The History of Foie Gras from ancient times to the present day

Contact :
Musée du Foie Gras
Souleilles
47140 Frespech
Tel.: 05 53 41 23 24
Fax : 05 53 41 31 90

E-Mail : souleill@terre-net.fr
Web Site : www.souleilles-foiegras.com

The Foie Gras Museum is situated at Soulielles, a typical farm of the Quercy border region. It is housed in an old stone barn in the hills around the Commune of Frespech.
It is the only one of its kind in France. It traces the history of Foie Gras, following this magnificent dish, which has been one of the high points of gastronomy throughout the centuries, from the Egyptians to the Romans and from the Jews of Bohemia to the famous banquets of the 19th century.

The museum got bigger: a new museographic space is installed in an eco-building, where you will discover new playful and educational arrangements.

Souleilles is a farm where Yves and Geneviève Boissière raise ducks and prepare farmhouse products. They have a strong attachment to their native Occitan region and so took over and developed the traditional farm business run by their grandfather, whose expertise, based on a love of animals and a regard for their welfare, they have perpetuated. The farmhouse products are based on grandmother's old family recipes. " The museum bears witness to our past and we are continuing to make our own contribution to the history of Foie Gras, which began tens of centuries ago. It is the result a series of innovations : the domestication of wild ducks, techniques of salting and preservation in fat, then the arrival of maize for fattening, Appert's canning method and now vacuum packing. It's part of our heritage, just like our Occitan language".

At souleilles
You may also visit the farm : the duckling brooders, the " gavage " room, where the ducks are force-fed, the kitchens and the gardens which offer a botanical tour through the woods.

The Farm Shop
Free entry. Air-conditioning and heating. Open all year, even on Sundays. 

Tastings
At the end of the tour you can taste our Foie Gras and some of our other preparations, for example our dried Breast of Duck, which will satisfy the most delicate of palates. For business outings or for entertaining friends we can organise a special reception that will linger in the memory as a high point of Occitan hospitality.

The table of the Musée du Foie gras
In Frespech, Yves and Geneviève Boissière purchased of one of oldest buildings of ramparts.
This prestigious place is dedicated to the jewels of the gastronomy of the southwest : the foie gras and the duck. It answers the desire of the visitors of the museum of the foie gras to taste the products of the farm of Souleilles.
Opened from July 1st to August 31st every day except Sunday evening and Monday.
Open all year on booking for the groups

Museum visits
All year from Monday to Saturday from 10:00 am till 7:00 pm; Sunday and holidays from 3:00 pm till 7:00 pm
In July and August every day from 10:00 am till 7:00 pm
Closed every Sunday in January
Closed the day of Christmas, and New Year's Day
Price : 5 € per adult, free for the children under 12 years old.
3 € for the groups (more than 10 persons).