During our stay on a little island called L’Ile aux Moines in Brittany (a penisula region in the north-west of France) last summer, our children discovered the kouign-mann, which is a form of bread-cake-pastry made with bread dough and layers of butter and sugar. It is a bit like a croissant, but sweeter and denser. They were appreciated and it was difficult for me to take a photo of them before the kids devoured them
According to the myth, the first Kouign-mann was the result of an unintended recipe: it was created by a baker who had run out of his usual ingredients and so decided to make a cake with the those that remained. It has since become a well-known specialty in the Brittany region.
Apparently the famous tarte tatin (an upside down apple tart) was also a twist of fate. In the hotel Tatin (in a region known as Sologne in north-central France) on the first day of the annual hunting period, one of the hotel’s cooks was so busy that she inadvertently forgot to put pastry in the tin and when she realized her error, she decided to simply add the pastry ontop of the apple slices and continued the cooking process. The guests enjoyed it so much that it became one of their staple desserts. It is popular across the country these days.
According to another legend, the famous blue cheese, Roquefort, was also unexpected creation: A young shepherd in a town called Roquefort in the Aveyron region, was eating slices of bread and sheep’s milk cheese for lunch whilst watching over his flock when suddently he spotted a beautiful girl in the distance. He decided to abandon his lunch in a nearby cave to meet her. When he returned a few months later (no idea what happened during those couple of months!) the cheese had succumbed to the mold which is found in the soil of the region. He must have been hungry because he ate the cheese despite the blue mold and liked it so much that he started to produce and sell the it.
There are no doubt many more similar myths behind the endless number of French specialities. I can’t confirm the truth of these episodes, but they make good stories… and good food.
Start with intention 