The Sologne and the Orléans forest immediately evoke game birds and animals. Just close your eyes and have someone read out some pages from a Loiret local recipe book and your mouth will start watering with expectation for the flavours from our forests.

Go on, just close your eyes for a moment and imagine:
- « Civet de lièvre »,
- Jugged hare
- « Lapin de Garenne au chou »
- Garenne rabbit with cabbage
- « Faisan en barbouille »
- Basted pheasant
- « Pigeon ramier en croûte »
- Wood pigeon in pastry
- « Perdreaux au verjus »
- Partridge in verjuice
- « Cailles à la vigneronne »
- Quails in wine
- « Cuissot de chevreuil, de cerf ou de biche à la grand venue »
- Haunch of hung deer, hart or hind,
- « Filet de sanglier aux airelles »
- Boar fillet steak with bilberries
- …etc…

After this virtual meal, whilst your mouth is still watering, allow us to tell you about a succulent dish that unfortunately is no longer available: "LARK PÂTE"…

Extract from the book by Gérard BOUTET (editions Jean-Cyrille Godefroy), "Our Grandmothers and their Ovens".

"The religious wars were raging and the country was under Hugenot control. One night, King Charles disguised himself as a bourgeois and attempted to cross the forest without an armed escort, just with a squire in attendance. He was caracoling towards “le Château du Hallier”, near to Nibelle (where a supper cooked by Marie, his favourite, was waiting for him) when he was ambushed by brigands and found himself tightly tied to a tree. The bandits had not recognised him in his disguise. Having quickly relieved him of his valuables, of little consequence to him, they forced his squire to serve them food, and started to eat an enormous, very appetising pâté. The King was stuck by pangs of hunger. Each time one of these rogues took a mouthful, it was if he was being tortured. No longer able to resist, he risked everything and stated his true identity. The head of the gang immediately released him, went down on one knee and, in his embarrassment, offered the King the last remaining portion of pâté. Even though there was only a lit bit left, the King thouroughly enjoyed it. Then he continued on his way, with a full stomach and to the applause of the brigands. All that remained was to taste further delights in the arms of Marie Touchet.

Charles IX never forgot the tenderness of the pâté (naturally, made from larks), whilst he did forget the tender pleasures of his beautiful companion. He sought out the pastry chef who had made this excellent pastry and awarded him the enviable title of Crown Supplier. The chap was called Provenchère. Naturally, he had a shop in Pithiviers. His pâté became famous at court and thus entered into the annals of history.

But times have changed radically since then. For a long time, catching larks in bird nets has been prohibited and is considered to be poaching. As this species becomes rarer, there is a fear that this Pithiverais specialty will finally disappear completely."