Cervelle de canut is a fresh fromage blanc beaten with shallots, garlic, chives, olive oil and vinegar until it is the consistency of thick cream: the original cheap-and-sharp Lyon cheese course that the silk weavers ate on bread at mid-morning.
Where to eat it: 2 restaurants across 1 city.
The name translates roughly as 'silk-weaver's brain', a satirical swipe from the bourgeoisie at the Croix-Rousse canuts who could only afford fresh cheese rather than aged wheels. The canuts ate it on bread with onion and vinegar as a mid-morning meal called the machon. Today cervelle de canut appears on every bouchon menu as a starter or cheese course, and the machon tradition survives every third Friday of the month at a handful of Lyon bouchons that open at 09:30 for the original format.
Common allergens: Dairy
Tip from the editors. The dish is sharper and better the day after you make it; the vinegar and shallot mellow slightly overnight but the punch remains.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Le Bouchon des Filles in Lyon's 1er is the all-woman-run bouchon on Rue Sergent Blandan, where a fixed-price set lunch runs the dining room and the kitchen.
Signature: Saucisson chaud, Cervelle de canut
Order: The set menu with saucisson chaud and cervelle de canut for dessert.
Tip: Open evenings only Wed-Sat plus Sunday lunch; book a fortnight ahead.
Cafe-Comptoir Abel in Lyon's 2e is the 1928 bouchon on Rue Guynemer where the wood-panelled dining room and Label Bouchons Lyonnais menu survive unchanged.
Signature: Salade lyonnaise, Tablier de sapeur
Order: Salade lyonnaise with a poached egg, then the chicken vinaigrette.
Tip: Closed Sunday; cash and card. The pichet of cotes-du-rhone is the order.
More cities are in research. Want cervelle de canut covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.