On this Sunday in Paris, the most exciting match of the RWC2023 will take place at the Stade de France between 
France and South Africa for the quarter finals. Both teams are playing great rugby and no-one is wishing to guess who will win. The biggest challenge will be to decide on my preferred team as I support both sides, may the best team win. Come and watch this exciting event at the Alliance Francaise du Cap on Sunday evening at 9pm amidst a bunch of crazy French supporters. If you have thought about learning French or continuing to learn, the Alliance is holding an open day from 10am-4pm tomorrow, Saturday 14th. You can come in and chat to the teachers and Director Thierry to get more information. There is a special discount offered tomorrow for any new registrations for classes. 
In our city this weekend, we have the Cape Town Marathon taking place over 2 days and several different routes. Starting and finishing in Greenpoint via the Southern Suburbs, check out the road closures in advance if you are moving around the city. For any participants I suggest that you get some of our Crème de marron. This creamed chestnut paste is a great energy booster and is often used by French cyclists when they are racing around France.
Our stock of cheese is flying out the door, especially the Brie de Meaux, it is so runny it needs scraping up with a 
spoon, and it tastes amazing. The Beaufort d’Ete is a mountain cheese from the area of Beaufortrain in the Savoie Alpine region. It is one of the most sought after of the French mountain cheeses. Produced from milk of the Abondance and Tarentaise cows which graze on the alpine pastures during 
the summer. This gives a rich creaminess to their milk. The Beaufort has a more pungent aroma than the Comte produced in nearby Jura region. Beaufort has a distinctive shape with an indented curved back which is created by pressing the cheese wheel during its production by tightening a beechwood mould around the edge of the wheel of cheese.
In our meat range, we have a stock of grattons de porc, also known in English as Pork 
scratchings. These are made from pork skin sliced in small strips and deep fried. If you like crackling then this is a great snack for you to munch on.
The fresh truffle season has now moved to the Black Autumn truffle Uncinato. This beautiful truffle has a more developed aroma than the Summer truffle. It grows in Italy and Burgundy. One of the benefits of our website is that we receive orders from clients around the world. For example, this week I was contacted by a person in Brazil looking for fresh truffles, 
as she was flying in and spending a couple of nights on the coast in the Cape and wanted to prepare a dish for her friends. We duly ordered in the truffles for her from Italy, added French butter and Parmigiano Reggiano to the order and delivered to her, she was thrilled. Fresh truffles do not need a complicated recipe so I decided to share this easy and incredibly tasty dish with you. See recipe below. I recommend pairing with a glass of Pernand Vergelesses en Caradeux, an intensely flavoured Premier Cru chardonnay from Burgundy. Please contact me if you would like to order some fresh black Autumn truffles , size is about 15 – 20g price per gram is R39.
This week in our French patisserie range I will tell you about the history of the Success Praline cake. This 
beautiful patisserie is made with layers of meringue filled with praline butter cream, wrapped around with crunchy praline. The original recipe is attributed in the early 1900s to Patissier Evaniste Festal, a celebrated cake maker in Valence d’Agen in the Occitania region of France. It was served after Mass on Sundays. In 1952 Gaston Lenotre, one of the most celebrated French chefs, created the modern version with almond meringues. Our French baker studied at the Lenotre school in Paris and brought his talents here. We are thrilled to offer these amazing cakes to our clients.
Wishing all the Marathon runners a great race, especially Tanaka, one of my amazing student helpers, who is doing her first 42km marathon.
Have a great weekend.
Regards
Suzanne and The French Market Team