The Audomarois marshes, a vegetable sanctuary!
The escute is the marshes’ traditional long, flat boat that will get kids excited even before they step off dry land. “Until the 1970s, the only way for children to get to school was on an escute,” explains Rémy Colin, the boat maker. Here, even the postman does his rounds by boat. That gives you an idea of the size of this immense semi-aquatic labyrinth! And since they are the only way to get around and work, the bâcove and smaller escute are still used to navigate up and down the waterways to this day. “We are five generations of gardeners,” says Rémy, who continues to transport his marsh-grown cauliflower harvests by boat, as do his colleagues. And although Saint-Omer is the French capital of summer cauliflower, you’ll also find other locally grown vegetables: Tilques carrots, earthy chicory, Leblond leeks and gros vert de Laon artichokes.
