🍽️ Normandy Food & Drink: From Jet Fuel Calva to Award-Winning Cheese
Home · Availability · Book Now · Contact Us · Location · Reviews
Last updated: July 2025
Explore more about local customs, traditional festivals, and the heart of Normandy countryside life.
📣 This blog was featured in August 2025 as part of our Regular Featured Blog Series, updated every two weeks with hand-picked highlights from the Normandy region.
📲 As well as being published on our website, it was also shared across our Socials:
Instagram,
Facebook,
and
TikTok.
When you stay at Holidays-Normandy, you’re in the heart of one of France’s richest culinary regions. Think fresh seafood, buttery cheese, local cider, and some mysterious apple-based alcohol that could probably power a tractor 🚜💥 (more on that later...).
We’re surrounded by family-run farms, small producers, village markets, and cosy restaurants serving local delicacies you just can’t get outside Normandy. Whether you’re a foodie or a fussy eater, there’s something delicious waiting for you.
🧀 Camembert from Gavray: Cheese with a View
One of our local treasures is Gavray Camembert—and it’s not just famous for its creamy flavour. It’s made right here in Gavray with milk from cows you’ll see grazing in the field next to the fromagerie 🐄🧀.
Unlike many producers who truck in milk from elsewhere, Gavray’s cheese is the real deal—from cow to cheese without ever leaving the village. You can even find it in selected local supermarkets if you don’t fancy a cheese pilgrimage (but we think it’s worth the trip).
🍏 Apple Everything: Cider, Calva & Pommeau
Normandy is apple country, and trust us, the locals make the most of it.
Cider (cidre) is the everyday drink of choice, dry or sweet, often served with crêpes or galettes 🍏🍞.
Calvados (or “Calva”) is the apple brandy that will clear your sinuses. Every farmer seems to make their own version. It’s legal to distil, illegal to transport, and tastes like jet fuel with a hint of apple 🥃🔥. The locals swear by it as medicine—especially when fishing!
Pommeau is a sweet apple apéritif made from cider and calva—they call it “a drink for the ladies” but we think everyone should give it a go. Tastes like an apple-flavoured sherry 🍏🍷.
🦢 Seafood & Moules-Frites
Being close to the coast, we’re spoiled for seafood:
- Mussels (moules) with frites and a warm baguette to mop up the sauce 🥟🧲
- Bulots (sea snails) served cold with aioli or hot with garlic butter 🦚
- Oysters from Normandy, served straight from the sea 🥛
- Sea bass caught off our local beaches — ask us for fishing spots! 🐟
🍽️ Where to Eat Nearby – Sam’s Picks
All just a short drive from Ursula Gîte, these are our personal favourites — and yes, they all offer proper vegetarian options too 🥗 (we promise, it’s more than just frites!).
🍽️ Auberge de Brothelande – Nicorps
Our cosy local gem! Meat cooked on an open fire, famous terrines and pâtés — and the chef has won awards from the Confrérie Gastronomique des Vikings du Bocage Normandie 🍽️🌟
🍽️ La Cale – Blainville-sur-Mer
Rustic, beachside, legendary seafood. No bookings — get there early for a sunset dinner with your toes in the sand 🌊🍾
🍽️ La Pergola – Coutances
Top-rated pizza, generous portions, family friendly, and plenty of veggie choices 🍕🥗
🍽️ The Presbytère – Heugueville-sur-Sienne
Michelin-recognised. English chef serving Yorkshire puddings the size of your head with their traditional Sunday roast 🌟🥞
📍 Full directions, reviews and notes are included in your printed Welcome Guide, or just ask us for a reservation tip 😊
🌿 Farm Shops & Fresh Eggs
Looking for real farm-to-table freshness? Ask us about our favourite local farm shops for organic veg and fresh seasonal produce. And if you fancy the freshest eggs around—ours are laid just metres from the gîte by our very own chickens! 🐓🥚
📲 Share Your Normandy Food Memories & Earn €25!
📸 Tag us in your foodie posts on Instagram or Facebook and get €25 off your next booking as part of our Social-Shout-Out Promotion — Terms apply.