pâté aux patates (potato pie) is THE gourmet speciality of the Allier. »
 The potato pie is a dish that was traditionally served for Sunday lunch with the family. It can be found at most bakers’, but many people from the Bourbonnais like to make it themselves, adding a personal touch. It was traditionally made with bread dough in an earthenware dish.
This kind of potato cream pie can be served as a starter but also as a main course accompanied by slices of country ham. It goes well with St Pourçain spring crop white wine. It is a simple warming dish, which is fairly substantial and inexpensive.
 Pompe aux grattons (brioche with pork scratchings)
Behind this name, given locally, is a classic brioche, a little more savoury than usual, made with a third fewer eggs and where the butter is replaced by pork scratchings. Grattons, a name used in the Bourbonnais region, are cubes of pork fat that are melted gently, with salt being added once they have turned golden brown. Like the pâté aux pommes de terre, the pompe aux grattons can be found at most bakers’. It is often served warm with pre-dinner drinks, and can usually be found at local official receptions.
Charolais beef from the Bourbonnais
 It is impossible to travel through the Bourbonnais without seeing this animal, a native of the region. Since 1974, Bourbonnais Charolais beef has held the oldest existing Label Rouge (Quality Label) awarded in the bovine meat category, and it is also recognized on a European level as it holds the PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) label. These famous cows, which are completely white and have a thick coat of hair, come from the Saône et Loire region and were introduced into the Allier county at the beginning of the 19th century. They feed essentially on grass, and thrive in rural areas, which gives their meat its high quality. They graze outside from April to November and are then brought into cowsheds for the winter. With 532,000 Charolais beef cows, the Allier today has the 2nd largest suckling cow population in France. It is thanks to these large herds of Charolais cows that the Allier countryside has so many green prairies. The sector has excellent traceability from the birth of the animal to the butchers’ shop. Numerous sanitary inspections are carried out at all levels of the production chain. A considerable number of farmers also produce organic meat.
Bourbonnais chickens
 Recognized for their high-quality, tasty, tender and juicy meat, Bourbonnais chickens have held an appellation d’origine (certificate of origin) since 1961. They are part of an old rustic farm breed that appeared during the tenant farmer period at the end of the 19th century. The breed comes from the coupling of the white hen found in the valleys of the Allier and the Loire, and the Brahma cockerel, a breed that originally came from Asia, imported into France between 1850 and 1860. It can be recognized easily by its mottled plumage. Farm-bred Bourbonnais chickens are raised free-range in the open air in accordance with strict specifications. In an aim to obtain an AOC (certified designation of origin), a trade union organization, the CIPB (Bourbonnais Chicken Interprofessional Committee), has been set up. The CIPB has also launched a quality and traceability campaign.
Jaligny turkeys
 Highly esteemed poultry…
Homage is paid every year just before Christmas to Jaligny turkeys at the “Turkey Fair”. The turkeys are bred free-range according to long tradition. For more than 50 years, loyal supporters have come here to buy their turkeys, which are renowned for their firm and tender meat. In January 2004, the “Savoureuse de Jaligny” turkey became a registered trademark. People have looked forward to the Jaligny turkey fair every year on the 3rd Wednesday in December for 55 years!
In accordance with tradition, our feathered friends, groomed and bedecked with ribbons, have star roles in special scenes, such as the reconstruction of a farm at the beginning of the 20th century etc.
Renowned for their quality, Jaligny turkeys attract visitors, who enjoy the authentic atmosphere of the fair, where the gobble-gobble of the turkeys mingle with lively conversations…
One for your diaries !
Charroux mustard
 Charroux mustard became fashionable again in 1990 after disappearing in the middle of the 20th century and is today one of the specialities of this village with character, which is classified as one of the “most beautiful villages in France”. After producing walnut oil, Claude and Simone Maenner started manufacturing mustard, closely following authentic documents and using traditional methods. The mustard seeds (imported mainly from Canada) are crushed on a millstone and mixed with verjuice (diluted vinegar, spices and salt). It is the addition of St-Pourçain white wine, made from the local Tressalier grapes that gives Charroux mustard its characteristic flavour and its “hidden aroma”. After maturing for a few weeks, it is ready to be packaged. Apart from its flavoured versions (green pepper, basil, tarragon etc), other “flavours” have been made with the help of famous chefs (Troisgros, Ritz, Passard, Westermann…), such as la Pourpre (purple) made with Saint-Pourçain red wine and grape juice. Charroux mustard, named amongst the best products in France, has obtained many gastronomic prizes including the Coq d’Or in 1999. As well as the 40 tonnes of mustard manufactured every year, the Maenner family produces other well-known local products such as crêtes de coqs au naturel (cockerel combs in brine) and the famous roupettes de coqs en gelée (cockerel testicles in aspic)! These products, which are enjoyed everywhere in France, are also exported to Japan and Uruguay.
