So easy to reach from the UK, Northern France is the perfect place to whet your appetite for the festive season and stock up on French Christmas food.
France is world-renowned for its gastronomy, and there’s no better place than Northern France to enjoy or stock up on ingredients for a sumptuous traditional Christmas dinner or New Year’s Eve feast, whether they be salmon from Boulogne, punchy regional cheeses, famous Licques chicken or champagne directly from the region where it is grown.
All come from local producers that you can often visit in person – men and women such as champagne-producers the Météyers and saffron-grower Anne Poupart, who love welcoming in visitors to share their passion.
Just a short hop across the Channel, Northern France is a wonderful place to get into the festive spirit. Spend precious time together at warmly welcoming events and learn about regional heritage while meeting local producers firmly embedded in the history and landscapes of this compelling part of the world. Stroll around some of Europe’s best Christmas markets, sampling delicious regional treats as you browse the charming stalls with their artisan wares, or shop for French Christmas food in countless independent shops.
• Champagne
The world’s best and most famous celebratory drink – a must-buy for Christmas and New Year’s Eve parties – isn’t purely an affair of the big-name houses. Northern France is home to many fantastic smaller producers working with skill and passion, including the UNESCO award-winning Champagne Météyer Père et Fils in Trélou-sur-Marne, Champagne Pannier in Château-Thierry and Champagne Belin in Essômes-sur-Marne.
These and many other producers on this section of the Champagne Route are open for tast-ings and tours during which you can learn all about the grapes used, the intricacies of production techniques, what a label tells you about its contents, and the best bit… how to smell and savour!
Champagne Météyer Père et Fils - 39 Rue de l'Europe, F-02850 Trélou-sur-Marne - Tel : +33 3 23 70 26 20
Champagne Pannier - 23 Rue Roger Catillon, F-02400 Château-Thierry - Tel : +33 3 23 69 51 30
Champagne Belin - 30A Aulnois, F-02400 Essômes-sur-Marne - Tel: + 33 3 23 70 88 43
• Foie gras
Part of the protected cultural and gastronomical heritage of France, this popular delicacy with its rich but delicate buttery flavour appears in all kinds of guises – buy it whole, or try it as a pâté, a parfait or a mousse, perhaps served with steak. Again, it’s often best bought straight from the producer – at the Ferme Foie Gras du Bon Terroir
in Fransures, you can taste it or even enjoy a whole meal featur-ing
the luxury treat along with other house specialities.
Other names to look out for include the Ferme Les Canardises des 3 Vallées in Condé-en-Brie, the Ferme Auberge des Canards de la Germaine in Sancourt, the Ferme des Charmettes in Autheuil-en-Valois, and the Val de Luce in Thennes.
Ferme Foie Gras du Bon Terroir 2 grande rue F-80160 Fransures - Tel: +33 3 22 09 40 96
Canardises des 3 vallées - 2 Rue du Cahot, F-02330 Condé-en-Brie - Tel : +33 3 23 82 80 07
Canards de la Germaine 3 Rue de l'Église, F-80400 Sancourt - Tel +33 3 23 81 01 57
Val de Luce 12 Rue des Ormelets, F-80110 Thennes - Tel +33 3 22 42 20 31
• Jam
From the hands of master jam-maker Marie Maryn, Les Jardins de Marie products are also held in high esteem at the Elysée Palace. The secret to their success is the rigorous selection progress by Marie and her team, who insist on the highest quality, the best varieties – think Gariguette and Mara des Bois strawberries, Cantaloupe melons, Williams pears – and a perfect state of ripeness thanks to a local or short-distance sourcing of non-native fruits such as pineapples, passionfruits and kum-quat oranges. Most prized of all is the prestige range, made with champagne or with Sauternes with truffles.
Les Jardins de Marie 13 Avenue du Général Patton, F-02880 Crouy - Tel : +33 3 23 93 67 41
• Boxes of chocolates
A must for Christmas and all special occasions, these delicious treats are available in an ever-growing number of wonderful chocolatiers all over Northern France, including artisan chocolate-maker Patrice Bonnotte in his shop at the foot of Amiens Cathedral, with its almost-edible Christmas window displays. Meanwhile, Brice Canesson in Chantilly not far from Paris makes quintessentially French chocolates that you can buy in a luxurious box depicting the fairytale-like Château de Chantil-ly itself.
At Le Touquet on the Côte d'Opale, Chat Bleu is a chocoholics’ favourite, while Beussent-Lachelle near Boulogne is one of the few chocolatiers in France that makes its chocolate directly from cocoa beans. Today it has 25 shops, most of them in Northern France.
Patrice Bonnotte Douceurs et Gourmandises 5 Rue Henri IV, F-80000 Amiens - Tel : +33 3 22 91 24 23
Chocolaterie Brice Connesson- 5 rue du Connetable F-60500 Chantilly - Tel: +33 3 44 57 30 12
Le Chat Bleu - 47bis Rue Saint-Jean F-62520 Le Touquet-Paris-Plage – Tel: +33 3 21 05 03 86
Chocolaterie de Beussent-Lachelle – 66, Route de Desvres F-62170 Beussent -Tel : +33 3 21 86 17 62
• Meert waffles
The ultimate sweet Christmas gifts, Chez Meerts’ waffles delight the most discerning of foodies with their fluffiness and delicious filling. The recipe itself has been jealously guarded by the heads of this famous Lille venue since 1849.
