Chartres will know how to tantalize your taste buds with it numerous local specialties. Here are some examples. Bon appétit!
Mentchikoff candy is first created during the fall of 1893. The political events that went along with that were of the utmost importance: people then were totally euphoric about the Franco-Russian alliance! In France, it was more than just about enthusiasm or frenzy. New products launched on the market were “à la russe” or Franco-Russian. The famous cream was born out of this fervor. That being the case, why not come up with a candy? It was the invention of the Daumesnil Confectioners, located on Rue de la Pie, in Chartres.
They give the name “Mentchikoff” to the new product. It was a reference to a Russian prince of the same name who was the confidant of the emperor, Peter the Great, and who it seems was the son of a confectioner. Mentchikoff’s are delicious pieces of chocolate candy (made with a mixture of praline-noisette, chocolate, and butter), which is encased in a fine layer of “Swiss meringue” (whipped egg white and confectioner’s sugar). Originally coloring was added, which gave the candy a pale green color. Nowadays it is a white as the Russian steppes under a blanket of snow!
To make 450 pieces, one needs:
Mix everything together and spread over a sheet.
The candy pieces are cut out with a pastry cutter, then rolled by hand to given them an elongated shape.
Allow to harden overnight.
The next day, drench one side of each piece of candy with Swiss meringue (heated whipped egg whites and confectioner’s sugar).
Let rest on top of a sheet to dry.
The following day, drench other side in meringue before another round of drying.
Famous since the 18th century, Pâté de Chartres is a pâté en croûte that, basically speaking, is made from game birds. At first, one would find plovers or dotterels, birds that would fly into Chartres. Once those migratory birds disappeared, they would be replaced in the recipe by young partridges and pheasants, and livened up with foie gras, truffles, and subtle spices. It is famous for its flavor, still today; the best Chartres cooks offer it as part of their menu, especially during game bird season. It should be enjoyed “en croûte” and “en terrine.”
Use equal weight amounts of:
Chop up meat together in chopping machine.
Season with clarified butter, game bird scent, and selected spices.
Line pâté mold with a layer of puff pastry.
Place mixture inside layer of stuffing made from boned partridge filets macerated in Cognac, then another layer of stuffing.
Moisten top of puff pastry layer and then lower puff pastry cover, removed beforehand.
Pinch up edges.
Make decorative leaves with remaining pastry.
It’s the only 21st-century beer to be produced in Eure-et-Loir. L’Eurélienne is brewed and bottled on a family farm that is at least 10 km from Chartres. Raw materials are selected and mixed with grains from the farm, then transformed and ultimately conditioned. The product is made using traditional methods; there is no filtration or pasteurization. The different steps entailed in its production, and the work carried out in relation to the same is done totally by hand, including the sticking on of the labels.
Starting with flour that is free of additives, this traditional French baguette is created from a subtle mixture of the best grains of Beauce. It is characterized by creamy-colored crumb with irregular air holes and a deep golden crust. Well-known and recognized in France, it also benefits from an international market.
Invented in Venice during the Renaissance, the macaroon, over the course of time, spread to all the regions of France. Created from a pâté made of crushed almonds, sugar, and egg whites, this delicious, small round cake can be filled with many aromas. “The Macaronnerie,” through research and testing, has perfected a confectioning process that makes the treat soft and moist.
“If God grants me life, I will make it so that no laborer in my kingdom will be without the means to have chicken in a pot on Sundays,” Henry IV would have declared. The “poule au pot” served on the tables of peasant families would become part of the popular imagery that came out of the reign of Henry of Navarre, the only French king to be crowed at Chartres Cathedral, on February 27, 1594. To commemorate this event, a certain number of restaurants in town and the surrounding areas offer “poule au pot” on their menus, most notably during “Semaine Henri IV” (Henry IV Week, the last week of February, into the first week of March).
Made with wheat the comes only from Beauce and Eure-et-Loir, Sablé de Beauce shortbread, offered by Minoteries Viron, [Viron Flour Mills] comes from a traditional recipe; two-thirds of the flour comes from Beauce, against a third from Perche. Such was the precept for quality put forward by a Viron ancestor who was a miller. Consisting of a good proportion of real churned butter mixed in with fresh eggs that come from the Beauce region, it is guaranteed to be natural and free of additives. This little wheat biscuit, which does not crumble, offers exceptional flavor and keeps perfectly well.
A natural puff pastry in the form of a man, filled with chocolate cream or almond paste, The Cochelin is a gourmet specialty that goes all the way back to the Middle Ages: it was produced at that time by the Confrérie des Boulangers [Bakers’ Brotherhood]. They used to sell it for the evening of December 31st so that one could offer it to relatives and friends who would stop by with good wishes for the New Year. Godmothers and godfathers also used to give a Cochelin pastry to their godchildren when they married. Today the Cochelin tradition has seen a rebirth through the initiative of confectioners in Chartres who market it during the Christmas season.
Since 2008, Chartres honey has been produced onsite at Perriers, not far from the Saint Brice Quarter. There, 30 beehives allow for a yearly production of between 300 and 600 kg of honey. Two harvests are carried out during the year: one during the month of May, the other during the summer. One should also note that an educational website has been proposed for the L’Apostrophe Médiathèque [Media Library] terraces: 5 hives produce 50 kg of the famous “Médiathèque Honey.”
Mairie de Chartres
Place des Halles
28000 Chartres
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Tel. :+33 (0)2 37 23 40 00
Fax : +33 (0)2 37 23 41 99
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