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Roupettes de coq (cockerel testicles)
 Yes, you’ve read it correctly, they are indeed cock’s testicles. They were considered, during the reigns of the Kings of France, to be the caviar of poultry. François 1st kept them for his squires, and they were Louis XlV’s favourite food. They were also found on the tables of well-to-do families, and were often put into vol-au-vents. Here is some cooking advice for those adventurous people who would like to taste a local speciality: after draining them, fry them in a little butter, add some parsley, then some fresh cream. And that’s all there is to it! We cannot speak of roupettes de coq without mentioning another part of the bird, the crêtes de coq (cockerel combs). In large Bourbonnais farms, they were kept for the master of the house. Like roupettes, they can be eaten gently fried in butter. Specialists would suggest that you add them to a mixed salad.
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Lapalisse oils
The Lapalisse oil mills, whose main emphasis is on taste and flavour, are well known and recognized by gastronomic experts. Closely monitored by the Lapalisse master oil miller, these oils help our bodies function properly because of their Omega 3 content. Many varieties of oils are available, from the most traditional such as walnut, hazelnut, almond and olive oils, to the more original varieties such as pistachio, peanut and pine nut oils. Here, more than anywhere else, a well-defined language is used to qualify the oils. They can be full-bodied, noble, hot, blond, amber, copper or tawny and are an essential ingredient for vinaigrette sauces, fricassees, grilled fish or fritters.
Chambérat cheese
 There were mentions of this cheese as far back as 1742, but it had virtually disappeared by the 1960s. In 1997, a request for AOC (certified designation of origin) status was made by Chambérat cheese producers.
Chambérat is an uncooked cheese, made from raw whole cow's milk and pressed by simple drainage.
It has a characteristic flavour of hazelnuts and damp straw. It can be tasted at the Chambérat annual fair, which is held in the village of Chambérat on the first Monday following the 15th of August.
Piquenchâgne
 In the Bourbonnais region, tradition dictates that at each party or reception there must be a pompe, which is local dialect for brioche. The piquenchâgne was probably invented during a tea party with family or friends. It is a cake made with pears, quince or apples soaked in a mixture of sugar, cream and alcohol. The fruit is “planted” into the mixture, just as an “oak tree is planted into the earth” (hence its name – piquenchâgne).
Palets d’or
 Created in Moulins at the end of the last century by Bernard Sérardy, the Palet d’Or is unquestionably THE sweet speciality of the historic capital of the Bourbonnais. It is a bittersweet chocolate, with a chocolate cream filling, made from a mixture of chocolate and fresh cream, and lightly flavoured with coffee. Its particularity is its covering of fine golden glitter. This small luxury was such a success, that it was copied many times and a confectioner in Saint-Germain-en-Laye even took out a patent in his own name! After many years of court proceedings, the Palets d’Or name was returned to its creator, and at the same time to the people of Moulins, who were delighted to retrieve what they considered to be their natural heritage.
Saint-Pourçain wines
 St-Pourçain wines made from grapes grown in the oldest vineyards in France were served at the tables of the kings of France in the Middle Ages, and the white wines were particularly appreciated by Saint Louis and the Popes of Avignon.
In the 18th century, its vineyards covered over 8,000 hectares and the wine was dispatched by river to Paris and the centre of France.
Unfortunately, at the beginning of the 19th century, it began to lose its good reputation, during a period when vines were replaced by other crops. At the end of this century, phylloxera destroyed most of the vines.
The 1970s and 80s was a period when the wine did not enjoy a very good reputation, some even said that you needed two hands to drink it: one to hold the glass and the other to hold on to the table. It is because of these less than flattering remarks and the desire of the Bourbonnais winegrowers to revive this “royal” wine, that a total restructuring has taken place over recent years.