We recommend the traditional version: scented with Madagascar vanilla, hand-made with love and care and branded with De Meert’s seal, it was a favourite with Général de Gaulle at the Elysée Palace. But these days it’s also available in other flavours, including Speculoos cookies, pis-tachio and sour cherry, and blackcurrant and violet, for instance. Once inside the door, you won’t be able to resist taking a seat in its tea-room with its Art Deco window, antique counters and display cases, mouldings, gildings and copper accessories.
Chez Meerts - 25-27 Rue Esquermoise - F-59000 Lille -Tel : +33 3 20 57 93 93
• Maroilles
This stinky, soft cows’-milk cheese with its washed rind – a veritable regional icon – can be brought directly from the producer at Maroilles Leduc in Sommeron, where you can also see some of the production processes in action.
Other great places to buy Maroilles cheese are the Boutique Philippe Olivier and the Boutique La Maison des Fromages et des Vins in Calais, and producer Claire Halleux at La Ferme de la Fontaine Orion in Haution, in the heart of rolling countryside surrounded by picturesque little villages. Here you can see Maroilles stored in a brick cellar and buy some to take away with you.
Fromagerie Philippe Olivier - 3 Rue du Cure Saint-Etienne, F-59800 Lille – Tel : +33 3 21 31 94 74
La Maison du Fromage et des Vins - 1 Rue d'André Gerschel, F-62100 Calais – Tel : +33 3 21 34 44 72
Ferme de la Fontaine Orion 1 Rue de Hurtebise, F-02140 Haution – Tel : +33 3 23 98 22 50
• Beers
While you’re Christmas shopping in Northern France, make sure to pick up some Anosteké Saison beer produced by the Brasserie du Pays Flamand in Blaringhem between Calais and Lille. In 2016, it was named the world’s best bière de garde at the World Beer Awards in the pale ale category.
Beer-lovers will be thrilled by the different varieties of beer brewed in Hauts de France. Blond, brown, golden or amber ales, ranging from bitter to the very mild, the slightly sweet to the acidic, the light to the very strong… The choice is huge because this has long been a land of breweries.
For newcomers to the world of beer, L’Echappée Bière offers Christmas gift cards for introductions to brewing or for tasting workshops.
La Brasserie du Pays Flamand in Blaringhem 425 Rue André Plockyn, F-59173 Blaringhem – Tel : +33 3 28 41 74 99
Echappée bière 130 Boulevard de la Liberté, F-59000 Lille – Tel : +33 7 82 71 68 21
• Baie de Somme saffron Local saffron producer Anne Poupart’s spice forms the basis of scores of delightful recipes in may of the best local restaurants. You can visit Anne’s farm, Safran de la Baie de Somme, to pick up some saffron to take home – as well as some inspirational recipes. Tours included a short talk on saffron’s history, a visit to the plots on which it is grown, instructions on how to cook using the spice and tastings of saffron products.
Anne et Henri Poupart Ferme de Romiotte F-80860 Ponthoile Tel : +33 3 22 23 59 65
• Luculus de Valenciennes
Named after a Roman general renowned for his sumptuous feasts, this truly French culinary speciali-ty with its home-cooked feel blends the delicate taste of foie gras with the robustness of beef tongue, with which it is interleaved. It was invented by Edmond Laudouar, a restaurateur from the town of Valenciennes in Northern France, and all ingredients are sourced locally.
Luculus de Valenciennes 140, route de Saint Saulve, F-59770 Marly - Tel : +33 3 27 51 89 10
• Licques Chicken
Raised in and around Calais, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Montreuil-sur-Mer and Saint-Omer, Licques chick-ens have their origins in the poultry-breeding carried out by the monks of Licques Abbey from the 18th century onwards. This excellent free-range meat is so highly regarded that it was served to Barack Obama and 150 other heads of stat at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, cooked by Michelin-starred chef Alexandre Gauthier. Meanwhile, Licques turkey was also served on last year’s New Year’s Eve at the Elysée Palace, official residence of the French president.
Licques Volailles - 777 rue de l'Abbé Pruvost, F-62850 LICQUES - Tel: +33 3 21 35 80 03
• Boulogne Salmon
With family origins in the trade going as far back as 1922, Maison David in the fishing port of Boulogne takes sustainably farmed salmon from Scottish lochs, famed for their tender, lean flesh. It then works them in a secret blend of salt and spices before smoking them for many hours. The result is a superlative smoked salmon perfect for your traditional Christmas dinner.
Maison David - 15-17 Rue Georges Honoré, F-62200 Boulogne-sur-Mer - Tel : +33 3 21 87 38 31
