The Chinon area is renowned for its gastronomy. Its excellent wine stimulates the palate; freshwater fish from the Loire form the basis of many dishes; and specialities such as “rillettes” (potted pork or goose meat) and “rillons” (pork belly cooked in lard) are found throughout the area. Cheese, fruit and other dishes add that element of pure enjoyment to every meal.

Cabernet Franc is used for making red wine. It belongs to the family of carmenets, and is the closest to the wild grape varieties. According to Guy Lavignac, it came from the Spanish side of the Pyrenees and was brought to the south-west of France by pilgrims returning from Santiago de Compostela. This grape variety achieves its full potential in the wines of Chinon.

Goat cheese comes in a wide variety of forms to suit every palate: from very young to mature, from mild to strong.

Sainte-Maure de Touraine AOC :  this is a soft, log-shaped cheese with a fine coating of ash. A rye straw is inserted through the centre, engraved with the producer’s name.

Fish from the Loire and the Vienne include pike, lamprey and eels.

The fouace was immortalized by François Rabelais in his masterpiece, Gargantua. In one episode, a fight between the fouace-makers and shepherds takes place in Lerné, near La Devinière. And in the same work he describes how fouace are made with water, egg yolks, saffron and spices: "...fouaces faites è beau eau, beaux moyeux d'oeufs, beau saffran et belles épices..."
There are many recipes today, and everyone in the area makes fouaces using a family recipe.

As recommended in a catering journal, what could be better for a lunch in Touraine than a stoneware pot of rillettes, a slice of local goats’ cheese, all washed down by a pitcher of excellent local wine.