Torrée (outdoor barbecue party)

Atorréeis not a propertorréewithout asaucisson neuchâtelois. On a sunny day, a fire is lit at the edge of a forest. The sausage is wrapped in cabbage leaves, butcher paper, newspaper or aluminium foil and placed directly on the burning embers to cook. It is then served with potatoes, salad, bread as well as other treats including a glass of white wine and a spoonful of mustard to bring out all the delicious flavours of the meat. This custom which is exclusive to Neuchâtel has become a fun day out with family and friends, but originally served a purely utilitarian function. On a particular day every year local farmers would set about clearing away trees and other vegetation that encroached on their land. They would bring a sausage with them, which they would cook on a huge fire made from the trees and bushes they had felled. Although thetorréeis practised nowadays purely for fun and enjoyment, respect for the natural environment is still a concern for those involved, with every effort taken to collect and dispose of their rubbish appropriately. Forest rangers recommend that the fire should be lit in a spot far from young trees and the pit surrounded by stones. This much-loved tradition has become synonymous with the region, so much so that every year the town of Le Locle hosts a gianttorréefor new arrivals, and by doing so reminds its new residents of the strong sense of identity and belonging that this practice invokes.

Knowledge concerning nature