After completing a three-month entry-level course at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and taking advantage of a short break to travel, we decided to embark on a true “foraging trip”.

After a short weighing, we settled on the southwest region of France, where the highlights are undoubtedly the fine wines of Bordeaux and the cassoulet, known as the “god of southwest French cuisine.”

As the name suggests, bean stew is a dish in which beans and meat are simmered until crispy.

The bean used is a kind of white kidney bean originating from the Americas but popular in Europe. It is sweet and crispy after being stewed, and is especially good at absorbing the delicious gravy.

As for meat, there are many variations and combinations according to regional differences. Common varieties include confit duck, sausage, pork, pig skin, mutton and even various game meats.

The earliest record of bean stew appears in the early 16th century, and its birth time can be traced back further.

It is generally believed that the prototype of cassoulet is some kind of medieval stew, and it gradually became finalized with the development of the times.

In ancient Europe, people believed that all matter was composed of the four elements of "wind, fire, water, and earth", which gave all things the original properties of "dry, wet, cold, and hot".

Medieval medical theory believed that "warm and moist" food is most beneficial to the human body. Obviously, this freshly hot and hot bean stew soaked in soup completely inherits the mainstream style of medieval diet.

In Castelauda, ??the birthplace of stew, people believe that during the Hundred Years War between England and France, the British army besieged the city of Castelauda. The hungry soldiers and civilians had no choice but to stew all the leftovers into a pot to survive the famine.

Encouraged by this "original version of bean stew", the French army's morale was greatly boosted and they drove away the British in one go.

This legend made me suspicious: There was a famine in the city, but they could still collect so much meat and beans?

In 1929, Prosper Montagne, the godfather of French Southwest cuisine, compared cassoulet to the God of French Southwest cuisine, and the trinity that constituted this "God" were the "Holy Father" Castelauda and "The Holy Father".

The Son” Carcassonne and the “Holy Spirit” Toulouse.

In Montagne's view, these three cities are the pinnacle of the art of cassoulet.

It can be said that to fully understand bean braised pork, you must completely walk this "bean braised pork road".

From west to east, they are Toulouse - Castelauda - Carcassonne.

Toulouse is not a tourist city. Although it has two human heritage sites, the Canal du Midi and the Cathedral of Saint-Sernan, there are not many well-known attractions in general.

However, there is no need to worry that you will have nowhere to go here. As a big city with a long history, you can find a lot of fun even if you just wander around the city.

Washed by the Garonne River, southwest France is rich in an iron-rich clay that can be used to make red bricks.

Most of the buildings of a certain age in Toulouse are built with this kind of red brick, which dyes the whole city rose red, making it even more beautiful under the setting sun.

The romantic French gave Toulouse a nickname - "La Ville Rose".