Lille delicious cheesy, beery dish actually originated in Wales.
Welsh Rarebit
In Wales, there is a famous dish called Welsh Rarebit. Created over 300 years ago, Welsh Rarebit is a dish served on toasted bread. But, you’d never be able to pick it up and eat it like a sandwich or bruschetta. That’s because topping the toast is a mass of cheese sauce made with cheddar, beer, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and butter. Hardly hand food.
Now, you may be wondering why a dish with no rabbit is called “Rarebit,” a word that looks and sounds a lot like rabbit.
Well, it seems that the English looked down on the Welsh and called it Welsh Rarebit to make fun of them, saying that only people from Wales would think cheese on toast would be rabbit. A more charitable explanation is that the Welsh really like cheese and would prefer it to rabbit. Still another explanation is that the Welsh actually named the dish to make fun of themselves.
Le Welsh
Legend has it that Welsh Rarebit migrated to France when a Welsh soldier brought it from England during a siege in 1544. Or, it may have been the miners coming from Wales to northern France in the 18th and 19th centuries who popularized the dish.
Whatever the source, Welsh Rarebit, locally called Le Welsh, was embraced in France, especially in the city of Lille. I mean, cheese, beer, bread; that’s right up the gastronomic alley of Lille.
Yes, beer is the drink of choice in Lille; not wine. That’s because Lille is in the Flanders region of France, not far from Belgium. The people of Flanders in Belgium love beer and so do the French Flanders people!
Many restaurants in Lille have Le Welsh on the menu where it is often served with ham and topped with an egg. My favorite place to get Le Welsh is La Petite Table, a cozy little bistro that has a couple versions on the menu including a delicious vegetarian Le Welsh made with mushrooms.
And, it appears the people of Wales approve of the French version. Back in 2016, Wales played Belgium in the quarterfinals of the Euro Cup. In what many fans call the greatest victory in Welsh football (soccer) history, Wales defeated Belgium 3-1 to advance to the semi-finals.
That match was held in the Stade Pierre-Mauroy stadium near Lille. Thousands of fans from Wales descended on the city where they sampled Le Welsh. Many agreed that the version they had in Lille was very good, noting, however, that the cheese was much stronger than they were used to back in Wales, where it’s made with the relatively mild cheddar cheese. But, in Lille, Le Welsh is topped with Maroilles, a cheese known as “old stinker” for its strong aroma.
Getting to Lille
There is a small airport in Lille (LIL), but it has few flights and many of them are seasonal. It’s much easier to get to Lille by train.
Lille is right on the high speed Eurostar train and line that goes between London and Brussels. You can get to Lille from Paris on the train in as little as an hour and from Brussels in as little as a half-hour. From London, the Eurostar takes about 90 minutes.
About the Author
Brent Petersen is the Editor-in-Chief of Destination Eat Drink. He currently resides in Setubal, Portugal. Brent has written the novel Truffle Hunt (Eckhartz Press) and the short story collection That Bird. He’s also written dozens of foodie travel guides to cities around the world on Destination Eat Drink, including an in-depth eating and drinking guide to Portugal. Brent’s podcast, also called Destination Eat Drink, is available on all major podcasting platforms.
