Foire aux Harengs, Dieppe’s Autumn Herring Fair
We drive north on the périphérique towards Rouen; sun slants through parting clouds- a good omen for the festive day ahead. Brambly hedges and the bocage Normand of lush pastures flash past. Within two hours, we turn off the coast road and descend toward Dieppe’s harbor. In the distance, the solitary spire of the église Notre Dame de Bon- Secours rises like a watch tower on a distant white cliff. Fishing boats are at anchor: the catch is in. A few grills are lit along the quay, but serious herring aficionados wait until twilight Saturday, or arrive for Sunday’s festivities.
Turning into narrow streets, caught up in Dieppe’s market day crowd, we’re drawn past half-timbered medieval houses into the old quarter to place St-Jacques and its grey, quietly majestic church. A diverse, jumbled array of vendors ranges from an all-weather gear stall, where bright yellow jackets and boots dangle alongside a flower vendor’s magenta cyclamen. I ramble past rows of leeks, heaps of autumn’s crinkled cabbages, and endless, glistening apples. Tempting aromas of Normandy’s famous crèpes waft around a corner. Sizzling fowl roast on portable spits, teasing my appetite in the chilly air. But Michel, my husband and I are here for fish, a platter of Dieppe’s famous moules-frites, and a bowl of Marmite Dieppoise, for our sortie de Paris Saturday lunch.
The sunny afternoon is ideal for a long seaside stroll. Much of this historic port city was rebuilt after World War II bombing destroyed the harbor area. Dieppe’s imposing fifteenth century chateau-fort on the west edge of town was spared. On a hillside near the fort, an enormous maple leaf is planted in red-leaved plants. This tribute has been tended for decades, to honor Canadians whose courageous fighting in both air and land offensives helped liberate Dieppe in 1942. One could spend hours inside the fort, in the Musée des Ivoires, devoted to intricately carved ivories from the eighteenth century, or to view exhibitions of contemporary art that fill the stark interior.
Quai Henri IV along the harbour is more animated Saturday evening. Fires in long, shallow braziers lit earlier are now ready to grill trays of herring. Men in aprons tied over their warm woolly sweaters work in teams, wearing goggles to tend the smoky grills. One deftly turns herring, another shifts scallops threaded with pepper slices on brochettes (skewers) to feed the coming onslaught of fish lovers. I note that herring greatly outnumber scallops on most grills. Vendors of the white wines of Sancerre are busy, kegs of beer are tapped, and bowls of cider are emptied to quench the herring-tasters’ thirst.
Families arrive on Sunday morning, ready to introduce the kids to the pleasures of nibbling freshly grilled fish. A carnival atmosphere of cotton candy, barbe à papa, and carousel rides prevails. By eleven, enthusiasts throng the quai, some equipped with pen knives for their herring lunch. I munch on a tender, grilled scallop, and marvel at the dexterity of a young man next to me. He neatly slits a grilled herring, pulls out the backbone, and places the trimmed fish on a crusty slab of baguette, all in about thirty seconds. After wiping the knife blade on his denim sleeve, he snaps it shut, tucks it in a pocket and bites in with relish. Umbrellas pop up on quai Henri IV late in the afternoon as we set off for Paris. And along the undulating back roads of the Pays de Caux, night is gathering in the misty shadows.
Getting there: Ten trains for Rouen and Dieppe leave daily from Paris’ Gare du Nord.
For information, Dieppe’s Tourism Office is centrally located between the fishing port and the sailboat marina, on pont Ango, quai du Carénage ; tel : 02 35 84 11 77.
Dieppe’s Herring Fair is the focus of a section in the November chapter of
La France Gourmande, a book on French food festivals by Marolyn D. Charpentier.
The book is available on www.Amazon.com
