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.

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.

2 editor picks for Cervelle de canut in Lyon, ranked by editorial score. All Lyon signature dishes · Cervelle de canut across every city.