A Garden In Burgundy
/A chronological collection of images from a year in The Hungry Cyclist Lodge gardens. The ideal place to unwind after a days cycling and wine tasting in the vineyards of Burgundy.
Read MoreFood, Wine, Photography Cycling & Gardening. Discover more about Life in Burgundy on The Hungry Cyclist Blog
A chronological collection of images from a year in The Hungry Cyclist Lodge gardens. The ideal place to unwind after a days cycling and wine tasting in the vineyards of Burgundy.
Read MoreI like to to collect things. A brocante is my favorite place to be and I have been known to come back with more things from the tip then I dropped of. Marginal returns I like to call them. So when a good friend offered me an oak wine fermenting vat, I dint hesitate.
Read MoreAs the year goes bye I am never without the handy camera on my mobile phone, and below is a chronological collection of photographs I have posted on Instagram.
Read MoreFor all its 'bucolic romance' picking grapes in Burgundy is back-breaking work. Seemingly endless days are spent bent-double, snipping at sticky grapes while steadily hiking up hill. The work is relentless and monotonous and high point of each day is lunch!
Read MoreThere is no dish that represents autumnal French comfort food like a Tarte Tatin. Slow-cooked apples from the tree, sweet caramel loaded with butter and a puff pastry that crumbles and oozes in equal measure, all come together for what has rightfully become a culinary French classic.
Read MoreAnother winter passes by, spring is in bloom and once again it is time to roll away the stone on The Hungry Cyclist Lodge for another busy season.
Read MoreOn August 6th we had the honour of hosting Lauren and Adam Richardson’s for their wedding at The Hungry Cyclist Lodge. Arriving from all over the world, seventy of the bride and grooms family and friends, came to Auxey-Duresses to celebrate Adam and Lauren’s special day in the heart of Burgundy wine country.
Read More"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun; Conspiring with him how to load and bless With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run; To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees, And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core; To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells With a sweet kernel; to set budding more, And still more, later flowers for the bees, Until they think warm days will never cease, For Summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells."
Read MoreI first met Neil Gower in 2009. Having spent the previous three years either on the saddle of my bicycle in the Americas or hidden away in Tooting library writing about my travels. Neil was commissioned by Harper Collins to illustrate my journey and words.
Read MoreIn our cellar a few lonely root vegetables lurk, and after months in the dark they are starting to soften a little and need eating. Butter beans and other pulses are always in stock as well, and these hearty beans always soak up plenty of flavour and add some well needed protein for the muscles after a days cycling or digging in the garden.
Read MoreWhen I was idly daydreaming on a beach in Rio de Janeiro, after completing a two and half year bicycle ride researching food across the Americas, I sketched out a picture of what I felt my dream building might look like for the gourmet cycle lodge I was planning in France.
Read MoreA regular favourite here at The Hungry Cyclist Lodge is slow braised beef cheeks. Easy to prepare and unimaginably unctuous, they are full of flavour and the slow braise fills the house with glorious smells, perfect when returning from a days cycling and wine tasting in Burgundy. Paired with a creamy mash, flavoured with local Dijon mustard, this is a dish perfectly suited for autumn nights.
Read MoreI am very fortunate to be able to say that cooking, cycling and drinking the occasional glass of wine are work. But following your passions is not always easy and to be able to read the kind words below after a season of hard work is reward indeed. To all the guests who have visited us in Burgundy, thank you it's been a wonderful summer!
Read MoreOctober in our Burgundian garden always provides a bonus. Like an extravagant dessert in a fine restaurant, it arrives after the main event, just when you think you have had enough only for your senses to be reinvigorated for one last bout of pleasure.
Read MoreOeufs en Meurette is a Burgundian classic. A soft-poached egg swimming in a rich red wine sauce, it's a warming and hearty dish, perfect for autumn days. However as a hot summer has come to an end I have found that the same principle work of serving a poached egg in a creamy white wine sauce flavoured with herbs from the garden
Read MoreHere at The Hungry Cyclist Lodge we keep our grilling simple and this summers' favourites are 'magret' of duck and the smoky rib of Charolais slow-cooked over 90-year-old vine stocks, both washed down with plenty of local pinot noir.
Read MoreA creative way to journal those daily snap-shots, if you want an inside view of a stay at the Hungry Cyclist Lodge or a what cycling holiday in Burgundy looks like, have a look and follow The Hungry Cyclist Instagram feed. Full of photos of food, wine, landscapes and the occasional brocante find, it's a beutiful way to keep in touch.
Read MoreCorks were being pulled and fireworks exploded above the vines of the Cote D'Or in early July as the 1,247 “climats” of Burgundy were awarded the much coveted world heritage status by UNESCO.
Read MoreOne of the first plants to arrive is the glorious radish. The radish is the gardening equivalent of learning chop sticks on the piano. Easy to plant and with an almost instant reward. After only a few days young leaves appear and after two weeks the rose roots break the surface like sunburned bald heads.
Read MoreApril is exciting in Burgundy. The muted greys and browns of winter steadily make way for the electric greens of spring and as if over night the landscape of the Cote D'Or changes colour. The wiry silhouettes of trees transform into an soft mass of verdant foliage and dormant spring flowers burst from the ground.
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