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Burgundy
‘Every self-respecting meal begins with a batch of gougères’ — the little cheese choux bun that has opened Burgundian tables for two centuries.
Traditional dish from Burgundy.
The exact origin of the gougère remains shrouded in mystery. An early mention reportedly dates back to 1571, in Sens in the Yonne, where the dish featured on a feast menu as a dessert. Another tradition has it that choux pastry arrived in France with Catherine de Médicis's cooks during the Renaissance.
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Some thirty kilometres from Sens, however, it is Flogny-la-Chapelle that claims paternity of the little cheese choux bun as we know it today. Around 1800, a pastry chef named Liénard is said to have been the first to sell this speciality there: a savoury choux pastry, enhanced with a touch of cheese and inspired by the ‘ramequins’ then in vogue in Paris at the end of the 18th century. Finding his initial creations too small, he gave them the shape of a crown and named them ‘gougères’ — quite unlike today's small apéritif bites, as they were then cut into slices to be shared with the family.
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For around thirty years, Flogny-la-Chapelle has celebrated its Fête de la gougère every third Sunday in May, with tastings, a regional produce fair, and a competition in two categories — traditional and revisited — judged by a professional panel. In 2018, the Guilde des goûteurs de gougères was founded, an association that has since organised the festival and its inductions to promote this Burgundian speciality, which had long remained in the shadow of the region's famous names. There is no official recipe: contemporary pastry chefs play with the cheese (comté, gruyère, sometimes goat's cheese), a touch of nutmeg or mustard, or a foie gras filling.
Appearance
Small golden choux buns, shaped into a slicing crown or individual balls, with a cracked and glossy surface, sprinkled with melted and lightly browned grated cheese.
Aroma
Warm butter and baked cheese — comté or gruyère — with a hint of egg.
Taste
Savoury, with the umami of mature cheese and a hint of pepper.
Texture
Crisp on the outside, soft and hollow inside — ‘crisp under the teeth and melting on the tongue’.
The traditional gougère comes as a crown to slice, a tart, or small individual choux buns. It is traditionally made with comté, or with gruyère for a more pronounced flavour. Today's pastry chefs offer many variations: in Flogny-la-Chapelle, some prefer emmental, add a touch of nutmeg or mustard, or fill it with foie gras or goat's cheese.
Bring the water, butter cut into pieces, and salt to the boil.
Off the heat, tip in the flour all at once and stir until the dough pulls away from the sides of the saucepan.
Beat in the eggs one by one, mixing vigorously between each addition, until a smooth and glossy paste is obtained.
Add the grated cheese (comté or gruyère), salt and pepper.
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The gougère is served warm, straight out of the oven, as an apéritif — a Burgundian ritual so firmly rooted that locals say ‘every self-respecting meal begins with a batch of gougères’. It pairs wonderfully with the wines of Bourgogne, from Petit Chablis to Crémant, by way of Bourgogne Aligoté. Its lightness even allows it to accompany champagne: served with Ibérico ham and parmesan shavings, it makes a fitting match on a summer's evening.
The gougère holds no official certification. Its recognition rests on local tradition and the annual competition at the Fête de la gougère in Flogny-la-Chapelle (Yonne), organised since 2018 by the Guilde des goûteurs de gougères.
Brotherhood
Artisan baker and pastry chef
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