fried endives with snails and Maroilles fondue, Ch’timi specialty from Pépée le Mat

Pépée Le Mat, in La Couture (Pas-de-Calais), is passionate about authentic cuisine. This ambassador of ch’ti cuisine is a food columnist, famous for her pan-fried endives and snails from the region. For her endives, she gets her supplies from a producer four kilometers from her home. “Me, it’s my life. What I like is really from the ground to the plate”, comments Pepe Le Mat. The roots are then replanted in a room without light, to keep the whiteness of the vegetable. At 73, Pépée Le Mat still has something to learn.

When they are ripe, she then cooks the endives. She passed on her passion to her granddaughter, Romy Boilly, 10 years old. “I want to pass it on. Because I’m a self-taught cook, and it’s thanks to my grandmother who raised me, and who never pushed me away in the kitchen”, explains Pepe Le Mat. The endives are braised with a little sugar, to color them. The cream then melts with the Maroilles, with its crust. Add snails and tarragon. The follower of short circuits was fairground, restaurateur, baker before being a columnist on radio and television. She became a local celebrity, sometimes recognized on the streets.