Bordeaux: A Return to Fournil des Capucins, Marche des Capucins, and Champion de France de Cuisine Amateur, Plus Canelés Baillardran

Our last day in Bordeaux before heading out to our next destination was spent doing what we enjoyed most in Bordeaux.....taking a stroll down to Marche des Capucins and buying a baguette from Fournil des Capucins.

Things were much more busy on this morning as there was a line waiting for baguette.

This was soon remedied as a batch was made ready....the young woman cradled the steaming hot bread in her arms until reaching the baskets, then tossed the red hot baguettes into the basket....they sure were hot!

Fournil des Capucins
62 Cours de la Marne
Bordeaux, France

That task done, we headed across the street to the Marche des Capucins.....where things were really buzzing. Apparently, a round of France's version of Top Chef Amateur - Championnate de France de Cuisine Amateur was taking place.

The ingredient mystere was duck breast and the contestants were hard at work. It was quite fun and we got drawn in.

This was our favorite:

He was quite friendly and jovial.

And while it was busy; things weren't overly crowded. This market is mostly for locals, but folks actually waved us in and wanted us to sample and vote!

And while the screen shows Alain in the lead, he actually had the audacity to vote for himself! Igor won - with the dish above; "Cappuccino asparagus, herb pesto, breast skewer and grilled ravioli Saint Jean".

It was great fun!

Marché des Capucins
Place des Capucins
Bordeaux, France

So much fun, that we realized as we passed the Fleche Saint Michel, we'd forgotten to get some cheese! Not a big deal as we headed on over to Marche des Grands Hommes, since we needed to stop by the Carrefour Market in lower level to pick up that white wine the Missus loved.

Along with the market, there were several vendors, selling everything from produce, to meat and cheese.

Even, ahem...sushi and Asian fast food.....

And since this is Bordeaux, you could also get a nice glass of wine......

Canelés are a specialty of Bordeaux. Basically a pastry with a custard center. It is shaped in the form of a scalloped cylinder. I'm not much on sweets, but since the Missus was so fascinated with Canelé and this shop, I told Her to give it a shot. I had also done a quick Google search on Baillardran and found that it was a very popular chain that originated in Bordeaux.

The Missus could hardly contain Herself.

This was a bit too dense, somewhat mushy, and too sweet for my taste. Though if you're in France give it a try.

Baillardran Pâtisseries
Place des Grands Hommes
Bordeaux, France

That was basically it for this leg of our trip, though we'd be back after spending a few days in Dordogne.

Thanks for reading!

Comments

[kat]

fun day!

[Kirk]

We had a great time Kat!

[dereck]

Very nice. I will say that canele's are literally my favorite pastryish thing in the entire world. I first had them at Joel Robuchon las vegas and if I can ever find a reason to get to Bordeaux (instead of everywhere else in France), I do hope to try there!

[Kirk]

Hi Dereck - I hope you get a chance to check them out in France.....you can find Canelés Baillardran all over France.