Sweet memories of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain
One of my favourite movies is ‘Chocolat’, which is based on Joanne Harris’ novel. The movie stars Juliette Binoche (Vianne Rocher) and Johnny Depp (Roux). Vianne and her daughter, Anouk, arrive in the fictional village of ‘Lansquenet-sous-Tannes’ just before Lent and set up their chocolaterie much to the indignation of the Comte.
I regularly enjoy some Chocolat
Themes of inclusion, commitment and love, blended with mouthwatering images of chocolate, gorgeous village scenery and a fabulous soundtrack, all combine to make this movie a sensual pleasure to watch again and again. Many of the scenes of the village of ‘Lansquenet’ were filmed in the village of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, Burgundy, France. It is one of ‘Les Plus Beaux Villages de France’ - see My Favourite French Connections page for details and learn more about the real village at:
https://flavigny-sur-ozerain.fr/village/accueil
There’s not a lot going on in Flavigny and that, for me, is the attraction. The streets were almost deserted when we arrived at the rustic restaurant ‘La Grange’, which is run by a local farm co-operative. Surprisingly, it was full of people. We paid our money at the door and were treated to a great home cooked meal that was served by the same women of the co-operative who had been cooking all morning. By chance, we sat with some other English-speaking people at one of the long communal tables. We enjoyed an hour or so sharing our travel stories and experiencing life in a French village. Click on the link to see more of ‘La Grange’:
Afterwards, wandering through the village streets, we peeked into people’s gardens, explored the church and ruins. Here and there, it was possible to glimpse views of the valley and beautiful surrounding countryside.
Eglise (church) in Flavigny-sur-Ozerain
Inside the church that featured in the movie
Mayor’s office in Flavigny-sur-Ozerain
Chris took my photo outside the building that served as Vianne’s ‘Chocolaterie Maya’ in the movie and, of course, we purchased some of the locally-made sweets.
C’est moi outside the ‘Chocolaterie Maya’ from the movie ‘Chocolat’
‘Les Anis de Flavigny’ is a hard sweet (bon bon) with a small piece of aniseed in the middle. These delights come in different flavours and are packaged in attractive tins. You can read more about the history of this little sweet on the website:
Aniseed bon bon ‘Les Anis de Flavigny’
Joanne Harris is the author of ‘Chocolat’ and you can follow the story of Vianne Rocher in these books: ‘The Lollipop Shoes’, ‘Peaches for Monsieur Le Curé’ and ‘The Strawberry Thief’ (that I am currently reading). Some more of her books, which are also set in France, are: ‘Coastliners’, ‘Five Quarters of the Orange’ and ‘Holy Fools’. If you have an interest in ‘Chocolat’ and would like to find out more about the filming of the movie then you can check out Joanne’s website:
