Artisans and local produce

'The word 'terroir' may have ancient connotations but terroir is a fashionable, if hard to quantify, facet of modern French cuisine. The term embraces land, climate, culture and produce, an intangible catch-all for that sense of place so important to the regions’ food and wine.

Below a selection of local produce, producers and artisans who open their doors to the public and often offer training and workshops for the public to share their knowledge, skills and experience first hand.'

Local artisans.

Chocolats Queyroi
Visit the artisanal chocolate (work)shop, to meet Mr. Sébastien Queyroi and share his passion for chocolate. Queyroi produces chocolates in a range of often surprising flavours and structures including flowers like violet, rose, lavender or coffee bean crunchy…

Apart from trying and buying, he also offers workshops in chocolate making for all ages!

Verrerie de Terrasson
A visit to the (work)shop of glass worker/blower Mr. Thibault Lafleuriel will allow you to see him at work at his home-build kiln. Proud and enthusiastic he is able to explain the ins and outs in English!

His workshop displays some of his masterpieces and he likes to talk you through the sources for his inspiration. There are ready made pieces for sale, but Thibault will produce and personalise objects on request.

There also is the possibility to join 'initiation' workshops that allow the public to participate in the creative process and even produce your own glass objects.

L'Atelier de Julie Z (Ceramics)
Just up the road from the old bridge you’ll find the ceramics (work)shop of Ms. Julie Lopez. She produces a range of ceramic objects, for both use and/or decoration.

One-off sessions and longer courses are on offer.

Bovetti chocolate factory and museum
A well known French chocolate brand. A good place to visit if you are interested in knowing history and processing of cacao. You are allowed to taste various favour of chocolate and make your own.

Local produce.

A weekly farmers market
Covering the river bank and old bridge every Thursday morning. Local producers sell their wares to the local public including everything from plants, vegetables, spices, soap, bread, cheese, wines, truffles, cloth, leather ware, hand-made chair to seafood, conserved duck and sausages… Practical yet colourful! There is a yearly fair of Saint Julien at the end of August (on the name day).

Strawberies
Six varieties of strawberry are grown in our region: the Garriguette, the Elsanta, the Cigaline, the Seascape, Mara and Selva. Strawberries Strawberries planted on the specially selected strips of open land, and with a guaranteed minimum sugar content, have been awarded the “Fraise du Périgord” IGP label (Indication Géographique Protégée).

Strawberry harvesting season is between May and June.

Walnut
With the decline of vineyards after the Phylloxeria epidemic wiped out the vines in the 19th century, the cultivation of walnut turned out to produce a sought after quality crop. Spending any time in the Perigord reveals a landscape were the cultivation of walnut trees is thriving. Apart from producing the labor intensive perfect 'walnut brains', they are the main ingredient in delicious, enriched in nutrients and aromatic oils, liqueurs, jams, cakes or sweets.

In 2001, four varieties of walnut were awarded AOC (Appellation d’origine contrôlée) “Noix du Périgord” status: the Corne, Marbot, Franquette and Granjean walnuts.

Walnut harvesting season is between October and November

The Maneyrol walnut-oil mill
Many villages around Terrasson have their own mills for example at Le Cassagne, Saint Amand-de-Coly and Maneyrol. The walnut-oil mill of Maneyrol just off the main road to Brive, and open to the public Monday to Saturday.

Make a visit part of cycling or hiking the Boucle de la Vézère see the Hiking and cycling in Terrasson section.

Cherries
Around farms you find many fruit trees for personal use. Just outside Terrason on the way to Brive a cherry orchard produces delicious dark cherries. At the start of the season the cherries are sold from a van parked at the road side, but ones the season gets going, the price drops, and you are allowed to pick your own cherries by the bucket load, and are allowed to 'eat all you can' whiles doing so!

Cherry harvesting season is June.

The black Périgord truffle
The black truffle or black Périgord truffle (Tuber melanosporum), the second-most commercially valuable truffle species (after the Italian white truffle; Tuber magnatum). The species is named after the Périgord region but is not an IGP.

Other truffles found in the area are the summer truffle (Tuber aestivum) and the winter truffle (Tuber brumale). Black and winter truffles are harvested in late autumn and winter. The summer truffle throughout the summer.

Truffle farm 'Les Mérigots Gabillou'
Some 30 minutes from Terrasson, truffle farmer Eric planted 6 hectares with a mixture of truffières mainly green oak, pubescent oak, and two types of hazel. A visit to the farm starts with a presentation introducing the truffle, followed by a field visit hunting for truffles with the help of his dog 'Quinn' and a small dégustation. Main attraction is seeing Quinn sniff-out the truffles and marking the spot with a scratch, after which Eric carefully digs for the truffle, from time to time asking Quinn for guidance. Quinn’s shot was 100%! And of course, she will ask for a small reward every time after her task is done.

Foie gras
Produced from both ducks and geese, this is another of the Périgord’s speciality products. Goose foie gras is obtaining IGP status. From November to February, small producers can be seen selling foie gras and other duck and goose products such as confits, gizzards and fat in our local 'marchés au gras'.

Cep mushrooms
Cep mushrooms are most often used in fricassee dishes and stuffings, as well as in 'pommes de terre à la Sarladaise', a typical potato dish from Sarlat. Dependent upon the weather, mushrooms start to appear in our region in August and September.

In addition the region produces: AOC Limousin apples, IGP Agen prunes, Red Label Limousin and Blonde d’Aquitaine Beef, Cabécou du Périgord and Rocamadour goat’s cheese in the shape of small round discs.

La Min-sú de Terrasson

retreat, reflect, refresh