Specialties

Discover the culinary specialties of Brittany

Cornwall Cider & Lambig

“Le Cornouaille”: the only AOP cider in Brittany, born of traditional expertise adapted to modern techniques, is produced throughout the Quimper region. This cider is 100% pure juice, unpasteurized, and naturally sparkling!
Particularly rich in tannins, which give it its characteristic golden-orange color, it offers a good balance between sweetness and bitterness.

Cider, but that’s not all… Lambig (cider brandy) and Pommeau (a blend of apple juice and Lambig) are among the traditional—though lesser-known—drinks you’ll come across.

The Fouesnant region is home to many cider houses, such as Men ez Brug, Ponterec, Séhédic, and Thomas in Lanjulien—to name just a few—where you can taste and purchase their products directly.

Our advice: Avoid sweet cider—it’s a no-go—and opt for a fruity cider or apple juice instead

Seafood

Renowned for their freshness and variety, they can be found all along our coastline or further offshore, sourced from ports ranging from Concarneau to Guilvinec, including oyster farms.

“Demoiselles”—or, in other words, langoustines, which are abundant in the Iroise Sea—are one of the region’s specialties. They’re usually served fresh after cooking with a homemade mayonnaise lightly
flavored with lemon, making them perfect for sunny days.

The oysters, with the first oyster farm just 30 minutes away, are renowned worldwide and each have a distinct flavor depending on the freshwater inflow at their production site.

Edible crabs (also known as sleeper crabs) and spider crabs (less
well-known but with a more delicate flavor) are also found in large numbers along our coasts. Crab fishermen bring them back just like lobsters.

Brittany offers a wide variety of other seafood, such as scallops, whelks, periwinkles, cockles, clams, and razor clams.

They are an integral part of Breton cuisine, and you can find them in La Forêt-Fouesnant, either at the La Forêt fish market or the Penfoulic fish market!

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Crepes, galettes, and cakes from Lower Brittany

Crepes, which are particularly thin in our region (since the soil in Cornouaille has historically been less fertile), can be either savory (known as Sarazin crepes or buckwheat crepes) or sweet (wheat crepes).

Whether at a crêperie, a festou noz, or a market, you’ll find them just about everywhere, deliciously filled: the classic “complete,” with ingredients of your choice, or simply with butter.

In Brittany, “galettes” refer to wheat-flour pancakes as thick as American pancakes, often filled with chocolate or apples. Often eaten as a snack because they’re easy to carry, one of their delightful variations is the galette de Pont-Aven, a small butter cookie!

Kouign Amann, Breton cake, and Far are delicious 19th-century pastries and absolute must-tries. Avoid buying them at supermarkets, as they’re often bland and overly sweet.

The secret to these pastries: butter, butter, butter, and a touch of rum!

Vocabulary and expression:
A buckwheat crêpe is often eaten kraz (dry in Breton, i.e., slightly crispy)!
With ham or andouille: a buckwheat crêpe topped with an egg, grated cheese, and ham or andouille.
Gavottes (or crêpes dentelles) should not be confused with the gavotte, an 8-beat dance from Cornouaille.