BRITTANY FRANCE
Reaching out into the wild Atlantic and dotted with prehistoric megaliths, the granite peninsula of Brittany has an elemental mystery. In the ancient Celtic region of Cornouaille, residents take as much pride in its distinct culture as in its signature dish – the crêpe. The Bretons have elevated these simple golden disks, filled with seafood or smeared with honey or lemon, into an art form.
The humble pancake occupies a revered place in Brittany, where delicate, wafer-thin crêpes have been a way of life and an essential ingredient of gatherings since medieval times. Crêpes certainly rule in Quimper, Brittany’s oldest city and the capital of Cornouaille, an historic region that was first settled in the Middle Ages by Welsh and Cornish Celts fleeing from the AngloSaxon invasion of Britain. They named this region in the southwest of Brittany “Cornouaille”, the same as one of the places they had left – Cornwall. Brittany became part of France in 1532, but Quimper still has much to show of its Breton history. Cobbled streets lined with 14th-century timber houses still bear the names of the trades that once thrived there: rue Kèrèon was full of shoemakers, rue des Boucheries housed butchers, and the Place au Beurre was the place to buy butter. In July every year the town celebrates its Breton culture and heritage in the Festival de Cornouaille, drawing musicians, dancers, and visitors from Celtic communities around the world. Beyond Quimper, Cornouaille’s coast of dramatic cliffs, sheltered bays, and sandy beaches beckons fans of watersports along with walkers and cyclists. The region has long been a favorite of painters escaping Paris in summer, and in the 1860s a cosmopolitan colony of artists sprang up in Pont Aven, a coastal village southeast of Quimper. It included the celebrated Post-Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin, who immortalized the Bretons in his paintings. The Inn of Marie Henri in neighboring Le Pouldu still features walls covered in works by the artist and his followers. Crêpes provide the perfect counterpoint to any activity in Cornouaille, functioning as a snack, meal, or dessert according to the size and filling. There are two main varieties: true crêpes, which are made from white wheat flour, milk, and eggs; and galettes, made from buckwheat flour, salt, and water. Some insist the batter be beaten with a wooden spoon, while others add local Breton cider and skip the milk, but everyone agrees on the need for a tiny wooden rake (a rozell, or rouable) to spread the batter onto a hotplate, and a spatula (spanell or viroué) to flip it. Traditionally, galettes are savory – a classic is topped with ham, grated cheese, and a softly fried egg nestling in the middle – while crêpes are usually vehicles for sweet treats, such as hazelnut cream or strawberry jam. But the joy of these pancakes is their endless variety, which allows modern tastes to play with a 15th-century classic.
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