Dear French Market friends,
Last weekend’s rugby clash in Paris, between the Bokke and hosts Les Bleus, rates as one of the best rugby games ever. Watching at the Alliance Francaise, where we had a wild crowd of French supporters and their South African buddies cheering crazily for both sides. It was the most exciting match and so sad that one side had to lose, but I loved seeing the Bokke win. Looking forward to tonight’s clash against England. When I have watched previous tournaments in France where any country plays against England, the French usually support the opponents, memories of the hereditary enemy across La Manche still live on.
Back here in Cape Town the new French Consul Generae Madame Sophie Bel hosted members of the French community and associated businesses to a welcome Cocktail. The event was held on the top floor of a building on Bree Street with the stunning harbour and mountain views as a backdrop. Madame la Consul Générale spoke about her background serving France and how this, her first consular position was so important to her, to be of service to her fellow compatriots and to extend the ties between France and our local community. Madame La Consul Generale introduced her team that support her work at the Consulate. She is utterly charming and sincere.
Our cheeses are selling well with the Triple cream delice and Vacherousse contending as most sought after of our stock. I think it is the decadent rich creaminess that makes them so popular, the Vacherousse has a little more tanginess in the flavour.
In our Farm to Table range we are continuing to get stock of the super jumbo free range chickens’ eggs. Many have double yolks and the yolk is a beautiful golden colour. They are so large, one client jokingly asked if they were mini ostrich eggs. With the current shortage of mass produced eggs, we are selling out almost every day.
We managed to get a small stock of fresh Porcini yesterday, they look stunning and selling fast. We still have fresh artichokes coming in but soon the season will end as the summer heats up.
I am always looking for special or unusual products. This week I heard that a very small stock of wines from the Jura had just arrived in the country. One particular wine from Lucien Aviet et Fils, really interested me as only 18 bottles came in because production is very limited. The vineyard is only 5 hectares. This Reserve du Caveau Savignan is from the Arbois area, in the northern part of the Jura. The grape varietal is Savagnin (not Sauvignon). This white wine style is oxidative and sherry like. Once the grapes have been pressed, the juice is matured with a covering of yeast. It is then stored in massive 225 litre barrels and aged for seven years before being bottled. The bottle has the distinctive yellow seal. Similar to a junior Vin Jaune. I was able to get 3 bottles, if you are interested in trying this unique wine, please contact me. The price is R1,299.
This week in our French patisserie range we have a new individual cake, the Fraisier (strawberry cake). This visually stunning cake has a sponge base with a mousseline butter cream, fresh strawberries, and an almond paste. Its such a pretty cake and tastes so good.
Now that summer seems to have finally arrived, here at the tip of Africa, we look for ideas for light fresh salads to serve in the middle of the day. I greatly enjoy combining ingredients from a similar region and climate to ours being the South of France around the Mediterranean Sea. Olives, capers, tuna, olive oil and tomatoes are full of flavour and redolent of sunshine and the sea. In this really simple recipe that emanates from my favourite cookbook, Good French Cooking by Mapie, the Comtesse de Toulouse Lautrec, all you need to create this tasty dish is to hard boil eggs and assemble the ingredients. The addition of Cognac gives a richness to the taste of the filling and lifts it out of the ordinary. You can substitute local Cape brandy but I do recommend using the real Cognac Frapin. I suggest pairing this salad with a Gerard Bertrand Rose from the Mediterranean coast. This light rosé complements the various flavours in the salad and is available at our French Market shop in Cape Town.
I wish you a great weekend and good luck to the Bokke tonight.
Regards
Suzanne and The French Market Team