What to eat in Burgundy: a food lover’s guide
From rustic bowls of thick, steaming beef bourguignon to delicate shavings of truffle that resemble pencil sharpenings atop risottos and pasta dishes, the food of Burgundy is as rich and indulgent as its wines. Whether you’re exploring the region’s villages on a boating holiday in Burgundy or seeking out its renowned restaurants, here we spotlight some of the region’s most inimitable dishes and where to try them.
Burgundy’s top 12 food specialties and where to try them
1- Boeuf Bourguignon
This unctuous beef stew is Burgundy’s headline dish. The recipe calls for beef, onions, rustically cut carrots, mushrooms, and a bouquet garni of herbs to be slow-cooked in red wine and beef stock until the mix becomes rich and satiny. It’s best served on a soft pillow of mashed potato.
Where to try
The chef at Soul Kitchen in Beaune (1 Rue Rousseau Deslandes) champions local produce
As well as a daily changing three-course ‘versatile menu’, the restaurant serves a permanent three-course menu of Époisses cheese tart, home-made beef bourguignon, and gingerbread with blackcurrant cream.
Top tip:
Knit a visit to Soul Kitchen into a day trip to Beaune from Chagny, where you can moor. The train ride between the two cities takes just 11 minutes.
2- Dijon mustard
The city of Dijon, where Le Boat customers can moor, has been making mustard since the Middle Ages. Yet the condiment we know today was only invented in the late 19th century when Dijon local Jean Naigeon adapted the recipe, replacing vinegar with unripened grape juice. In Dijon today, the sauce is used in everything from creamy chicken dishes to cocktails.
Where to try
The wooden-fronted La Maison Maille Dijon (32 rue de la Liberté) has been selling mustard in Dijon town centre since 1845. Inside, flavours from white truffle and parmesan to rose wine and grapefruit are on sale.
At the Fallot mustard shop (16 Rue de la Chouette), meanwhile, there’s a mustard vending machine and a fill-you-own jar station.
Ready for a drink? Head to Monsieur Moutarde at 40 Rue des Forges for a mustard-laced cocktail.
3- Pôchouse
Burgundy sees Provence’s bouillabaisse and raises it Pôchouse. Only this fish stew is made from river fish like pike, perch, carp and eel, which are poached in Burgundy’s lesser-known white wine aligoté and served in a creamy sauce made from the poaching liquid.
Where to try
A 15-minute walk from Verdun sur le Doubs (2 avenue du Président Borgeot), where Le Boat customers can moor, Hostellerie Bourguignonne’s signature dish is pôchouse. The half-timbered restaurant seasons the stew with garlic, pepper, and thyme and serves it with butter-fried croutons.
4- Coq au vin
This dish is almost as French as the tricolour flag. While it’s now served uniformly across the country, it has links to Burgundy as the recipe traditionally calls for Burgundian wine. This warming stew is made from chicken (or classically rooster), onions, button mushrooms, bacon, and red wine and served by the ladle-full with a mound of mashed potato.
Where to try
Bistros across Burgundy serve this dish, keep an eye on the chalked-up specials boards as you explore.
5- Oeufs en meurette
This recipe calls for poached eggs to be served in the same sauce that’s used for beef bourguignon. It was originally served in the evenings, to make use of leftover sauce from the beef, but today restaurants dish it up for breakfast, lunch, brunch and as a starter, too.
Where to try:
All beamed ceilings and red chequered tablecloths, Dijon’s Bouchon Palais (4 rue Bouhier) serves oeufs en meurette alongside other classic Burgundian dishes like snails and old-fashioned coq au vin.
6- Morvan ham
Farmed and produced in the mid mountains of Morvan, an hour’s drive west of Dijon, this ham is dry-cured for between nine and 24 months. It can be served cold or doused in a warm cream sauce.
Where to try:
The menu at Au Coq Bleu in Beaune reads like a who’s who of Burgundian products. Morvan ham, served with gherkins and butter, stars on the entrée list alongside other typical dishes like oeufs en meurette and Burgundian snails.
7- Epoisses cheese
Hailing from the northern part of the Cote d’Or, Epoisses is a soft cows’ cheese that’s ripened in Burgundy marc, a brandy made from the leftover pulp of crushed grapes. The recipe is said to have been developed by Cistercian monks and passed on to local farmers over time. Today, chefs across Burgundy use it to make tarts, sauces, and soufflés.
Where to try:
At Le Terroir in Santenay (19 Place du Jet D’eau) Epoisses cheese is made into a hot cream sauce and poured over poached eggs and served in crispy pastry with walnut oil.
8- Pain d'épices
The name of this dish translates as spicy bread. A speciality of Dijon, it’s a loaf-shaped cake that’s made from wheat flour, honey, and the warming spices of cinnamon, ginger, star anise, coriander, and clove.
