Gently baking in the sun from the Mediterranean to the Alps, Provence is only really disturbed by the Mistral, the wind that comes barreling down the Rhone valley. To most Provence is the land of tomato, olive and garlic, but the truth is that the delightful secret of Provence is its culinary diversity. This comes not only from the different terrains, the rich delta of the Camargue to the West, the Alps to the east and of course the sea but the influence of the Greeks and the Romans.

For a country that seems to shun vegetarians Provence is paradise; onions, garlic, olives, artichokes, asparagus, aubergines, green beans, chard, fennel and more than enough extras to throw in such as thyme, basil, saffron, rosemary, sage, citrus fruits, black truffles and even lavender. Sadly many farmers have given their olive groves over to the much more lucrative wine growing, France does not even feature in the top seven olive oil producers in the world. Bees gorge on this abundance of vegetation, and the honey of the hinterland is awash with the hints of its origins.

In the northern part, sheep are raised and traditionally used more for wool, so mutton was the traditional meat. This has changed and lamb is now common, sometime cooked “á la ficellle” simply hung by a string in front of an open fire.

As in the Languedoc the Mediterranean provides fish and shellfish, but here the Provençale seem to have foreseen the present day problems with sustainability, the renowned bouillabaisse is the most sublime proof that a fish dish need not use prime fish such as seabass, monk etc. The bouillabaisse revels in using bony wooly rock fish whose names are still unknown to most of us: Roucou, Partago and Scorpéne.

The Alps in Provence are too rugged for cows, cheese here is goats’ cheese. Sold either as sweet moist fresh little pucks or aged wrapped in vine leaves, soaked in spirits or even simply wrapped in hemp. Try Banon or Picodon.

With all this savoury it’s not surprising that with the exception of Nougat, Provence gets its sweetness from fresh fuits; melons, apricots, plums, quince, oranges and figs.

One has to be very careful talking about the birthplace of Napoleon, though French since the middle of the 18th, it has a firm foot in Italy. Napoleon was ribbed at military school for his poor French and accent. It is rugged and mountainous, the staple was the chestnut known locally as the bread tree. The Italian influence is seen in the love of charcuterie, Lonzo is pickled and dried pork fillet and Figatelli smoked sausage made from pork liver and pimento.