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 A very popular annual event in the Languedoc region is La Foire aux Gras. Translating literally as the Fat Fair (it sounds more romantic in French), this is a celebration of meat and every manner of food that can possibly be made from it. Not a big favourite with vegetarians, obviously, but for carnivores, this is a major moment that marks the run up to the end of the year, when temperatures drop, woollies are brought out of mothballs and thoughts turn to warming dishes of a heavier, heartier kind.
Many of the villages in the Aude hold some kind of fat-feast in November or December – and one of the best happens in the third week of December, when Carcassonne hosts its world-famous Marché aux Gras (the perfect place to find Christmas presents for the man - or woman - who has everything). Local specialities feature heavily, including cassoulet (a meat and bean casserole), confit de canard (duck preserved in fat), foie gras (duck or goose liver paté) and saucisson sec (wind-dried sausages). If you can’t make it to Carcassonne, the Foire aux Gras in Belpech, Rieux Minervois and Castelnaudary are all happening in December and well worth catching, and for those who want to go the whole hog, in Castelnaudary on December 3rd you can attend a foie gras stage de cuisine (cookery lesson) run by the producer herself (ring the Castelnaudary tourist office on 04 68 23 05 73 to reserve your place). Paul McCartney and Morrissey, eat your little hearts out.
If this meatiness doesn’t ring your bell, take a trip to the north east of Languedoc, where everyone goes nuts in November. The departments of Gard, Lozère and (over into the neighbouring region of Rhône-Alpes, but it’s very nearly Languedoc) Ardèche boast hundreds of acres of chestnut trees, and are the scene of feverish activity in October through to November, when the chestnut picking season is in full swing. Once the harvest is gathered in, then it’s party time here, too. How do you like your nuts - roasted, creamed, chocolate-covered, candied, puréed, preserved, peeled, or pulverised into flour? Visit a Fête des Châtaignes and you’ll be able to sample chestnuts in all their different guises (I recommend a crepe made with chestnut flour and spread with chestnut puree for maximum nuttiness). If you’re in the Aude in November, you might want to swing by the village of Villardonel, where the Fête des Châtaignes, du vin primeur et de l’agneau (chestnuts, wine and lamb – mmm, nice combo) will be happening over the weekend of November 4th and 5th. With marching bands, market stalls and childrens’ entertainers, there’ll be something for all the family (full details available on 04 68 26 52 41).
 There’s a whole host of markets and fairs held from now through into winter, and if you’re going to be in the Languedoc during this time, this is the ideal opportunity to familiarise yourself with local customs and produce, not to mention the locals themselves. Individual tourist information offices are the best place to get the low-down on what’s happening where and when; alternatively, the internet can provide a wealth of information. Visit www.tourist-office.org for a handy database of France’s tourist offices arranged by region and department, with links to local websites. If you’re curious about any of the specific events mentioned above, www.sunfrance.com is the official site of the Languedoc-Roussillon tourist board, and a good starting point, or you can try calling them on 04 67 22 81 00.
Lest we forget
This month, we end the Languedoc Diary on a sober note. November is the 11th month of the year, and 11 o’clock on the 11th day of this month is a solemn moment in many of the countries that were dragged into World War I, France included. The Armistice agreement was signed in Compiègne in northern France on this day in 1918, bringing the war to an end: and every year on November 11th, all over France, people assemble at their Mairie (the equivalent of a town hall) to take part in a remembrance parade and wreath-laying ceremony, sometimes followed by an aperitif and, if you’re lucky, a light buffet. When we first moved to France we lived for a short while in a very small village in the Aude. To say there was bugger all going on there is an understatement. My partner and I were miserable (bored senseless is another way of putting it). We resolved to move to a buzzier town, and as it happened, our moving date fell on November 11th. It didn’t feel right to just shape up and ship out straight away, though: a notice at the Mairie had informed us that there would be a ceremony, so we duly turned up and watched as a large group of older people silently and slowly walked round the village, bearing flags and wreaths, until they reached the commemorative monument where a few words were said. It was a poignant and sad note on which to end our short and not-so-sweet stay, and it has stuck in my mind ever since.
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