Where to try:
Dijon-based bakers Mulot & Petit Jean (13 Place Bousset) have been making pain d’épices since 1796. Visitors who want a deeper dive into all things gingerbread can also tour Mulot & Petit Jean’s gingerbread factory and sensory museum (6 Boulevard de L’ouest).
9- Burgundian truffles
Around ten tonnes of truffles are harvested in Burgundy’s Cote d’Or every year. Coal black, they thrive in the region’s limestone soils. They’re harvested between September and January, are slightly nutty in character, and are shaved, stirred, rubbed, and infused into everything from cheese to risotto on restaurant, café, and deli menus across the area.
Where to try:
An eight-stage 118-kilometre Truffle Route now runs through Burgundy, passing by producers, hotels, and restaurants that specialise in the region’s ‘black diamonds’.
In Dijon, meanwhile, the shelves of the L’Or des Valois boutique (5 rue de la Chaudronnerie) are crammed with locally made truffle products, from infused honey to truffle mustard.
10- Burgundian blackcurrants
Grapes aren’t the only berries in Burgundy. The region’s farmers also excel in blackcurrant production. In Dijon, these marble-sized fruits are made into Crème de Cassis, a sweet liqueur that’s a key ingredient in the Burgundian Kir cocktail alongside white aligoté wine.
Where to try:
As for a kir in any bar across Burgundy and you should get the chance to sample these berries.
11- Snails
Snails are the bread and butter of many Burgundian bistro menus. Typically, they’re served sizzling in their shells, in a garlic and herb butter sauce.
Where to try:
For something a little bit different pop into the Comptoir des Negociants café and shop (23 rue de la Liberté) near the Le Boat base at Saint Jean de Losne, they sometimes have snail chocolate in stock.
12- Gougères
A little like a savoury profiterole, these gobstopper-sized pastry puffs are made from choux dough and cheese. Sometimes you’ll see them stuffed with ingredients like beef, ham, or mushrooms, but the traditional versions are served cold and, often, with wine.
Where to try:
Aux Délices de la Chouette (26 rue de la chouette) bakery in Dijon is said to make some of the best in Burgundy.
Food museums and attractions in Burgundy
Feed the mind as well as the stomach at these culinary attractions…
La Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie et du Vin, Dijon
Spreading out for more than 70,000 square metres, this multi-space attraction celebrates the part of French culture that’s known and recognised by Unesco as ‘The Gastronomic Meal of the French’. This concept is all about the coming together of friends and family over food to celebrate, socialise, and take pleasure in eating and drinking. There are multiple exhibition and museum spaces at La Cite, as well as a flurry of bars and restaurants. A highlight is La Cave de La Cite bar, where visitors can sample the world’s largest selection of wines by the glass.
Fallot Mustard Museum
Located in Beaune, a 10-minute train ride from Chagny, where Le Boat customers can moor, the Fallot Mustard Museum occupies an old mustard mill where interactive displays and antique tools offer an insight into the history of mustard making in Beaune and wider Burgundy. Visitors to Fallot can also tour the modern-day mustard-making premises to see how today’s product is milled, made, and bottled.
Some of the best restaurants in Burgundy and along its waterways
Lameloise, Chagny
This Chagny-based restaurant basks in the light of three Michelin stars Behind an exterior of whitewashed walls and shuttered windows, its chefs deliver dishes that elevate traditional Burgundian produce. Think Burgundy rabbit with shrimp, tarragon-infused carrot broth, and sour mustard seeds, then chocolate leaf sheets with blackcurrant marmalade and ginger sauce.
- Website: lameloise.fr
- Address: 36, place d’Armes, Chagny
Aux Terrasses, Tournus
At Aux Terrasses, food is served against a backdrop of exposed stone walls, whittled wooden doors, leafy potted plants, and beams of natural light. With a menu that hangs on seasonal produce, the restaurant has held a Michelin star for more than 20 years.
- Website: aux-terrasses.com
- Address: 18 avenue du 23 Janvier, Tournus
Cedric Burtin, Chalon-sur-Saône
Sequestered inside a restored 19th-century mill, on the outskirts of Chalon-sur-Saône, Cedric Burtin serves dishes like trout with fondant potatoes, fir butter, and caviar, and green asparagus with wild garlic and glazed grapefruit, earning the restaurant two Michelin stars.
- Website: cedricburtin.com
- Address: Chemin de Martorez, 71100 Saint-Rémy
Domaine Christophe Drain
An hour’s cycle from Chalon-sur-Saône via the Voie Verte (see our Outdoor guide for more details on this trail), Domain Christophe Drain winery has a restaurant that’s open from Thursday lunchtime to Saturday lunchtime. The menu is local, homemade, seasonal, and paired with the estate’s wines.
- Website: domainechristophedrain.fr
- Address: 43 rue de la Côte Chalonnaise, Jambles
Ready for your own gastronomic adventure in Burgundy?
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