Peasant because the Allier is a land of cattle breeding and craftsmanship and is full of better or lesser known products but all of an excellent quality: its wide open spaces and its mosaic of little meadows are perfect for breeding all sorts of animals, from cattle to sheep not forgetting ducks for their foie gras. But also because this preserved territory, worlds away from flighty urban trends, proposes a rustic and traditional gastronomy.

Bourgeois because this quality is accentuated by top chefs, ‘bourbonnais' by birth or by adoption, in classy and welcoming establishments. They have mastered the art of combining culinary tradition with creativity: Jacques Décoret and Antoine Souillat in Vichy, Valérie Saignie in Charroux,  Jacky Morlon in Montluçon, and Francis Chevalliez in Chevagnes, to name but a few.

The Allier also abounds in the water element with its three spa towns. The locals are keen to share this asset by transforming these natural resources into reputed sweets, the famous Vichy pastilles, and mineral waters with digestive virtues such as Saint-Yorre and Vichy.