Head to one of the most beautiful bays in the world! welcome to The Baule in the Loire-Atlantique for the start of this new “Gourmet stopover” bound for Quimper in Finistere. To accompany the facilitator Nathalie Helalthe director of the family business La Belle-Iloise Caroline Hilliet Le Branchu is on France Bleu. She returns to her best taste anecdotes on the roads of the West, but also to tell you the story of the family business that her grandfather founded in 1932.
Today the Belle Illoise is a sizeable company with up to 600 employees in high season. On the menu, fish with mainly sardines, tuna and mackerel sold in cans. 90 years of know-how thanks to a heritage from the fishing port of Quiberon, facing Belle-Ile-en-Mer. This is where it all started.
The story of the family business is told in the book La Belle Iloise, the pretty Breton club by Tugdal Ruellan, published by Ouest France.
La Baule, its large market and its exceptional fondants
To accompany the journey of “The Gourmet Stage”, a stop on the La Baule central market is recommended. And for good reason, it is a market of choice: the largest in the city.
Head chef in the Parisian restaurant The Mansouria in the 11th arrondissement of Paris, Fatema Hal is a lover of La Baule. She lives there for several months a year and tells us about her culinary favorites in the area!
On the dessert side, you won’t leave The Baule before having tasted the famous chocolate fondant local. The “Fondant Baulois” is an institution here, which testifies to the art of living in the bay and is even exported around the world.
These fondants are easily recognized by their blue and white striped boxes, like the bathing cabins on the beaches of La Baule. One of the secrets of this dessert? Its thin crust with meringue or its touch of salted butter caramel.
The art of smoked fish in Groix
around the island of Groixthe choice of quality fish is not lacking. Maxime Quiltu and Patrick Saigot have decided to revalorize the know-how of smoking fish in their bistro, the BAO.
They offer cuisine in the image of the island of Groix: artisanal but exceptional. You can discover a map with the local products must-haves, such as Pisces coastal fishing, moldsthem vegetables or even the cider produced on the island. There are other local specialties such as Kervignac pig and local wines.