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Imagine France as a vast tabletop, with each region offering a different dish of gourmet delights. Now imagine you can roam across this tabletop, tasting at your own leisure. But you can do more than imagine; you can live it. All you need is a motorhome.

"It’s a well known fact that motorhome sales are increasing every year", says the Motorhome Information Service (MIS), "and we think a lot of this success is down to the vast range of trips and escapes these vehicles can provide. Motorhome-owners love being able to take off whenever they like for a long weekend in the UK, but they also enjoy the excitement of preparing for longer, more adventurous tours, such as a gourmet’s dream trip across France."

"The beauty of the motorhome for a tour like this is that no matter whether it is a luxury  coachbuilt or the latest campervan, the sheer versatility takes some beating.  It’s the easiest of vehicles to travel in - car like to drive and your home from home when you stop .  You can choose to cook your gourmet meal on board or you can eat out, no doubt parked on a campsite in easy walking distance from some fantastic restaurant.  And when it’s time to go home, the on-board fridge can be packed with delicacies while there’s more than room for some of the local wine, almost certainly one of France’s best kept vini-cultural secrets; so your trip carries on long afterwards," adds MIS.

So where exactly do you start? France is a big place full of a bewildering array of big flavours, each as tempting as the next. But you might want to start in a logical geographical way in Nord Pas de Calais and Picardy. Forget the supermarkets of Calais itself, and venture further in for hearty, meaty Flemish-influenced food, such as carbonnade - beef cooked in beer with onions and sizzling spices - or hochepot, which is a rich bubbling stew of beef, pork, mutton and oxtail. For vegetarians, the cheeses tend to be strong and fruity, such as the supple and tangy Maroilles, which is often mixed with herbs and pepper and moulded into cones known as boulettes d'Avesnes.

For lighter fare, head west to Normandy where the trademark apples and dairy products influence many traditional dishes, such as filet mignon de porc normande, pork tenderloin cooked with apples and onions in cider. For fish-lovers, moules à la Normande are served with a cream and white wine sauce, while sole normande is poached in cider and cream and served with shrimps. And of course, whatever you eat, you’d be foolish not to end the meal with a glass of calvados.

A more Franco-German taste can be found in Alsace where choucroute and sausages can be seen on many menus, albeit served in a lighter more delicate way than the cuisine across the border. Look out for oie à l'Alsacienne - roasted goose stuffed with sausage and served with sauerkraut - as well as flammekauche, which is a quiche made with bacon, onions, cream cheese and cream that easily equals its cousin from Lorraine. The wines here, underrated for a long time because of the shaky popularity of Riesling, are in general crisp and wonderfully dry, while for those of you who prefer beer, there’s a vast range of excellent brews to choose from.

From Alsace, why not head to the Dordogne, where the rustic feel of the region belies a surprisingly sophisticated cuisine, rich in truffles and foie gras (for those of you who approve of such a thing). For a serious taste of the area, try cassoulet périgourdin, which is a lip-smackingly tasty stew of mutton, haricot beans, garlic sausage and goose neck stuffed with foie gras. Further afield, you’ll discover the rich goat’s cheeses of Provence, the vin jaune of Jura - a powerful golden wine with a nutty bouquet that goes perfectly with the local dish of chicken and morels in a creamy sauce - the fiery and spicy dishes of the Basque region, the plump, shiny aubergines of the Languedoc and fresh-caught grilled trout from the Pyrenees.

"When it comes to food, there’s so much choice and variety in France and yet, so often, people are restricted to just one region. But not in a motorhome, which has no peer in terms of leisurely roaming," says the Motorhome Information Service. "The vehicles have become so car-like to drive, while inside the ‘home’ gets cleverer, more stylish and comfortable all the time. It’s the ultimate package to tour with, wherever you go and whatever your taste."