Food, Wine, Photography Cycling & Gardening. Discover more about Life in Burgundy on The Hungry Cyclist Blog
Last week my great friend and exceptional photographer Greg Funnell came to stay. Greg also has an eye for an interesting object and getting to work with his camera he grasped the style of The Hungry Cyclist Lodge perfectly.
Read MoreBoeuf Bourguignon, Oeufs en Meurette and snails all make the podium, but the often sidelined Jambon Persille is one of my Burgundian favourites. Hunks of dense ham set in a porky flavoured parsley and garlic jelly. There are few better foods to wheel out at a cycling picnic in Burgundy and the humble Jambon Persille could not be more historic.
Read MoreOne of the first plants to arrive is the glorious radish. The radish is the gardening equivalent of learning chop sticks on the piano. Easy to plant and with an almost instant reward. After only a few days young leaves appear and after two weeks the rose roots break the surface like sunburned bald heads.
Read MoreApril is exciting in Burgundy. The muted greys and browns of winter steadily make way for the electric greens of spring and as if over night the landscape of the Cote D'Or changes colour. The wiry silhouettes of trees transform into an soft mass of verdant foliage and dormant spring flowers burst from the ground.
Read MoreWitnessing the wine harvest is a must for any real wine lover. Here at The Hungry Cyclist Lodge we won't force you into the fields to pick any grapes, but book accommodation for the Burgundy grape harvest with us with us, and whether you're watching the pickers from our terrace, or of walking in the vines, we guarantee you'll experience the true nature of this important annual event first hand.
Read MoreIt is with a huge amount of pleasure and just a healthy portion of pride that I can announce that The Hungry Cyclist Lodge, is open. A comfortable corner of the world from where you can enjoy the very best, food, wine and cycling in Burgundy.
Read MoreThere is something optimistic about eating salad at the end of February. The days are noticeably longer, furry buds gather on fruit trees and a salad feels like an early taste of the balmy days to come. In the garden at this time of year only a few proud towers of sprouts remain. After the heavy frosts the mini cabbages that cling to the stalks are extra sweet and even more so when braised with some smoked pork rib.
Read MoreWalking in Burgundy in the winter you have to take care. From September to February when the temperature descends and the days shorten, Burgundian men like nothing more than to get together, drink plenty of wine, eat well and hunt wild boar.
Read MoreHardy plants, branches, watering cans, forgotten garden tools. Nothing is sparred from the sharp crystals of frost that cling to everything. The clear night sky makes way to the bluish hue of morning. A few hungry birds chatter in the bitter cold and heavy blanket of white cold is revealed.
Read MoreThe local classic that the region puts its name to is of course 'Boeuf Bourguignon'. First mentioned in cookbooks in 1903, by chef Auguste Escoffier, whose decedents still live in Beaune, it is likely this hearty, wine-soaked dish has it roots much deeper in regional history.
Read MoreEvery year on the third weekend in January, a Burgundian wine-making village welcomes the La Saint Vincent Tournante, one of the most historic bacchanalian festivals of the world. Organised by the famous Brotherhood of the Knights of Tastevin, La Saint Vincent Tournante, embodies the spirit of wine making in Burgundy.
Read MoreWe have plenty of tarragon here in the garden at The Hungry Cyclist Lodge and what isn't used to infuse vinegar is eaten in salads. Beetroot also grow well and provide a good burst of colour in the depths of winter.
Read MoreThis culinary tool kit of ingredients make up the famed French dish Choucroute (cooked cabbage). A Sunday lunch special in these cold winter months it hails from the proud mountain region of the Alscase. In this corner of France the pig is king and every morcel is utilised.
Read MoreWinter in Burgundy is a time of heavy hearty food. There is plenty to do in the garden stripping ivy, cutting logs and digging beds and what energy isn't used on work is burnt trying to keep warm. While I hope the mill will be cool in the summer, at this time of year it is freezing cold. A fire in the evening and plenty of woollen layers help but coming in at noon it is a hard earned lunch that warms the soul.
Read MoreWe don't much go for the endive in England. The spear-shaped member of the chicory family perhaps getting over shadowed by the air-puffed bags of salad that stuff our shelves. The French however can't get enough of this bitter cluster of crunchy leaves . A native of Belgium, unlike most salads the endive can be grown all year round, including throughout the winter.
Read MoreI ate the last courgettes from my garden last night. Lovingly wrapped in newspaper, and lined up like nuclear warheads, they were delicious and a fond memory of late summer. My first year in the vegetable garden here at The Hungry Cyclist Lodge has been a success.
Read MoreWhoever discovered you could eat an artichoke? So well defended is the artichoke it’s baffling to imagine how we humans ever discovered they were edible. These armour-plated member of the thistle family look more suited to a medieval torture chamber than our dinner plates, yet get beyond their aggressive exterior pleasure await.
Read MoreOn any Hungry Cyclist cycling holiday excellent food is guaranteed. Whether you are dinning in Michelin starred restaurants, tasting cheese and truffles at a local market or eating amongst the locals in a popular café, I make sure my guests get to enjoy the very best cuisine Burgundy has to offer.
Read MoreCeleriac is not a pretty vegetable. Resembling the shruken-heads of some jungle tribe, they sit a little neglected on the green grocers shelves in England. Many customers are either put off by their unaesthetic appearance while others are just baffled with what to do with this chunky pale root. But ignore the celeriac at your peril because under its ugly surface lurks a flesh that is crispy when raw, silky smooth when cooked and that has a delicate taste which suggests the flavours of celery of which brows above ground if allowed.
Read MoreThe summer is over. The evening light now hangs low over tight bunches of grapes and leaves rustle and whisper against a cool wind that will soon be their downfall. Wine makers wear their heavier clothes, last seen in April, and the faint odour of burning wood is just recognisable in the dampening evening air.
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