The best local producers Deux-Sèvres

Since 1987, Chez Morille has been serving up the very best of palmipeds. A duck breeder and foie gras producer, Chez Morille is a family-run business where epicureanism rhymes with craftsmanship and quality. Each year, 95,000 mulard ducks are raised for 13.5 weeks in the open air, on 66 hectares of organic meadows, on GMO-free feed. Visit our boutique to stock up on foie gras, fresh produce, spreads and ready-made meals. On site, visit the Canard Académie, a small museum on the history of the duck.

This tourist itinerary allows you to discover the key players in the New Aquitaine cheese industry. It features 50 stops, most of them in the Poitou region. The Pays Mellois, cradle of the route, features 8 of them. Visit the producers for a special moment: product tasting, herd visits, milking and, of course, cheese shopping. No doubt you'll cross paths with the emblematic Chabichou and Mothais on the leaf.

Camille and Raphaël welcome tourists to their chambres d'hôtes and their brand-new eco-gîte! The fattened ducks are force-fed and processed in the small workshop in batches of seventy-five, using organic corn produced on the farm, cooked in the fat, which is then used to cook delicate dishes according to the traditional recipes of Périgné's grandmothers! Combining farm activities, product tasting and a longer stay in a truly eco-friendly location is an excellent vacation idea.

The Gaillard family set up their farm in Ménigoute in 1979. It is now their daughter Bérangère who has taken over the farm and perpetuates the family tradition by feeding the ducks and selling the products concocted on the basis of traditional recipes: foie gras, rillettes, pâtés, ready-made meals, puddings, confits, stuffed neck, frittons, foie gras mousseline, liver pâté... as well as fresh products such as magret, fresh liver... Don't hesitate to come and visit the farm to discover this production, the place is labelled "Bienvenue à la ferme" (Welcome to the farm)!

Once upon a time, Rodolphe Neaud, a cheesemaker, swapped milk for cereals and launched the first local artisanal pasta company in the Deux-Sèvres region: Melle et une pâte. Made from local cereals, the pasta is now available in some thirty recipes, some of which are egg-based, organic or with the Bleu Blanc Coeur label. Mafaldines, campaniles, gnochetti, macaroni and tagliatelle are flavored with Espelette chili, seaweed, nettles, angelica... to combine flavor and health benefits. Yummy!

Régis and Laëtitia Amail produce 6 different basic honeys. From the lightest to the most pronounced, all these honeys are of excellent quality and the choice depends solely on your taste. Flagship product: the sunflower honey harvested in the Poitou-Charentes region is, like the sunflower fields, bright yellow and discreet in aroma. Other products: the confits which are honeys developed with lemon, hazelnuts, raspberry... A delight.

Les Saveurs de Gâtine is a market gardener offering fresh fruit and vegetables for direct sale. Other delicacies produced by their partners include honey, preserved meats, jams, eggs and goat's cheese. What's more, they offer the possibility of buying their products from other outlets or having them delivered to Bressuire. You can choose your products on the spot, make a reservation in advance or opt for their seasonal basket. Les Saveurs de Gâtine also provide recipes on their blog.

Agnès Ravailleau's saffron farm, where she produces crocus sativus using sustainable agriculture methods. The pistils are harvested, pruned and dehydrated in October. Visit the facilities, punctuated by a tasting/sale of exceptional artisanal products: saffron powder (with instructions for use), jams and flavored fine jellies, fruit jellies (apple, pear, blackberry, quince partly grown on site). Agnès also sells her own bulbs: enough to encourage you to grow your own saffron at home?

Breeding, slaughtering, cutting and selling of fine poultry, quails, pheasants, geese, partridges, squabs... You can also taste quail eggs, sausages, preserves and refined rillettes, on sale in the shop. The Pierre couple, members of the Bienvenue à la ferme (Welcome to the Farm) network, invite you to the farm to discover the facilities and traditional know-how. They will of course give you advice on preparation and cooking. Several tempting recipes on the website.

Gourmets beware: it's impossible to leave Poitou without tasting its famous galettes and broyers (to be broken with the fist!). Head to Brioux-sur-Boutonne, to Chez Patissèvre, a biscuit-maker who carries on the recipes of the famous Goimier regional patisserie founded in 1987. Here, galettes and broyers are made to the highest standards. The flour is local, the eggs fresh, the butter of quality and the know-how intact. Other recipes to discover: the unmissable tourteau fromagé, melloise, macaroné, galette charentaise...

More than 80 producers have joined Plaisirs fermiers to offer you over 2,000 references of local farm produce. Farmers are on hand every day to advise you and answer any questions you may have about product traceability. Fruits, seasonal vegetables, meat, dairy and delicatessen products are all available. There's no middleman here. Plaisirs Fermiers offers short-distance sales to guarantee freshness and quality. It's a great way to discover the real taste of farm produce and support local agriculture.