Gastronomy in Clermont blends in with the traditional cooking of the Auvergne, using local regional products. This cooking dates from the XIX century with the tendency to use the potato and fattening of pigs - who doesn't know the delicatessen of the Auvergne, the truffades (potatoes cooked with bacon and garlic) or other potato and cheese purées ? The reputation of the Auvergne cheeses (5 AOC) is international - the Saint-Nectaire "which is the best cheese in the world" according to Alexandre Vialatte, the Salers, Fourme d'Ambert, Cantal and the Bleu d'Auvergne. The markets in the town offer the best selections, which come from patient maturing.

Several restaurants in town specialize in the regional cooking and suggest tasting coq au vin de Chanturgue, Auvergnat casserole, salmon with green lentils from Le Puy, gigot Brayaude (lamb slowly braised in white wine with potatoes or lentils) or the pompe aux pommes (apple cake). 

Fruit jellies

Turning fruit into fruit jellies, candied fruits and jams is more specifically from the region of Clermont. The fields of angelica grown at Montferrand now only remain a memory, but the making of fruit jellies remains a living tradition which is exported throughout the world.

The dry preserves from Clermont-Ferrand were already renowned in the reign of Louis XI. It was the gift that was expected when one stayed in this town. In 1629, Cardinal Richelieu visited the region and received as a present six large beautiful boxes containing one hundred and thirty three pounds of preserved apricots. Later, in Vichy, Madame de Sévigné started the fashion for preserved fruit. But the golden age for the confectioners was above all the Second Empire, due in particular to the Duc de Morny who transformed hundreds of hectares near Aulnat into experimental fields for the sugar producing industry, the present sugar maker Bourdon.

Wine

Wine growing started in the Gallo-Roman era, expanded rapidly throughout the Middle Ages and reached the height of its fame in the years 1890 before the disaster of phylloxera. Considerable efforts have resulted in the revival of the Auvergnat vineyards. The generic Côtes d'Auvergne, the crus of Boudes, Chateaugay, Corent, Chanturgue, Madargue and Saint Pourçain in the Bourbonnais are made from the gamay and pinot noir grape varieties for the reds and rosé, and from the chardonnay grape for the whites.

If you want to know more about the wines, visit the Museum of the Vine and Wine.