North of Mons, the town of Lens is characterised by its peaceful countryside and green landscapes. There are many fields there and the farms cast a large, proud silhouette. These magnificent farmhouses hide products that might delight your taste buds!
What’s striking when you travel round the Lens countryside is the number and, more importantly, the size of the farms in the municipality. The villages of Bauffe, Cambron-Saint-Vincent and Montignies-lez-Lens display equally magnificent complexes. In the Inventory of Immovable Heritage of Wallonia, there are more than 80 farms of historical interest or heritage significance!
Consuming locally and in season
While some have been transformed into homes, others are still active. Some open their doors and have a direct point of sale. There’s nothing better for discovering a region and tasting its local products and specialities! Conscious that to keep alive this art of living you have to join forces, the producers and farmers of Lens have wasted no time in banding together and joining up to offer their productions to inhabitants and visitors. A mutually supportive buying association, Panier Lensois brings together around fifteen producers of the municipality. Each week they make up baskets of vegetables and fresh products for families who are committed to regularly ordering their supplies from the association. Panier Lensois operates on the basis of active citizenship. By joining the non-profit association, inhabitants have the assurance of eating locally and in season, and hence allowing producers to make a living from the commune.
The local produce in all its aspects
Are you passing through and want to taste the produce of Lens? There are two solutions: either you stop directly at a farm’s direct sales point or you visit Au Fil des Saisons, a fruit and vegetable store that operates locally. In their shop on rue du Thy at Lens, Anaïck and Frédéric offer seasonal produce grown in nearby fields or from producers in surrounding villages. In addition to fruit and vegetables, you will find juices, biscuits, jams, fresh products (yoghurt, butter, milk, etc.) but also chocolates by Ann Douteur, a Lombise chocolate maker, liquors and alcohols by Maison Scouflaire (Herchies-Jurbise) or even pasta and dishes cooked by Véro and Phil, producers in Graty (Silly). With Anaïck and Frédéric, a starter, main and dessert made in Lens (and its surroundings) is possible!
