Pretty Unpronounceable

Welcome to Villefranche-de-Rouergue, a hard-to-say town with a not-to-miss market and a resolute refusal to enter the 21st century. Nowhere better to see what Autumn has to offer the curious cook than the Thursday morning market here.

I’ve visited all the markets in this part of France (the South-West), and this is hands down my favourite. It takes place in the central arcaded square of town, overlooked by the massively out-of-proportion but lovely 12th to 15th century collégiale, symbol of the mediaeval bastide town. It is surrounded by a warren of beautiful narrow streets, which make up a charming little town bordering the Aveyron river as it wends its way through attractive hilly countryside. Whatever. I come for the veggies.

In the spring, half the vendors aren’t selling lettuce, they’re selling lettuce plants. The target market here seems to be the self-sufficient home-gardener—and that’s a confident move for a food market, I must say. The main square is all but impenetrable by vehicle, so there are none of those huge food vans that now serve most of the farmers markets in France. It’s all little old ladies, plus a cohort of young new arrivals from the city, set up in the country to make great goats cheese, grow weird varieties of apple and breathe some new life into an area that until ten years ago was the fastest-ageing population in France. Ça bouge in Villefranche, if you’re more into root vegetables than partying.

Autumn is great. The colours are rich in the stalls, displaying that magic moment of the end of summer’s sugary fruit with the beginning of winter’s hardier fare: bunches of grapes alongside chesnuts and pumpkins of all sizes. It’s the easiest moment of the year to cook locally. Especially because of the cêpes; the size of quails and twice as meaty.

There are barely any hotels or restaurants around, and in any case to take advantage of the markets you really need to rent a place and cook for yourself. But, just in case, you can get a very good night’s sleep at Belcastel or Longcol.

Jack is a Trufflepig partner and market-hunter; if you’re impressed by the size of his cêpes, let him know at jack@trufflepig.com.