Whats Better Than a French Farmers Market?
If you’re lucky enough to be in residence this summer with access to a vehicle, there’s no better time to try one of France’s cuillettes (or pick-your-own produce farms). The concept is familiar; many growers open to the public at the height of a particular season (apples or strawberries for example). But here a group of independently-owned farms grouped under the name Chapeau de Paille – “straw hat” in French – make their entire potagers available from roughly April to October each year. This means, depending on the month, that up to twenty varieties of fruits and vegetables, and sometimes even flowers, are ripe for the picking. August and September are the months that hit twenty. The farms are not organic, but do practice “sustainable agriculture” – using as little chemical assistance as possible to produce a profitable crop. Chapeau de Paille’s website [www.chapeaudepaille.fr] is only in French, but it’s easy enough to click on the red dots to find a location close to you (the small
