Gourmet products local specialties and wines Ariège

A trailer on top of a field on the Saint Girons-Foix road? What is it? It is the den of Christelle Record, a farmer of calves under the mother's milk, always engaged in the promotion of short circuits and fervent defender of the better and local consumption. She worked hard during the confinements and now she is in charge of this trailer/grocery store. 145 producers, which shows that Ariège has a beautiful diversity and that one finds in the caravan salted and sweet groceries, fresh and organic vegetables, meat, delicatessen, cheese, eggs, drinks...

The interior of this brewery-restaurant, created by Yannick Metge, has been enlarged and is now a real success. In a neo-industrial setting, the microbrewery is housed in a former iron workshop. We're at the heart of local consumption, with beers brewed on site, and tapas and burgers concocted with local produce. At 12 noon, the traditional slate-style cuisine is top-notch. Why the fork? In Occitan it's called foueich, which gave rise to... Foix. A must-visit address. Soon to open as a coworking space!

In Ariège, there are institutions such as the castle of Foix, the mounjetade, the hunt and... the Rouch charcuterie in the store and on the markets. Since 1870, the house has been making fresh, dry or cooked charcuterie with pigs received whole and raised in the South West. The butcher's shop is exclusively from the Ariège. Rouch's traditional charcuterie and specialties from the Ariege are prepared in a laboratory near Foix. Ariège ham, sausage under the ash, pâtés, cassoulet...

This couple of farmer-breeders transforms their production on the spot and farms 16 ha in a 70 ha estate of forests and moors. The result is excellent farm products based on ducks, chickens, guinea fowl, rabbits, pigs and lambs. Foie gras remains the flagship product. Smoked duck breast, cassoulet, 100% duck sausage, duck rillettes with grapes and Armagnac, guinea fowl with chasseur sauce, coq au vin, rabbit confit. To keep their original flavour, the preserves are put in glass jars, without colouring or preservatives.

The market of Saint-Girons is as famous as the ancestral market of Mirepoix. You'll find all kinds of locally made, artisanal products that often come straight down from the surrounding mountains. Cow's milk cheese, goat's milk, mixed milk, arts and crafts, various (and summer) products, poultry, jams, various and delicious cold cuts... In addition to the local Saint-Gironnais, a colourful population of neo-rurals from the surrounding villages, enchants the market and provides an atmosphere that is always top notch.

If you don't like pigs, don't bother, because we love them here. So much so, in fact, that we eat it, taste it and send for it (which the Ariegeois explain to others). Paul and Jean Nocque's farm is located in the heart of the PNR, and the quality of the meat is paramount. The pigs are raised on a bed of straw and fed GMO-free cereals. The environment is healthy and clean, and Sophie and Jean Nocque know how to pass on their passion and know-how in the production of ready-made meals, fresh meats and traditional charcuterie.

A "living heritage" address more than a century old. The Fontès delicatessen, and its famous Galavard du Terrefort, a heavy pig raised in Ariège, benefits from this distinction. Christian Fontès works with 3 breeders of this Galavard transformed at the delicatessen into dry ham, sausage, regional cooked dishes. Christian Fontès' products are also available at the Vié delicatessen in Pamiers. Those who don't like pork can stock up on excellent goose or duck foie gras, confits, duck breasts, stuffed neck..

Jealously hidden away in the Couserans valley, the "Le Moulis" cheese dairy still matures its cheeses the old-fashioned way. Moulis is a pressed cow's milk tomme with a distinctive nutmeg-colored rind. Its uncooked paste is supple and creamy. Aged between 8 and 10 weeks, it is brushed several times a week to bring out all its aromas. The cheese dairy also offers Moulis made from goat's or ewe's milk. On-line cheese sales. Recipe ideas on the website: the Ventrèche burger!

After a century without a baker, the village of Montsegur saw the arrival of Cyril Delmas, a local child, as "blessed bread" in 2014. Cyril is more than a baker and built his own oven like a cast iron model from the 1900s. He shapes and bakes his bread the old-fashioned way, with beech wood, sourdough, organic flours, ground by stone millstones and Montcalm mineral water! Is it necessary to specify that this bread is a real delight? It can also be found on the tables of many excellent restaurants in the Ariège.

