Top 10 Culinary Specialties in Quimper

What to eat in Quimper? Our selection of the ten best dishes.

1. The Atlantic Seafood Platter

We start strong, with quality dishes of refined taste. Pesco-vegetarians, you'll love savoring these fresh products, raw or cooked! Shrimp, lobster, oysters, scallops... There's a real festival of good things to eat that will give you a taste of what Breton cuisine is all about. A dance of flavors and quality dishes. The Atlantic seafood platter is a classic loved by tourists and is usually enjoyed on a terrace, in the middle of the afternoon. To better enjoy a well-deserved freshness! This dish can also be served during holidays, for special occasions, like weddings or baptisms.

2. The Java of Quimper

Here's a specialty that draws its origins directly from the city of Quimper: the Java. Why this mysterious name? It's actually a reference to the beautiful island of Java: particularly known for its Indonesian coffee cultures, with unique taste and finesse. The Java of Quimper is actually a small round cake similar to a macaron, glazed with coffee, enhanced with almond cream. It's the kind of dessert that easily makes taste buds tingle, and catches the eye, just by its pretty color in brown and golden tones, like a sunset. The benefits of coffee? They are numerous: rich in antioxidants, it's a good source of magnesium and promotes energy and concentration.

3. The Kig Ha Farz

A typically Breton dish that you'll find in absolutely any city in Brittany? The Kig Ha Farz is a real gem for all those who appreciate meat and vegetables, mixed in an intoxicating broth. What do we find inside more precisely? Bacon, a little pork and beef knuckle, chuck roast, pieces of carrots, leeks, celery, a little cabbage, turnips, and finally lipig: which is made with salted butter, mixed with shallots and onions. We can already see you salivating... The recipe can vary according to preferences: some add bacon bits. Better plan at least three hours of cooking, and two farz bags, with buckwheat flour and wheat flour.

4. The Cotriade

This specialty of Finistère is one of the most unknown dishes in Brittany. And yet... It turns out to be absolutely legendary in tenderness and finesse in the mouth. Do you like fish soups? After the seafood platter, discover without delay the fish soup made with hake, conger eel, mackerel, or red mullet, langoustines, and some mussels. We also find pieces of potatoes, and some aromatics to marry everything in an ocean of flavors and fragrant delights. It's a light dish, perfect for those who want to continue their diet while treating themselves.

5. The Crêpes

Yes, here they are! It was time to present the famous Breton crêpes, so coveted by visitors. Between visiting historical monuments, and strolling through the lively streets of Quimper, why not take a little break and taste a good hot crêpe, with sweet toppings? Cooked mostly with delicious wheat flour, Breton crêpes are literally to die for. The best is to garnish them with a thin layer of salted butter. There, after tasting a first bite, you will now know the full definition of the word 'perfection'. With a good glass of fresh juice, what could be better than eating a crêpe with family on the edges of a terrace?

6. The Breton Palet

Hear ye, hear ye Ladies and gentlemen! Here's the star of this ranking, the one that is eaten absolutely throughout France, throughout Europe, and much more... The Breton palet is a traditional biscuit that is generally enjoyed when snack time comes. Made with quality butter and puff pastry, their sandy texture gives them an absolutely memorable and exceptional taste. It's a bit like the crunchy biscuit that accompanies the coffees of Quimper residents, after eating. In the city of Quimper, it will be easy for you to find them, as in all of Brittany. Keeping very well in a small iron box, it will be possible for you to take some with you, while you visit the city.

7. The Pikolenn

The 'Molenn sausage', also called Pikolenn (which means 'big' in Breton) is cooked from natural casings without adding preservatives or flavors. It is then hand-turned, and cooked in simmering water. Described as 'delicious and full of unexpected flavors', they can be accompanied by a buckwheat galette, whose secret Quimper holds. Its little extra? It's smoked with seaweed! Yes, you read correctly. These are seaweeds from the island of Quéménès, cultivated without any chemicals and marketed in many regions. With an iodized taste, and of course smoked, their manufacturing comes from ancestral know-how that comes directly from Breton farmers, who were looking for how to preserve pork meat over time.

8. The Andouille of Guémené

Here's another quite unique charcuterie, which you will also be able to find easily in the city of Quimper. The andouillette of Guénemé is a real taste surprise for tourists who are discovering it (for some) only now, while it is eaten absolutely everywhere in Brittany. This ancient recipe is served with a hot puree of potatoes. They are made with pork chitterlings that are threaded one over the other. As simple as that! The whole is then smoked, and cooked in water. Being about six to eight centimeters, the last layer is actually made of a beef bladder. It's a quite unique specialty of its kind, which delights carnivores.

9. The Far Breton

Another sweet specialty, yes! The Far Breton comes straight from the city of Quimper, and is today perceived as THE dessert of the region. It's a cake, quite classic, accompanied by prunes, and rum, sometimes with raisins. Know dear friends that the association of rum and prunes is absolutely incredible! It's a very easy recipe to make, and delicious. This rather dense and consistent cake can be served at breakfast to start the day well, to visit the city of Quimper. We can also eat it as dessert, or at snack time. In any case, at any time of the day, it will be difficult for you to decline a slice of Far Breton!

10. The Cider of Cornouaille

But by the way, what about drinks? What do we drink in Quimper? The Quimper residents will answer you without hesitation, Cornouaille cider. This golden and foamy liquid is a corked cider, non-pasteurized and non-carbonated. Prepared with traditional know-how, the fruity aromas of apples and fresh peaches are added in a subtle way. In the mouth, it's a whole bunch of flavors, filled with a sugar/acid balance that is quite perfect. Cornouaille cider also pairs very well with dishes with meats in sauce. There, you know everything for a successful stay in Quimper!