| | | Lyon's Appetite Par Georges Rouzeau Lyon's privileged geographical position enables it to enjoy numerous products from the Rhône valley, including fruit, vegetables and great wines. From the Bresse and Dombes regions to the east, which are rich in lakes and woods, come fish, snails, and game, as well as Bresse poultry and the famous Bleu de Bresse, a blue cow's milk cheese. From the Isère region, the capital of the two Gauls has adopted Saint-Marcellin, a mild and smooth cow's milk cheese, eaten when perfectly ripe and runny...
 The machon © G. Rouzeau/ViaMichelinLyon's covered marketLyon's gourmet belly definitely does exist: we have seen it! At number 102 cours Lafayette, a stone's throw from the famous tower of the Crédit Lyonnais, is Lyon's covered market, Les Halles. Private individuals, semi-wholesalers and restaurant owners alike come here to stock up on excellent produce, cooked pork meats, meat, fish and shellfish, cheese, bread and oriental delicacies. From opening time, several cafés serve the famous "machon", a cold, savoury breakfast consisting of pork products, gras-double (tripe), and lentil salad, washed down with a glass of Beaujolais (photo opposite). Starting work at 5.30 in the morning, the canuts - Lyon's textile workers - used to have this light meal at around 9.30-10 am, before their proper lunch. It is not unusual today to see executives from the neighbouring business district conforming to this ritual...  Sausages for cooking © G. Rouzeau/ViaMichelinAs for cooked pork meats, Lyon is the kingdom of saucissons: rosette, saucisson à cuire(sausage for cooking) with pistachios or truffles, and the Jésus, another variety of dry-cured sausage which is larger and swaddled, hence the name. Sabodet, a sausage made with meat from the entire pig's head, is served with cabbage and potatoes, traditionally on returning from hunting or ploughing. Cardoon, an edible perennial and cousin of the artichoke, is omnipresent in Lyon restaurants in the form of a gratin with beef marrow and bechamel sauce. An aperitif in Lyon is often served with grattons (similar to pork scratchings). Lyon's covered market has a wealth of tripe stalls and is the place to track down some rare delicacies such as "white kidneys", also known as "frivolités", which are actually lamb's testicles. Here is a list (not exhaustive) of stall keepers whose products caught our eye:  Cervelle de canut © G. Rouzeau/ViaMichelinFromagerie Richard Renée and daughter, Renée, are past masters in the subtle art of cheese maturing. Delicious Cervelle de Canut (literally "silk-worker's brains") made with fresh goat's cheese, Vacherin du Mont-d'Or, tasty Reblochon and Saint-Marcellin, matured in the cellars at the Abbey of Collonge, Paul Bocuse's place. Maréchal Fromages, Annie Collard An excellent address, where all the cheeses of France are well represented - from deliciously creamy Saint-Marcellin, made with unpasteurized milk, to Comté, matured for 24 months. Charcuterie Sibilia Colette and daughters, Marie-Noëlle, Françoise and Marielle, make excellent cooked pork meats and saucissons: cervelas (saveloys), saucisson à cuire with truffles or pistachios, and sabodet. The great chefs love them: Alain Pic in his time came up with an aumônière de cervelas pistaché, and Paul Bocuse a saucisson in brioche à la lyonnaise. Maurice Trolliet This master butcher sells only top quality meat, carefully selected and rigorously scrutinised, with cuts from hay-fed Salers cattle, Salers cattle crossed with Charolais, milk-fed suckling veal from Dordogne, and lamb from Limousin with its tasty pinkish flesh.  Foie gras pie © G. Rouzeau/ViaMichelinLa Boutique des chefs / Elyès At her counter, Pascale Vavro, sister of the designer and decorator (notably) of Bocuse's restaurants, only presents creations by great chefs. So here you will find Crêpes Vonnas by Georges Blanc, saffron mussel soup by Bernard Constantin (Larivoire restaurant), foie gras pie by Laurent Bouvier (Le Puy d'Or restaurant in Limonest), as well as products by Paul Bocuse, Jean-Marc Montegoterro's Argane oil, cuberdons (a sweet speciality) from Ghent...  Chocolats Richart © G. Rouzeau/ViaMichelinWhere to buy chocolateChocolats Richart It is a total visual and taste experience to sample the chocolates made by this house, founded in 1925. Each Richart chocolate is a small work of art in itself, combining design and flavour thanks to simultaneous work on the form (the surface is silk-screen printed with cocoa butter) and aromas. Wine connoisseurs will like the idea of collections, available by family of flavour... As for the packaging, Richart treats it quite simply as one of the fine arts. Bernachon Bernachon is a veritable dynasty of Lyon, where manufacturing secrets have been handed down from father to son for 50 years. The quality relies on the choice of cocoa bean, the exclusive use of cocoa butter, and artisanal production processes that are concerned first and foremost with keeping the taste intact. Among the numerous specialities, we recommend the Palet d'Or, truffle and filbert (aveline). Fromagerie Richard102, cours Lafayette Halles de Lyon 69003 Lyon Tél : 04 78 62 30 78 | 
Lyon: the Presqu'île by Vélo'v Lyon today is discovering the appeal of the bicycle with Vélo'v, a self-service fleet of bicycles. It is indeed an ideal means of locomotion for exploring the Presqu'île ("peninsula") district. | 
Where to eat in Lyon?From the "bouchon", a small restaurant serving Lyonnaise specialities, to the star-rated restaurant run by a young chef, gourmets will be spoilt for choice! | | | | | | | | | | |
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