This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
There aren’t many gastronomic experiences that require muscle power, but as I pound some brown mustard seeds with a mortar and pestle, I conclude that making my own version of Dijon’s famous condiment is one of them.
I’m at a workshop in a timber-beamed medieval house in central Dijon run by the city’s most celebrated condiment brand, Edmond Fallot. “After salt and pepper, mustard is the third most used seasoning in France,” says instructor, Deniz Kilic. “But the seeds for Dijon mustard can be grown anywhere in the world. Hence it’s known everywhere.”
It may be eaten worldwide but the mustard’s origins are very much rooted in this eastern French city, and its history is intertwined with that of the region’s world-class wines. Since Roman times, mustard seeds have been co-planted with Burgundy’s vines to provide the soil with valuable nutrients, and they were later ground into a rudimentary condiment by medieval monks. In the 18th century, local vinegar-maker Jean Naigeon thought to add verjus (unripe grape juice) and the blueprint recipe for Dijon mustard was formulated.
Wholegrain and Dijon mustard are two of Burgundy’s best-known specialities.
Photograph by fcafotodigital, Getty Images
Boeuf bourguignon is a rich beef stew and an eponymous dish hailing from the region.
Photograph by Jan-Peter Westermann, StockFood Studios
Today, the recipe largely calls for white wine vinegar, white wine, brown or black mustard seeds, water, salt and occasionally white pepper. And only mustard made with seeds grown in Burgundy is classed as moutarde de Bourgogne (Burgundy mustard), rather than ‘Dijon’ — as I discover at the next stage of the workshop. Having crushed our seeds as best we can, we add vinegar to create a paste, and — if we choose — some crème de cassis liqueur to add a kick of blackcurrant, another of Burgundy’s richly flavoured specialities.
Despite putting some serious welly into pounding the seeds, my mustard isn’t very smooth, so I’m glad of the voucher included in the workshop for a free jar of the professionally made stuff. And I’m spoilt for choice with myriad local varieties including wholegrain and Dijons with tarragon and gingerbread.
Winding my way through the city’s medieval streets, flanked with intricately half-timbered houses and castle-like gothic and Romanesque churches, I find another temple to the region’s rich food culture, at the Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie et du Vin.
Set just west of Dijon’s historic heart, this cultural centre blends former hospital buildings from the 16th-18th centuries with striking architectural additions. Glass and weathered steel boxes and bridges jut from the old structures, cantilevered over a central plaza. It hosts 19,000sq ft of exhibition space showcasing the French art of ‘good eating’ and ‘good drinking’, plus a tempting complex of gourmet food shops. There’s mustard, of course, in numerous forms but I’m soon drawn to the complex’s huge wine cave, a shop and wine-tasting venue stocking some 3,000 wines, with 250 available by the glass.
The Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy is a notable attraction in Dijon and forms the heart of the city.
Photograph by Hemis, AWL Images
Many have been made in the vineyards of the Côte d’Or wine region, a narrow strip of land between Dijon and the town of Santenay around 35 miles to the south. Known for its diverse climats de Bourgogne wine terroirs, the Côte d’Or this year celebrates the 10th anniversary of it gaining UNESCO listing for its incredible 1,247 small vineyard plots, each with a different climat that gives the grapes an individual quality.
The Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie et du Vin’s viticulture exhibition space, set in the atmospheric chapel next to the wine cave, reveals how such a small area of land can grow some of the world’s priciest wines. There’s the likes of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, from which a 1945 bottle fetched US$558,000 at auction in 2018 (about £520,000 in today’s money) — then the world’s most expensive wine. There are also more accessibly priced offerings from makers such as Olivier Leflaive, a pretty estate near the village of Puligny-Montrachet known for its Burgundy whites.
Wine-dark blackcurrants are my next quarry. Along with grapes, the fruit is a much-celebrated Burgundian product, particularly in and around the town of Nuits-Saint-Georges, half an hour’s drive south of Dijon. I head for the satellite, stone-built hamlet of Concoeur, to Fruirouge, a workshop run by Sylvain and Isabelle Olivier and their two sons. Several generations of Sylvain’s family cultivated the fruit for local cooperatives before they set up their own company in 1995, making crème de cassis, jams and a surprisingly delicious blackcurrant ketchup — a tangy, chutney-like condiment that’s perfect with the local jambon persillé (parsley-studded ham hock terrine).
The eldest son, Camille, welcomes me into a cool, stone workshop and tells me about their operation. On a map, he points out where the family’s 30 acres of fruit bushes thrive in the precious terroir amid the vineyards of the Côte de Nuits. He explains how, as with mustard, it was monks who first cultivated blackcurrant plants, initially for medicinal purposes. “The first recipe for medicine using blackcurrants dates from the 16th century and it included red wine, marc de Bourgogne [pomace brandy] and sugar.” Then in the late 19th century, when vineyards were blighted by the phylloxera bug that decimated much of Europe’s vines, locals began to make other tipples with the fruit available. “From then on, everyone had a small plot of blackcurrants alongside their other crops,” says Camille.
