The Nord-Pas-de-Calais cuisine is a French regional cuisine, whose specialties are largely inherited from the county of Flanders. The region has always been at the intersection of Europe, and traces of its history can be found in its specialties, such as the English influence on the Côte d'Opale, or dishes of Polish origin in the mining basin.
Nord-Pas-de-Calais is a major agricultural and dairy farming region, and a producer of cheeses, including the most famous, Maroilles, which is used in a variety of flamiche. Its coastline is home to France's largest fishing port, Boulogne.
Between land and sea, its primary products are herring, rabbit, potatoes and beer. Historically, this is a cuisine based on butter or lard, with little use of oil. It is characterized, among other things, by bitter-sweet flavors, such as those of braised chicory, beer cooking, or coffee chicory.
In 2023, Hauts-de-France was awarded the "European Region of Gastronomy" label.
History
A major agricultural region
The region was already known for its agriculture when it was part of Gallia Belgica. Pliny cites the great variety of vegetables grown: onions, cabbages, and broad beans, as well as different varieties of apple trees. Vast expanses of einkorn wheat and barley were used to make bread, as well as cervoise. Sea salt works along the coast produced this product used to preserve meat and fish: Menapii ham, salted or smoked, was renowned and imported as far away as Rome.
In the Middle Ages, the region was Christianized, and the abbeys became the owners of much of the land and organized its exploitation. Tithes were paid in goods - for example, in Maroilles cheese, created around 960 A.C. by the abbey of the same name, whose "edict of the pastures" imposed affinage on every cow owner.
As early as the 11th century, the construction of dykes protected the coastline and created the first polders; in the 12th century, their drainage through the waterings system enabled new land to be reclaimed from the sea for livestock breeding, cultivation, and fish farming.
The Catholic Church required the practice of Lent on about 166 days a year; as a result, herring was abundantly consumed by the people, making Boulogne-sur-Mer an important fishing port. The regular size of the fish meant that it was used as a unit of payment for seigniorial rents or royalties, or for tithe payment.
The grapevine, acclimatized by the Romans, remained cultivated until the Little Ice Age, but its production was very uneven; it also provided verjuice to accompany dishes. Beer remained the popular drink, while the courts of Flanders and Artois imported wine from Burgundy and Arbois, and abbeys owned vineyards in other regions.
In the Middle Ages, Artois was the region's granary, and bread remained an important part of the diet. After the Black Death of the 14th century, during the crisis of the late Middle Ages, the population was reduced by a third, and agriculture began a slow transformation. New crops were introduced (peas, turnips, etc.), with some regional specialization and diversification into bocage and grazing activities.
Multiple influences
From the 9th to the 17th century, the region was part of the Kingdom of France, the Burgundian, and then the Spanish Netherlands, with some towns passing from one to the other on several occasions or, like Calais, being English possessions. Cuisine, like regional culture, has therefore been influenced by many factors.
The Counts of Artois and the Dukes of Burgundy held memorable feasts such as the 1454 Feast of the Pheasant in Lille, or those at Château d'Hesdin, featuring roast poultry in multicolored jellies, fountains of fruit juices, and live entertainment. Their cooks left no cookery books, but Vivendier was used, inspired by Viandier de Taillevent, which already contained the recipe for potjevleesch.
In the major cloth-producing towns, the bourgeoisie also held banquets of this kind, such as those held annually on the Fête de l'Épinette in Lille.
Some recipes by Hotin, cook to the "seigneur de Roubaix", appear in a version of Le Ménagier de Paris. Both sweet and savory tarts feature prominently; in the 16th century, flamiches were cheese tarts made with bread dough, while goyère was a sweet white cheese tart.
According to La Bruyère Champier, during the 16th century, "in Artois and Hainault, ordinary food was dairy and butter, because the country has abundant pastures; and pork, because it is easy to fatten this animal; as well as pastries, which excel in diversification and are the main table honors".