The red wines today represent three-quarters of the Saint-Pourçain vineyards but all the winegrowers in the region would like to develop the white wines, which were drunk at the beginning of the wine’s history, using the Tressalier, a Bourbonnais grape. Since 1987, wine growers in the Allier, grouped together in a cooperative, have brought out the new Ficelle vintage, a red wine made from a Gamay grape, at the beginning of December every year, The name Ficelle comes from a local legend about the adventures of Gaultier, an inn-keeper in Saint-Pourçain, who used to plunge a piece of knotted string into the bottles to measure the quantity of wine consumed by his customers.
This tradition continues today thanks to the Compagnons de la Ficelle, who celebrate with great pomp the arrival of this simple unpretentious wine. And to bestow on it a bit of originality, every one of 250,000 bottles produced is illustrated by well-known artists, who allow their imaginations to run free. It is therefore because of this unfailing motivation, the reputation of the Ficelle, the quality of the white wines and some red wines that are still relatively unknown, that Saint-Pourçain wines will progress in years to come.
To be consumed in moderation.
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Blonde de Gannay beer
For just over a year in the Bourbonnais, a region where the traditional drink has always been wine, a beer called Blonde de Gannay, after its hometown, made by traditional methods, has been produced. Loïck Ducrey, its creator, chose to give it an extra name: La P’tasse blonde. But why this name? It was inspired by a wine called Fat Bastard (gros bâtard in French), which is produced in the United States, where he had recently spent some time, and which sold very well because of its provocative name. But behind this marketing strategy is a high-quality product made from barley malt, wheat and hops. It takes four to five weeks for the beer to develop its full flavour. Open to the public, the brewery is delighted to welcome visitors to a demonstration of its manufacturing methods, before inviting them to a well-earned tasting session.
To be consumed in moderation.
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Le whisky Bourbon
 Olivier Perrier, actor and producer born in 1940, directed the Théâtre des Fédérés in Montluçon until December 2002. Then he became a whisky distiller in Hérisson, and his Bourbonnais pure malt rapidly won the esteem of whisky lovers. Mr Balthazar’s distillery offers the first whisky made from maize, barley and rye in Auvergne, called “hedgehog” (hérisson) because it is made in Hérisson in the Allier. Mr Balthazar produces 1,000 bottles a year and is so successful that he has had to set up a quota system: only the first fifteen customers a day are served! The price of a bottle is 37 €.
To be consumed in moderation.
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Waters
 The history of Vichy, one of the most famous spa towns in the world goes back to Antiquity. The town was very well-known in Gallo-Roman times, and in the 17th century the Célestins waters became known because of the prominent people who enjoyed drinking them, including Louis XV and Madame de Sévigné. After this, Napoleon lll frequently came to take the waters leaving behind him reminders of the time he had spent in the town.
The Célestins spring was even recognized as being of public interest by royal decree, giving it a worldwide reputation for its health properties and as a tourist attraction in general. The Vichy Célestins spring surfaces at the foot of the volcanic mountains in the Chaîne des Puys in Auvergne. It emerges under the rock where the Célestins convent formerly stood. Naturally fizzy, it flows at a constant temperature of 17.3° C.
Scientific studies have proven that this water possesses valuable qualities for the skin, hence the slogan “the Célestins complexion”, with emphasis on skin hydration.
A few kilometres from Vichy, in Saint Yorre, there is another spring, just as famous as the Célestins. The history of this water began in 1850, when Nicolas Larbaud (father of the writer Valéry Larbaud and pharmacist by profession) had the idea of exploiting the natural springs that emerged on his land. Once he had permission, in 1859, he created the first Saint-Yorre water company, which developed in size over the years.
The name Saint-Yorre came from a deformation over the centuries of the name Saint-Thierry. Saint Thierry, a man of modest means, was allegedly born between a menhir and a sacred spring, and his life was punctuated by a series of extraordinary events.
The peculiarity of the Saint-Yorre waters is most certainly the fact that they all have the same physico-chemical composition. Saint-Yorre water therefore comes from several springs, and is all sold under the corporate name “Royale”.
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