Bonjour French Market Friends,
This week in France, the church bells stay silent across the country from Good Friday until Saturday night, following the tradition that the bells have “flown” to Rome to be blessed by the Pope. They ring out again in the morning of Easter Sunday, after they “fly” back to their belfries. As they fly back on Sat
urday night, they leave gifts for the children to find in their gardens.
Also making beautiful sounds this week in S Africa, was Andrea Bocelli on his 30th Anniversary Tour, who performed in Pretoria and Cape Town to sold out stadiums. This was the largest classical music outdoor event to take place in Cape Town.
Here in our little shop, we are all set up for the Easter weekend, our fridges are bursting at the seams with loads of French cheese and other specialities. Our freezers are full of frozen French croissants and pain au chocolats for your Easter breakfasts.
In our cheese range we have lots of individual cheeses which a
re ideal for your Easter entertaining. New in stock we have the small boxes of triple cream Delice with a layer of truffle. The St Marcellin, a small unpasteurised cow milk cheese with a distinctive flavour. We have Crottins from Chavignol, a small hard ball of goat’s milk cheese with lots of flavour. We have Buche de chevre, the white log shaped goat’s cheese with a crumbly centre and soft outside crust. We have tubs of Epoisses from Burgundy, small Munsters from Alsace, Comte aged 18 months, Morbier, Tomme de Savoie, lots of Camembert in different size boxes, Pont l’Eveque, strong Livarot, lots of gooey Brie from Meaux, tart flavoured Cantal Entre Deux, Ossau Iraty sheep’s milk cheese from the Basque region. There is creamy Vacherousse and Delice triple cream and mild flavoured St Paulin. In the blue cheeses we have Fourme d’Ambert, Bleu d Auvergne, Gorgonzola and lots of Stilton. There is a cheese to please everyone’s palate!
In our meat section we have a range of terrines and mousses, including freshly sliced duck liver mousse. 
Plus, we have frozen Confit de canard which are the fat thighs of duck packed in their fat. Theses make an amazing meal, plus you can cook the potatoes in the duck fat to get the best ever crisp, roast potatoes.
We have a new range of pickles and preserves including creamed horseradish and Bearnaise sauce to go with roast beef, and English mint sauce made with mint leaves grown in Norfolk to go with your Easter lamb. Also from England, we have some original Lea and Perrins Worcestershire sauce which is great for making sauces and Bloody Marys.
For your Easter breakfasts there is no better way than waking up to the smell of freshly baked croissants, so we have stocked up with lots of frozen croissants and pain au chocolat from France. We also have a range of sweet biscuits and cakes, pig’s ears, madeleines, canneles, stroopwafels from Holland, Speculaas from Belgium, and a new stock of butter shortbread from Scotland.
In our fresh produce range the Evita figs, from the Figary, season is nearly over, so get some while we still have stock, and we have real fresh farm eggs from the farm near Worcester, which are selling fast for Easter egg hunts.
Our master French baker has prepared some beautiful individual cakes for you to enjoy over Easter, they will be in the shop tomorrow, so please pre-order if you want to be sure of getting some. And, we have some delicious macaroons which are always a lovely gift.
In our
alcohol range, we have a range of Champagne including the ultimate Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne in an impressive gift box. We have wines from all the great French wine regions including Alsace, Burgundy, Bordeaux, The Loire, The Rhone, and Provence. We also have Cognac, Calvados, Vermouths, Crème de Cassis, Port, Sherry, and Gin. There is something to please every palate.
For my recipe this week I picked a lamb dish for Easter. The lamb i
s slow cooked in red wine and herbs so it can be cooking while the family hunts for Easter Eggs. In this easy recipe the shank of lamb is cooked with red wine, garlic, olives, fresh lemon, and rosemary. I realised that the wine to accompany the dish would have to 
match the strong flavour of the dish, so I selected a Chateauneuf-du-Pape AOC wine from Domaine Andre Mathieu, Le Centenaire. The Popes used to own the village of Chateauneuf hence its name.
Just a reminder that we are open every day over the long weekend. We will close at 5pm on Easter Friday, 5pm on Saturday, at 2pm on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. We can also deliver around the Cape Town area. We wish you a Joyeuses Pâques, Happy Easter, and hope you have a relaxing long weekend.
Regards
Suzanne and The French Market Team