The local butcher

Brian captured this amazing sunset earlier in the week. We saw it as we drove back from ordering our meat from the butchers in Essoyes. We had heard good reports about ‘le boucherie’ and I wanted to see if it was a good place to order our Christmas meat, just to make sure we could get what we wanted.

I was very pleasantly surprised. They have a varied array of cuts which all looked to be of a very high quality. They also offer a good stocked charcuterie, and some delicious looking pies and tarts, which we are yet to try. I have noticed that a lot of the butchers in France also offer ‘traiteur’ - catering services. So you can order ready prepared dishes, that have been prepared by a local chef or by the butcher themselves. It could be a plate of various canapés/nibbles or a complete dinner ideal for entertaining or as a no fuss dinner for one. This is available all year round as a plat du jour, and they charge around 7-10 euros per person - but at Christmas, and other holidays, they do that little bit more.

I love being able to use a local butcher who understands his products, and has pride in what he sells, and one who gets to know you and what you like. I’m going to enjoy buying our meat from him.