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Centre-Val de Loire
In the Perche, the "second harvest" was gathered with pitchforks and counted in tonnes — that of the cèpes from the forêt de Senonches, dispatched by the wagonload to the Halles de Paris.
Vegetable from Centre-Val de Loire.
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The forêt domaniale de Senonches, at the heart of the Parc Naturel Régional du Perche, extends across 4,286 hectares and counts more than 1,100 recorded mushroom species — including the cèpe de Bordeaux, one of the most sought-after. For decades, foraging for them represented a fully fledged economic resource for the region's inhabitants: local historian Paul Alexandre recalls that as a child, selling foraged cèpes was enough to "buy what was needed for the new school year: the pinafore, the satchel, the exercise books...". This seasonal activity was dubbed "the second harvest", and farm labourers would temporarily pause their work in the fields to devote themselves to it.
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The scale of the harvest was measured in tonnes: in 1961, the forêt de Senonches produced around 80 tonnes of cèpes. Solange Rocher, a mushroom merchant since 1938, handled up to 45 tonnes on her own, with days of "6 to 800 kg" and a personal record of "5 tonnes in 3 days". She described the bustle of the local market: "an enormous pile of mushrooms, an absolute mountain!", with foragers delivering their harvest by any means available — baskets, wheelbarrows, prams, tricycle. The mushrooms then left "by the whole wagonload" for the Halles Centrales de Paris, where they arrived in the early morning; a collector on a bicycle organised pickups from the foragers throughout the season, sustaining a small parallel economy that stimulated local trade.
The Confrérie du Cèpe et Fins Délices de la Forêt de Senonches, presided over by a Grand Maître, perpetuates this tradition: it organises chapters with inductions and parades through the streets of Senonches, as well as tastings, including that of the "Tourte Senonchoise", in conjunction with the municipality.
Appearance
a smooth cap, most often hazelnut-brown, spreading to 10–30 cm across; when young, it is sometimes nicknamed a "champagne cork".
Aroma
a faint and pleasant smell.
Taste
a light nutty flavour.
Texture
white and tender flesh.
the cèpe de Bordeaux grows beneath broadleaf trees (beech, oak) and conifers, particularly in acidic soils.
the best harvesting period runs from September to November.
it is recommended to grasp the cèpe by the stem, give it a quarter-turn, and pull, rather than wrenching it out.
foraging is done into a basket, never a plastic bag, to preserve the spores and the quality of the harvest.
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The cèpe de Senonches can be eaten raw or cooked, and preserving it in jars is preferred to freezing, which alters its flavour and texture.
No official quality mark (PDO (AOP), PGI (IGP), Label Rouge) protects this cèpe: it is a wild foraged mushroom, not a cultivated agricultural product. Its local renown is championed by the Confrérie du Cèpe et Fins Délices de la Forêt de Senonches, an association that keeps the harvesting tradition alive and organises chapters and inductions.
Brotherhood
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