Bonjour French Market Friends,
With all the beautiful food that we have been enjoying over these traditional festive days in December, it brings home to 
me the reason why we invite family and friends around our table to celebrate special occasions. When one is deeply tied up in work like I am, where so much time is spent inside my laptop planning the stocks and communicating with clients and suppliers; sharing a meal that has taken days to plan, prepare and serve, gives so much pleasure. The relief of getting the food served at the right temperature, and not burnt, the fun of sharing good food and wine, the laughter over the silly jokes in Christmas crackers and just sitting around a table and reconnec
ting with family and friends is precious.
My best (most scary) experience this season was flambéing (setting alight) my Christmas pudding. I have lots of aged Cognac, so I placed the warm pudding on an exquisite Noritake serving dish in the centre of my table. I liberally poured a glass of Cognac over my pudding and set it alight. The flames shot up and carried on burning for rather a long time, I seriously thought the table would catch alight, but thankfully the Noritake platter withstood the heat and the flames subsided. The flambeed pudding tasted amazing, with the added layer of taste from the cognac. In the event that you do wish to flambe a dessert, use about a tot 25ml. The alcohol can be any type of 40% proof or higher such as Cognac, Armagnac, Calvados, Kirsch. It should be at room temperature. Take care no one is close (especially children) when you light the spirits, use a long match, do not have the dish near an overhead oven ventilator. We do have Cognac available if you want to try doing some “flambe” recipes, the Frapin 12
70. This smooth cognac has been aged for at least 10 years which gives it a beautiful, rounded texture and complex depth of flavour. The price is R1,655.
After a record-breaking week in the shop, and online, where we sold kilos of French cheese and speciality products such as rare white Italian truffles, caviar from Italy and Madagascar, we still have a wide array of cheese for you to serve for your New Year’s Eve dinners. From the creamy and rich hand-crafted Bries, pungent Epoisses from Burgundy, to the aged Comte from the Franche Comte region, we have a cheese flavour and texture to suit every taste. We sold hundreds of panettones this season, there are a just a few panettones and Baci calendars left and we are offering these at 25% discount.
There are still a couple of chocolate logs Buches de Noel, available in the shop if you are looking for the best dessert ever.
If you have fri
ends and family out here for the holidays and you are having picnics, we have a range of individual cheeses in boxes such as Camembert and Pont l’Eveque, plus French meat terrines in jars and small tins which make for easy entertaining. Ideal for picnics, you just pop a couple in a basket with some fresh baguettes, and you have a genuine French picnic.
New Year’s Eve is the next celebration, and we have a range of Champagnes to entice
you to celebrate in style. The land (terroir) where the grapes grow, the varietal and the different vintages, the storage, all make a difference in the experience of the end product. Each champagne house has its secret dosage recipe which adds a uniqueness to the flavour. This dosage is added at the moment of the disgorgement (when the bottle is opened and the lees that has accumulated in the bottle is removed carefully). At this point the liquid is replaced with a tiny quantity of sugar and a top up of special reserve wine. These are the secret recipes that make the famous Champagnes stand out. The quantity of sugar added will be indicated on the lable ie “Brut” is a maximum dose of 12gr sugar.
We have
Champagnes from the most famous Champagne houses such as Louis Roederer, to small houses such as Tribaut Schloesser, a 4th generation family champagne producer run by Sébastien & Valentin Tribaut. The Tribaut Schloesser Brut Origine NV is made with grapes grown in 8 vineyards in the Marne Valley and on the Rheims Mountain regions of Champagne. The blend is 50% Pinot Meunier, 30% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir. The champagne is blended with 20% of previous vintages then disgorged. The resulting champagne is brut (8g sugar per litre) the taste is fresh and fruity with aromas of pear and mirabelle. It is a good Champagne for casual picnics or celebration meals. The price is R695. The Tribaut Rose NV has notes of citrus and red fruits, price is R795.
Another champagne that I enjoy is the Blanc de Blanc Le Mesnil sur Oger. This is from Grand Cru vineyards located in the “Cotes des blancs” in the heart of the Chardonnay area of Champagne. Made solely from chardonnay grapes, this champagne has fine, lingering bubbles with a delicate aroma of white flowers and taste of citrus. The price is R950.00. Remember that you can order at any time on our website www.frenchmarket.co.za/shop/ from anywhere in RSA and we will deliver to you.
Planning for New Year, the French celebrate Epiphany on 6 Jan with a King’s cake 
(Galette des Rois). These golden, sun shaped cakes, have curved lines drawn across the top. This style of pastry dates back to ancient times and would have been linked to the seasonal phase of the sun. It was subsequently adopted by the Christians as a symbol of Epiphany of the 3 kings. The pastries are made with flaky pastry, some are made with an almond paste filling, some have a chocolate filling as well. We will have some Galettes des Rois made by Cedric, the best French pâtissier in town, available in the shop from early Jan, please message me if you would like to place an order.
Today’s recipe is a Galette des Rois (The Kings’ cake) from one of the great French chef’s Raymond Blanc. Raymond decided to become a chef when he looked through the window of the Michelin starred restaurant, Le Palais de la Biere, and saw a waiter flambéing a crepe Suzette, he was so intrigued that he made the decision to learn to be a chef at that moment. What I so admire about Raymond is that he worked his way up from washing dishes to being one of the most recognised chefs in the world. Inheriting his mother’s love of cooking good food, made with fresh produce grown in the surrounding French countryside, he took his passion and created a world class restaurant Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, which has been recognised with a 2 Micheling star for years.
I hope you enjoy your week and look forward to helping you find your favourite treats in our beautiful French shop.
Regards
Suzanne and The French Market Team