Meat

In Burgundy it is the everyday meat dishes which are so good: chops baked in cream sauce with mustard; rabbit in a pot with fresh thyme. Burgundians are particularly proud of their beef, which comes from the giant buff Charollais cattle which are bred in the gentle hills west of the Cote d’Or. Charollais beef is lean and makes indifferent roasts and steaks, but is ideal for the finest wine ragoûts whose fame has spread far beyond the province. ‘What is this masterpiece?’ demands a character in one of the novels of Colette. ‘It’s beef.’ ‘But there is in this dish a mystery, a magic. One should be able to put a name to such a marvel.’ ‘To be sure,’ replied Madam Y von, ‘it’s beef.’