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A gourmet breeze is floating in the air over Brittany. Regularly distinguished by the gastronomic guides, breton chefs have the wind in their sails. Salty, sweet or iodized, the flavours of Brittany are numerous.  Whenever an artist like Roellinger decides to blend them with colourful and fragrant spices from far-away places, the unsuspected  harmony that he obtains is absolutely perfect.

In this region where,  more than anywhere else perhaps, the sequence of the seasons reveals steadily renewed landscapes and produces, cooking with fresh food from the town markets comes off best: winkles, coquilles Saint Jacques, or scallops, velvet swimming crabs, spider or rock crabs are first class sea items.  Much to the pleasure of the eye and the palate, fish is not outdone. Caught the night before with rod and line, the small bass is shining with freshness, and the pollack, with its delicat, pearly flesh, lends itself well to any fantasy. Whether it is mastered by a chef, or simply served at home with a little white wine and shallots, it easily stands comparison alongside the greatest. Grilled or flambé, the lobster marks the great occasions. Holidays along the seaside have kept, for some grown-up children, the taste of the unforgettable salted butter niniche from Quiberon. This famous little lolly-pop, long but round all the same, is simply a way of life. It evokes the memory of sailing home, of the discovery of Belle-île, Houat or Hoëdic. As regards the white beans known as cocos de Paimpol, they lighten up your plates in the end of summer. With their slight taste of chestnut, they forecast the soon coming autumn.

But the local star is undoubtedly the famous galette, savoury buckwheat pancake, difficult to match. Either traditional or freely re-invented by the chefs, they are delightful at every season, by the fireplace or on a terrace, and from the Finistère to the Loire-Atlantique.When it comes to say which one of the breton regions provides the finest galettes, the question is far from being settled. Never mind the petty squabbling, three cheers for variety: thick or thin pancakes, crêpe batter thinned with beer or not,  so long as they are delicious.

To get a first taste of Brittanies culinary riches, why not try one of the ambassador crêperies selected by the Regional Comitee of Tourism in France and over the world.