A Village Fête in Bazas

This experience takes place on Shrove Thursday each February (12 Feb 2026 or 4 Feb 2027), in Bazas in the Gironde countryside, during the Fête des Bœufs Gras. Held since the 13th century, the festival marks the moment when local Bazadaise cattle, a breed prized for its rich, marbled beef, are brought into the historic center to be celebrated. The oxen adorned with ribbons and flower crowns reach the cathedral square, while music and dancing spread across the town. With Anne, who lives in Bazas, you move through the town as the day unfolds. You observe the cattle, listen to live music played throughout the streets, and take time to talk with the people who raise and work with this breed. The pace is informal and shared, reflecting a local day where people meet, eat, talk, and stay together. As a chef, Anne explains why Bazadaise beef is prized for its marbling and rarity — often compared locally to Wagyu — and how it continues to shape cooking, identity, and everyday life in Bazas.

This day trip offers access to a living community tradition that has been repeated for centuries. The Fête des Bœufs Gras is a day when an entire village comes together to honor the Bazadaise cattle and reaffirm ties between people, land, food — a relationship rooted in continuity and shared responsibility. What makes the difference is taking part alongside someone who belongs to this place. Anne lives in Bazas and joins the day as a member of the community. Through her, you are welcomed into conversations with farmers, merchants, and butchers whose daily lives revolve around this breed. Access comes naturally, through relationships and shared time, allowing you to experience the festival from within rather than from its edges. The experience culminates around the table, where the Bazadaise beef is tasted as part of a lunch built on carefully selected local products. Anne’s perspective as a chef brings depth to this moment, linking taste to the choices behind local food.

Anne Jordan, chef and guide with over thirteen years of experience, has lived in Bazas since the very moment she and her husband visited the village and decided to stay, a decade ago. She has cooked in private yachting and in Michelin restaurants in Paris before making her home in the French countryside. Her training as a chef and her work as a guide shape the way she leads you through the flavors of the region around Bordeaux. She cares about seasonal and local food and has met many of the people who grow and prepare it, approaching each encounter with genuine curiosity and interest in food as culture and conviviality.

Comfortable clothing layered for changing weather, as conditions may shift quickly between sun and rain.