Before and after our visit to Saint-Lazare Cathedral in Autun, my husband Laurent and I walked down the curving, narrow medieval streets and reviewed menus posted outside restaurants. We passed the Rolin Museum and sat down on the benches outside it, not knowing that this was the childhood home of Nicholas Rolin (1376 – 1462). Nicholas Rolin was the Chancellor Burgundy for more than forty years, and was appointed by Philippe le Bon (1396 – 1467), Duke of Burgundy.
Rolin is notable in French history for helping draft the Treaty of Arras (1435) that ended the hostilities of the One Hundred Years War (1337 – 1453) between Burgundy and the Kingdom of France. King Charles VII (1403 – 1461) of France recognized the independence of Burgundy in return for Burgundy’s disbanding its alliance with the English. (The English continued to battle in France, but were finally defeated in 1453 at Bordeaux.) We would discover more about Nicholas Rolin as we toured around Burgundy.
Dinner preoccupied us at the moment and not history. We chose to eat at an outdoor restaurant across the street from the cathedral. The restaurant had a perfect view of the tower rising from the church. Umbrellas over the dining area and flowers sitting atop the restaurant’s low stone wall made it appealing on a hot day.
We started our dinner with “Oeufs Pôchées au Vin Blanc Aligoté, Cèpes et Queues de Morilles.” This dish was translated as “Poached Eggs with white wine, Cèpes, and Morels Sauce.” That translation hardly did justice to this rarefied delicacy. The poached eggs came in a small bowl with a whipped white sauce brimming over with wild mushrooms. I could have eaten just this, but as the French say, “I had big eyes” when I ordered my meal.
Following the rich poached egg dish came “Brochette de Magret de Canard” – skewered and grilled duck breast. This particular kind of duck breast comes from ducks raised for the foie gras industry. Magret de canard meat is dense and has a thick lining of fat, which allows it to be grilled without drying out.
The duck breasts were skewered to look like little hearts. Saffron rice accompanied the duck breast along with a salad. The salad dressing made of red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard helped cut some of the richness of the magret de canard.
For dessert, I ate France’s famous apple upside down cake called a tarte tatin. The tarte tatin came with crème fraiche and vanilla ice cream on the side. The warm tarte tatin reminded me of an apple sundae with the crème fraiche as a topping and ice cream.
I took this meal to be ample proof of the Burgundian appetite for food and life. After this day of tourism, it was time to go home and get ready to see more of Burgundy the next day.
By Ruth Paget, Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
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