Bonjour French Market Friends,
Tomorrow in Paris the Festival du Livre de Paris opens at the Grand Palais. This massive exhibition hall was created in 1897 for the World Fair and was designed as a major exhibition space to celebrate French Art and Culture. Located in the heart of Paris between the Champs Elysees and the Seine, the Grand Palais has been used in many ways over the last century. After a four-year renovation of its steel frame and glass dome costing nearly EUR500M, the Grand Palais reopened its magnificent halls in 2025. The Festival du Livre de Paris that starts tomorrow will host 1200 authors and 450 publishing houses. Bande Dessinee (comic strips, cartoon creators and characters) will have a special place at th
is important exhibition.
Back here in our beautiful city the massive cruise liner Queen Mary 2 stopped briefly in our port and gave her passengers a chance to visit our city. Hopefully they will return again for a longer stay.
This week I assisted at a wine and cheese pairing in Stellenbosch. The host chose the wines and selected 6 of our cheese
s to pair with his wines. Guests had to vote on which cheese paired best with each wine. It was interesting to see the difference in peoples’ tastes and proves that there is no perfect pairing, you chose what you enjoy best. The evening was rounded off with a magnificent Chateau d’Yquem Sauternes. This famous sweet Bordeaux wine is a blend of Semillon and Sauvignon blanc. The taste is rich and complex. This wine is considered to be one of the finest in the world, and yes, if you would like some, I can source this precious wine for you. Also, if you would like me to organise a private wine and cheese tasting for you and your friends please message me.
New stock in
this week includes the famous Appenzeller cheese from Switzerland. This mountain cheese has been made in the Appenzeller region of northern Switzerland the traditional way for centuries. The cheese is pressed in molds then washed with a brine regularly this creates the brown crust. The flavour intensifies as it ages. We have the silver label Appenzeller cheese in stock which has been aged for a minimum of 3 months, giving the cheese a medium fruity flavour. You can serve it on a cheese board or grated in many hot recipes. Come in and try some.
In stock this week we have a range of goat’s milk cheese. We have our regular buche de chevre which is a gentle flavoured goat’s cheese shaped in a log, with a white crust and crumbly centre. We have small 100gr buchette, soft textured, plain goat’s milk cheese log, and the small log dusted with ash. We have the St Maure style goat’s log which is a drier version dusted with ash. We have the dry 60gr crottin de chevre which has a stronger taste and the little 40gr fresh crottin.
For the cooler weather we have tins of duck confit, duck cassoulet and duck fat from France. The difference with our French duck products to local products is the French ducks have a richer fat content due to the cooler climate in France. The duck fat is the best type to use for roasting potatoes as it can heat to a higher temperature than other fats and oils, giving potatoes a crisper crust.
In our alcohol range we still have a couple of bottles left of Absinthe by the Distilleries et Domaines de Provence. This unique green coloured alcohol is derived from a distillation of herbs including wormwood. Created in Neuchatel in the 1700s it became famous in Paris in the 1800s by writers and artists referring to it as th
e Green Fairy. Absinthe should be served well diluted with water due to its high alcohol content.
For this week’s recipe I am sharing a recipe for a Gratin (grated cheese bake) vegetable bake made with Appenzeller cheese. This is warm filling dish for a cooler Autumn Day, serve it with a braaied steak or on its own as a vegetarian dish. Pair with a glass of La Petite Sirene a cabernet sauvignon blend from Bordeaux region made by the technical team of Chateau Giscours.
I wish a great weekend surrounded by friends and family relaxing over a table laden with great cheese and wine.
Regards
Suzanne and The French Market Team