The Moulin Sorine windmill outside Santenay in the Côte-d’Or wine region
Photograph by Marco Bottigelli, AWL Images
The family offers tours of the workshop where I find three attractive copper basins set on gas burners, filled to the brim with glossy blackcurrants. Over the course of several hours, the family and its team will transform the fruit into various products, which visitors get to taste. Camille pours me some small cups of deliciously syrupy crème de cassis varieties, each with different alcohol levels for different uses. The one at 15% alcohol is designed to be drunk as a kir, the region’s signature aperitif, which takes its name from the post-war mayor of Dijon, Félix Kir. He began serving blanc-cassis (Aligoté white wine and crème de cassis) to friends and colleagues to promote these two key products of Burgundy.
Blackcurrants, too, are the star of kir royale, an aperitif made with the Champagne-like sparkling crémant de Bourgogne instead of white wine, and this proves the ideal start to a superb meal in Lons-le-Saunier. I’ve come to the town, a further hour-and-a-half’s drive south east, in search of another Burgundian speciality: poulet de Bresse. This special breed of chicken is coveted by chefs worldwide for its succulent texture and rich flavour, and here at restaurant Le Grain de Sel, it’s served with morel mushrooms and a deep-red wine sauce. The dish is hearty and the epitome of regional French cuisine; the meat falls off the bone and the chicken has a sweet, slightly vegetal flavour derived from the foraged diet enjoyed by these largely free-range birds.
When I’ve finished, all that’s left, alongside the bones, is the small tricolore enamel badge that shows this poulet de Bresse is the real thing. The chicken has been raised by award-winning producer Rachel Roussel-Voisard, who welcomes visitors to her farm just outside town. I make a pilgrimage the following day, and Rachel greets me warmly and shows me her brood of young birds, their appearance, according to many, representing the French flag — with blueish feet, white feathers and red combs on their heads. She explains why the Bresse area is perfect terrain for them. “The land is prone to standing water because of the clay subsoil and layer of silt, which makes it difficult to grow crops, but instead there are little shrubs and bushes for chickens to hide and forage in,” she says. “During the 19th century, farmers developed a flair for breeding them and, with the advent of the railway, their popularity spread across France.”
Each year in December, a prestigious competition called Les Glorieuses de Bresse sees local producers compete for awards. In 2007, Rachel was the first woman to win the top prize. “It’s a paradise for chickens here!” exclaims Rachel, as she describes, tenderly, how she cares for the birds. I’d agree — and add that Burgundy’s bucolic countryside is pretty blissful for food travellers, too.
Goat’s cheese and chard cannelloni at Le Bistro d’Olivier are made with local produce.
Photograph by Fouquin Christophe, Le Bistro d’Olivier
Where to eat in Burgundy
Le Bistro d’Olivier
The village of Puligny-Montrachet is a great stop, particularly for Olivier Leflaive winery. Tour the vines in an electric vehicle, then enjoy a menu featuring traditional cocottes — stews, often with Bresse chicken or Charolais beef, cooked in a cast iron pot. The two-course cocotte menu is €32 (£27). hotel.olivier-leflaive.com
Les Halles de Dijon
This gigantic market hall in central Dijon dates from 1873. Take a seat at La Buvette bar, drink a kir, have some escargots and soak up the local buzz. The market’s ornate arches feature designs of animals along with a resplendent Ceres, goddess of the harvest. Dishes from €10 (£8.50). facebook.com/labuvettedeshalles
Epicerie & Co
With flagstone floors and upcycled furniture, this popular spot on Dijon’s lively Place Émile Zola serves versions of classic Burgundy dishes by chef Alexandre Hulin. Try boeuf bourguignon, œufs en meurette (poached eggs in red wine sauce) and jambon persillé (parsley ham) with Fruirouge’s blackcurrant ketchup. The three-course menu bourguignon costs €25 (£21). restaurant-lepicerie.fr
Bistrot La Cotinière
Pretty Saint-Jean-de-Losne is a hub town for boating holidays, and riverside Bistro La Cotinière serves French classics to visitors moored in the harbour. Try sole meunière plus Burgundian dishes including boeuf bourguignon and frog’s legs. This is a great spot for a sunset dinner. The three-course menu bistrot costs €36 (£30). bistrot-lacotiniere.com
How to do itBurgundy’s nearest major airports are Lyon, and Geneva in Switzerland. Lyon to Dijon is just over two hours by car, and from Geneva under three. The Eurotunnel terminal in Calais and Caen-Ouistreham ferry port (for Portsmouth) are both just over five hours. In Dijon, stay at Mama Shelter, a central hotel with doubles from €99 (£83).
This story was created with the support of Mama Shelter and Brittany Ferries.
Published in the September 2025 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK).
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Dining and Cooking