Vic Fezensac

We are looking after a house and a dog in a small village in the GERS region -- famous for ducks, geese, Fois Gras and Armagnac (a beautiful fierce brandy). The house is in the middle of the village and we are in the village square within two minutes after leaving the house and crossing a bridge over a small stream. The house belongs to a Canadian woman who has been living here and making a living as a chef for the last 20 years. Talking to her and reading some of her books I am beginning to understand the importance of food in the French way of life. They tend to eat regionally and seasonally and are very proud of their regional products and cuisine -- each region is famous for different products and dishes, so any understanding of the region, the people, the landscape and the earth is facilitated by becoming involved in the local food and drink -- an approach of which I highly approve !! So, here the food is cooked in duck and goose fat and washed down with local wine and brandy and has been for over 2,000 years

The French in the main appear to be fiercely opposed to the globalisation of food production and distribution and prefer to eat their own products -- the fact that the food is wonderful and seems to be reasonably healthy is a good start. It is not difficult to buy locally produced products, there are markets somewhere close most days and many of the farmers sell products at the door of their farm and the local shops sell local products. There are supermarkets at the edge of the larger towns -- like the American Wal Mart system but they seem to be reasonably small -- the emphasis is on local stuff and if you eat with a local they are very keen to explain the local cuisine and ensure that is what you eat and that you drink local wine.

The landscape is so altered from its natural state and it appears that throughout most of the country the way to get in touch with the land is through the food. I hope I don't roll home!