Region with an appetite

According to recent reports, the recession has seriously blunted the French appetite, with diners tightening their belts and abandoning the tradition of the leisurely Gallic lunch.

But in Normandy, food is still at the centre of life – closely followed by the drinks which are made mainly from the fruit of apple orchards which have been built up over centuries.

Nobody here has ditched the idea of meals being the most important parts of the day. Lunch can easily last three hours, even in the week, and dinner may take even longer. The people in this part of France are fiercely proud of making, eating and drinking some of the best the country has to offer, using methods perfected over several generations.

But anybody looking for a vineyard will be disappointed. Here it's cider and calvados which hold sway – with family-run producers like Calvados DuPont in Victot-Pontfol near Liseux, making some of the finest.

Father and son Etienne and Jerome DuPont have 6,000 trees, and new products are in development alongside traditional calvados, cider and pommeau – a blend of calvados and apple juice.

Innovations include a sweet apple wine called Givre which is produced by freezing cider eight times to extract alcohol, and Calvados Cream, which blends a young calvados with cream liqueur. After a tour of his "domaine" Mr DuPont senior presides over a tasting of some of the best his cellars have to offer, including a vintage bottled 17 years ago which sells in Britain for about 90.

He tells how the business was started by his grandfather Jules, a cattle farmer who planted the apple trees, and found that the juice from the fruit was more popular than the milk from his cows.

Milk is still a huge part of the economy in Normandy, and the area's unique Normande cows provide thousands of gallons a day for use by specialist cheese-makers like Eugene Graindorge.

The Graindorge factory is in the tiny hamlet of Livarot, and the village gives its name to one of the area's most popular cheeses, a product which is protected by French and European law.

Livarot is one of the so-called Appelation d'Origine Controlee (AOC) products which the locals in Normandy guard jealously – products which make the area one of France's gastronomic centres. Many workers at Graindorge are also third or fourth generation and visitors are able to watch the entire process taking place – from the separating of the curds and whey to curing and packaging. Livarot is made using a process which has been in existence for 700 years. It includes wrapping reeds around the outside of the rind, a touch which makes it instantly recognisable.

French diners need to know where their food has come from and have a strong need for heritage, history and the traditional techniques used to produce their favourite items on a menu. And they need time to enjoy it.

Food is everywhere you look in Normandy, and some of the locals even forage for their own at certain times of year, when the region's huge forests give up a massive harvest of fungus. According to mycologists – mushroom experts – different types of edible mushroom can be found in the shadow of different types of tree, but extreme care must be taken when picking.

In the woods surrounding the spa town of Bagnoles de l'Orne, an hour-long walk produces a basket full of mushrooms and an expert kitchen quickly reveals how delicious they can be.

Chef Franck Quinton runs the Manoir du Lys hotel in the heart of the forest, and some of the rooms are even mushroom-themed. At his stove, his love of cooking them is immediately evident.

One mushroom found on the forage stands a foot high, and for most it would present a frightening prospect. But the chef cooks it as part of a nine-course mushroom banquet, served that night in his Michelin-starred restaurant.

Locally-sourced food like this is suddenly fashionable in Britain – but in France local produce is often all that will be acceptable, and the idea of dragging food around the country is horrifying.

At their Michelin-starred restaurant Manoir des Saules in La Saussaye, Michel Metot and Jean-Paul Monnaie use fruit and vegetables grown in the gardens of their neighbours. Many ingredients are only picked a matter of minutes before they are transformed into one of the dishes which have built the pair an admirable reputation in the region.

A few miles away in the beautiful village of Le Bec Hellouin, former sailor Charles Herve-Gruyer and his lawyer wife Perrine have undertaken a mammoth project to build a completely organic farm.

Mr Herve-Gruyer is happy to show visitors around his plots which include medieval-style vegetable beds and horse-drawn farm machinery, and tells how his produce is used locally.

Normandy is easy to travel around but a car is required because much of the area is rural. Ferries operate from Portsmorth, Newhaven and Poole to Le Havre, Dieppe, Caen and Cherbourg. Other highlights of the region include the coastal resorts of Honfleur, Deauville and Trouville and the world-famous beaches where the Normandy landings of the Second World War took place. The regional capital Rouen, where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, is another must-see destination and is home to the Notre Dame Cathedral, which was rebuilt after being wrecked by Allied bombing in 1944.

But even here in the bustling city, which is home to more than half a million, food is still at the forefront of most people's minds, and the city square is home to a hugely popular daily food market.

In October, the streets also play host to the annual La Fete du Ventre where residents and visitors are presented with a frenzy of gastronomic delights.

The fact that the festival's name literally translates as The Belly Festival probably says everything about Normandy, it is a place that delights in its appetite – and makes no apology for it.

GETTING THERE

LD Lines operates the exclusive Portsmouth to Le Havre service and, during the winter period, there will be a one ship service with a night sailing from Portsmouth and day sailing from Le Havre.

From Easter to September 2010 the high-speed ferry, Norman Arrow, will be providing an additional summer-only service between Portsmouth and Le Havre, with a crossing time of just over three hours.

Fares start from 49 each way (based on a five-day return) for a car and two passengers. Short break fares are also available from 30 one way for a car and two passengers. For more information and to book visit www.ldlines.com or call 0844 576 8836.