Hello French Market friends,
This weekend the City of Paris is hosting various Test events for the Olympic Games (JO), which will be hosted in Paris in 
2024. The Ladies Triathlon Test took place today. The swimming part started from a pontoon underneath the beautiful Pont (bridge) Alexander lll on the Seine. The contestants had to swim 1.5km, then race up 32 steps to their bikes and cycle for 40km through the heart of Paris along the most famous streets, followed by a 10km run, ending back at the Pont Alexandre III. (Image courtesy of Reuters) The route is spectacular and fulfils Paris’s dream of holding the Olympics in the heart of this beautiful city. Britain’s Beth Potter won the event today, just beating France’s champion Cassandre Beaugrand. Over the next three days the Men’s Triathlon, the Para Triathlon and the Mixed Triathlon will all take place.
Back here in Cape Town, just landed from Paris, we have received a new stock of cheese. We have replenished all our stocks. One of my favourites is Ossau Iraty. It is quite hard to get stock of this cheese, so I’m really glad we got some in. This medium firm textured sheep’s milk cheese comes from the Basque Region, close to the Spanish border. The cheese is made in the shape of a wheel and weighs on average 3kg. The dry crust keeps the cheese moist inside and retains the delicate flavo
ur of the sheep’s milk. The nearest cheese similar to this one is Manchego, which is made across the border in Spain.
We have received a new stock of the absolutely addictive Delice Triple cream. This cheese, which originated in Burgundy, is referred to as a triple cream as a much higher portion of cream is added to the mixture when creating the cheese. It has a mild flavour and a particularly rich textu
re.
Another really popular cheese that also arrived today is Vacherousse. Made in the Jura from milk obtained from grazing in the Alpine pastures. This cheese has a light orange coloured, tangy tasting, soft rind, and a soft creamy centre.
Morbier is back in stock today. Also from the Jura, this great French classic comes in 7 kg wheels. It has a dry crust and medium firm texture, there is a distinctive thin layer of vegetable ash running through the centre. This gives the cheese a unique flavour.
Other cheeses that are back in stock today include Brie de Meaux and pasteurised Brie Maubert. Lots of small Camembert, Pont L’Eveque, Munster, Reblochon, 16-month aged Comte, 6 months aged Tome de Savoie and plenty more.
We have fresh produce from local farms including violet artichokes. Our wood fired sourdough, fresh baguettes are working well, people find them very tempting as they walk past.
Some of my favourite food stems from the fusion of the Mediterranean cuisine around the south of France, particularly Nice, where the abundance of anchovies from the Med, garlic, ripe tomatoes, black olives, capers mixed with pasta from Italy make a wonderful meal. This dish is so simple to make, all you have to do is cook all the ingredients together, boil the pasta and combine everything and Voila! You have a dish that is redolent of all the great Mediterranean flavours. I recommend pairing this with a Rose from Gerard Bertrand, grown on the slopes Cotes des Roses, near Narbonne on the Mediterranean coast. See recipe below.
Hope you have a great weekend.
Regards
Suzanne and The French Market Team