Le Printemps des Rillettes — Gastronomic Festival of Sarthe

Rillettes have had their festival since 2018

In 2018, several professional organizations, companies, consular chambers, and Sarthe communities joined forces to create the first festival entirely dedicated to rillettes, this emblematic product of Sarthe gastronomy. The first edition, organized from March 18 to 25, 2018, immediately met with considerable popular success with over 200 events spread throughout Sarthe.

Since then, Le Printemps des Rillettes has become an unmissable annual event that celebrates Sarthe's artisanal know-how and brings together producers, restaurateurs, merchants, and food lovers around this emblematic dish.

Connerré, historic cradle of rillettes

The festival is deeply rooted in the history of Connerré, a commune in Sarthe considered the cradle of French industrial rillettes. It is in the former Prunier factory in Connerré that the traditional recipe contests that open each edition take place. The Confrérie des Chevaliers des Rillettes sarthoises (Brotherhood of Knights of Sarthe Rillettes) ensures the quality and tradition of this local product.

A rich and festive program

Le Printemps des Rillettes is based on three pillars: daily events at charcutier artisans throughout Sarthe to taste rillettes in all their forms, flagship events (recipe contests, rillettes rally, university conferences, guided tours of Vieux Mans), and fun competitions like the now-famous Coupe du Monde du Trompe-Goule (Trompe-Goule World Cup), a spectacular and humorous contest that closes the festival in Place des Jacobins in Le Mans.

Reach beyond Sarthe

With over 40,000 visitors and one million press and internet contacts during the 2025 edition, Le Printemps des Rillettes has gained national recognition. The festival claims to be "everywhere in Sarthe and the World," reflecting the ambition of its organizers to make rillettes a gastronomic ambassador for Sarthe far beyond its borders.