The Riviera's liquid gold

Olive harvesting season is well underway on the Riviera. Countless ancient trees are being raked by hand of their pithy black fruit, for pressing - often in traditional stone-weighted presses. But what makes Riviera olive oil so sought after?

With exceptional amounts of sunshine and plenty of humidity, the Riviera is a Mediterranean area with its very own olive variety: the Taggiasca. These olives are small and dark, and the oil they produce is exceptionally delicate, with wonderful tones of artichoke and almond. Taggiasca oil complements all foods, without overpowering the flavours. On the French side of the Riviera, the Cailletier variety (which is virtually identical to the Taggiasca) produces an oil that is just as prized.

Olive harvesting is largely unmechanised in the Riviera

Because the Riviera is where the Maritime Alps descend into the Mediterranean sea, land is fragmented and steep here. Olive groves are confined to narrow spaces, just a row or two of trees perched on a stone-terraced valley. You won't find the endless rolling hills of olive tress that you see in parts of Spain or Greece. Instead, olive growing here is a small, family affair, and methods remain mostly unmechanised.

Due to this small scale, making olive oil is more of a traditional activity than an intensive industrial process. In many cases, people will bring down their own olives to the local press to get their oil made for a modest fee. But often, a grove of trees will be owned by a family who have long since moved away, so deals are struck where local famers will harvest the olives on behalf of owners, and the two parties share the oil produced, without money changing hands. 

People will often bring their olives to the local press to make their own oil

Not much oil is exported from the region either - most is consumed right here in Riviera kitchens, or perhaps given as gifts to family and friends. An exception is the Nicolas Alziari brand, based in Nice, which sells to high-end deli stores and supermarkets abroad such as Waitrose in the UK. But for the most part, you must come to the Riviera yourself to pick up a bottle of some of the most delicate, sweet extra virgin oil in the world.

Riviera olive oil: enhancing rather than overpowering

The Markets of Monaco

Seeing so many expensive sports cars, helipads and luxury apartments, it is easy to think that Monaco is just a playground for the very rich. But it is also a working city with 40,000 locals who love simple, fresh Riviera cuisine just as much as anyone else on this region. That is particularly evident in Monaco's lively food markets, somewhat hidden out of view but definitely worth seeking out if you're interested in Monegasque traditions.

The Condamine market

The Condamine Market on Place d’Armes operates from Tuesdays to Saturdays, from early morning until early afternoon. Outdoors, it is primarily a fresh fruit and vegetable market, but inside the covered market, La Halle Gourmande, there are wonderful - and fairly inexpensive - prepared meals, including Monegasque specialities such as barbajuans (fried, stuffed fritters) and pichade (a bread-based tomato and anchovy snack). Other Riviera dishes on sale include socca (chickpea pancake) and ravioli. It is a favourite lunch-time stop for office workers who keep Monaco's financial services sector ticking along.

Inside the Halle Gourmande, off Place d'Armes

The Gustave Eiffel Market, also known as Beausoleil market, is in a beautiful wrought-iron structure designed by the great architect Mr Eiffel himself. Standing on the Boulevard de la République, it is open every morning. It sells fruit and vegetables, meat and prepared meals. Fruit and vegetables stalls are located on the north side. It is a proper, workaday Mediterranean market full of local shoppers buying produce for their family kitchens - a far cry from the what many people think glamorous Monaco is about!

The Monte Carlo market, right by Saint Charles' church

Nearby, the Monte Carlo Market begins at the French border with Beausoleil, along the continuation of Boulevard de la République which in Monaco is called Avenue Saint-Charles. It is open every morning and primarily sells fruit and vegetables, to Monegasque people as well as the many French and Italians who live crowded around the borders of this unique principality.

Monaco's markets are a reminder of the joy of Riviera food, and they show that the principality is not disconnected from its region. Monaco is definitely part of the broader Riviera food culture - a food culture worth celebrating!

Ceriana Sausage Festival

Ceriana is a jewel of the Italian Riviera hinterland. Just fifteen kilometres from Sanremo, the medieval stone town is surrounded by the Maritime Alps, with dense forests, vineyards and olive groves in all directions. Every August, it throws a massive party in honour of its famous sausage - "salsiccia di Ceriana".

Ceriana is beautifully set among dense forests, vineyards and olive groves

The two-day festival is catered by the four confraternities of the town. The orders are (very vaguely) religious in origin, but in fact they are more like social clubs. At the festival they each barbecue sausages and serve with fresh bread and different sauces. The Green confraternity flavours sausages with green chimichurri sauce. The Reds serve sausage in a tomato ragú while the Black confraternity applies lashings of dark olive tapenade from local Taggiasche olives. The Blue team thankfully does not opt for a blue sauce, but instead serves sausages in a meaty broth.

The recipe for Ceriana sausage is a closely guarded secret held by just a few families. We can guess at the ingredients: principally, it is pork meat. There is definitely garlic in the sausages, and generous amounts of herbs such as rosemary. Paprika or possibly chilli flakes add a bit of heat to the sausages.

The recipe for Ceriana sausage is a closely guarded secret

There is plenty of fare for vegetarians too at the festival, including cakes made with this valley's renowned yellow peaches, and bruschetta with fresh oxheart (cuor di bue) tomatoes and basil leaves. Beer and wine tents are dotted around town (the local rossese wine is a favourite), and the main square holds a stage with various entertainment acts playing until late in the evening.

But perhaps the key to the success of the annual Sausage Festival is how well-attended it is. Not only do all the town's 1,300 full-time residents participate, but thousands more drive up to Ceriana from the coast, including from the French Côte d'Azur. Hundreds of families from Northern Europe keep holiday homes in Ceriana, and August is their favoured time to visit. Everyone is in high spirits. Ceriana is normally a quiet little hamlet, so seeing it transformed into a buzzing festival site for one weekend is a pleasure.