Dordogne

It’s the heartland of confit duck, foie gras and ‘black gold’ truffles, but traditional Dordogne cuisine also embraces earthy, flavour-rich foods, most of which are preserved in no-nonsense cans and jars.

- Carolyn Boyd​

At the edge of Issigeac’s buzzing market, the pumpkin festival is in full swing. Fat, orange, bulbous pumpkins are piled high on the cobbled pavement. The scent of freshly baked pumpkin tarts wafts past on the breeze emanating from a striped marquee nearby. From behind a line of rickety trestle tables, cheery volunteers hand out paper plates by the dozen to a queue of eager customers.

This is autumn in the heart of the Dordogne, or Périgord, its old provincial name, and there’s no better time to be here. While there might be a nip in the air, the sun is still shining, the leaves are turning a riot of colours and the tourists — well, most of them — have gone home, leaving a bounty of delicious food and wine for me to enjoy.

The village of Issigeac may be small, but its market is very impressive. Stalls line the narrow medieval streets, which are flanked with crooked, timber-framed buildings. The best of the region is here: bottles of shiny walnut oil, enticing jars of confit de canard, tins of smooth foie gras and vegetables so fresh they’re still flecked with soil. I fill my basket with treats to cook later in my gîte, and get back into the car to drive north through the rolling fields and forests in search of more Dordogne delicacies.