This shop offers Pyrenean, Ariegeois and artisanal products. On the shelves: delicatessen, oils of all kinds, wine cellar, delicatessen, honey, meats, cheeses, biscuits, sweets, spices... Every week wine, cheese, delicatessen tasting... More original still, the picnic or take away meal. Laurent, who every summer organizes historical walks and hikes, will also be able to share with his friends, mountain breeders, the meeting of the herds on transhumance and appreciate the foodstuffs they produce.

This shop amazes us with its treasures. It is a small paradise of Pyrenean gastronomy and crafts. A real cave at low prices where you can find everything to please yourself or others. The treasures are salty, sweet, fruity or made by local craftsmen. Pottery, clogs, soaps, horn combs, natural sharpening stones, jams, honey, wines, beers, aperitifs, foie gras, biscuits, sweets, everything is made in Ariège or in the Pyrenees. You will discover candles and figurines made from Luzenac talc.

Occitan is spoken before 10am and "English" afterwards. Regional products abound, local producers are honoured and the presence of craftsmen such as the remover, the manufacturer of leather sandals to your measures transport you in its markets of former days which makes that we are not surprised to see and hear some troubadours at the angle of an arcade. It is an amazing market where you can also buy plants, chairs, power tillers and farmyard animals. On Thursday mornings, there is a small market of local producers.

Ariège is a big producer of these dried fruits. This home-made confectionery and local speciality is made of a tender meringue envelope perfumed with vanilla filled with a creamy hazelnut praline, the size of a walnut and very light. The praline is made from local hazelnuts. Flocons can be found in pastry shops, bakeries and delicatessens in the department and in Toulouse. Variations: Flocons with violet and Flocons with spread, a delight of delicately crunchy, deliciously melting Flocons...

Specialist of champagnes, fine wines, spirits, gift parcels, here is the biggest cellar of Ariège; a real institution since 1950. You can find all the wines of France and elsewhere but above all the surprise when you enter the store of such a large choice and the personalized advice of Christophe Deymier, Yannick and David. The store has a large parking lot and a very pleasant interior space. On 250 m^₂of space, there are nearly 3,700 references of wines and spirits, 150 champagnes, 300 whiskies, 200 rums... at very reasonable prices.

Located in Lorp-Sentaraille, in the heart of the Ariège region, Compagnie des Pyrénées has specialized in fruit and vegetable processing for over 25 years. Their products, such as jams, jellies, compotes, coulis, confits and condiments, are made with traditional know-how and a concern for quality. The range includes organic jams, coulis in a variety of flavors, original sauces and ketchups, and confits with onions, figs and balsamic vinegar. La Compagnie des Pyrénées also offers customized recipes and own-brand packaging.

Wednesday and Saturday mornings. To see, in summer, beautiful flower stands.

This family house was inaugurated on May^1st 1972. It was 50 years ago, on Labor Day, which is still relevant today because the company has about 20 employees and many apprentices who benefit from a know-how and a transmission worthy of the golden age of the journeymen. Everything is based on natural and high quality ingredients. In addition to the delicious home-made chocolates, you will enjoy croustades, black forests, bavarois, éclairs. The only chocolate manufacturer in Foix, the artist creates chocolate sculptures, true works of art.

Have you heard of lantounets? No ? We're sure you haven't. Visit this cookie factory and let us tell you the story of the Lantounette, who made tasty flower-shaped cookies for her husband, who was possessed by an evil spirit (we're not kidding, ladies). But before being a cookie factory, the site was a mill built in the ^17th century, which ceased operating in the 1950s. A small museum can be visited on site. A place to feed on culture and delicacies, with a picnic area and tearoom.

The making of the "rogallais", a cheese made from cow, sheep or goat milk, but also from a clever mixture of the three milks, has been handed down from father to son for five generations, or should we say daughter, because now Marie-Lise Coumes is in charge. In front of the production room, the secrets of the work of the milk will be revealed to you. You will see the maturing cellar, only seen from the outside. Don't leave without a good piece of this production: goat's cheese, cow's cheese, sheep's cheese, or a good churned butter.

Ax-les-Thermes is fortunate to have three markets in high season, from 7am to 1pm, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and two in low season, on Tuesdays and Saturdays. These pleasant markets are located on the sunny Place Saint Jérôme (opposite the Post Office), where you'll find a wide range of local, high-quality produce in an atmosphere reminiscent of the markets of yesteryear. You'll be able to stock up on fruit, vegetables, meats, cold meats and cheeses, as well as local honeys, clothes, ready-made meals...