It was on a trip to Provence that I started to really appreciate regionality of food and drink on the continent. This is a topic which I think I will be coming back to time and again. For example, Provence has its Chateau-neuf, Gingondas and Bandol wines with distinctive features influenced by the infamous mistral winds and gravelly soils. What particularly caught my eye (no surprise) however, was the proliferation of sweet and chocolate shops. On a visit to Aix-en-Provence we found not just amazing olives but also chocolate olives. No no, don't worry, there was no olive in the chocolate. The prolific La Cure Gourmande provide some of the best examples and their merchandising is very impressive. Neighbouring shops sold Calisson by the truckload - little oblong sweets based on almond and candied fruit pastes. You will find these sweets elsewhere in France, but their origin and traditions are very much focussed in Provence.
Baskets of olives!
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