Bonjour French Market Friends,
This week the Tennis world attention centres on the French Open at the Roland Garros Stadium in 
Paris. Here the global tennis stars are competing until 9th of June. The increased courts playing area now seats 75,000 spectators a day. Latest addition has been the retractable white pleated roof cover of the Suzanne-Lenglen Court. Suzanne was the iconic French tennis player from the 1920s, whose pleated skirt and shorts shocked the stuffy old world. New addition to the tournament this year is a competition for wheelchair bound players. Tennis legendary player Rafael Nadal, holder of 14 Roland Garos titles, may be playing for the final time.
Also in Paris last Sunday, the Committee of the Champs Elysees organised the largest “pique-nique” ever held, down the middle of the Champs Elysees (the most beautiful street in Paris). This was to encourage Parisiens back onto the Champs, which has been taken over by stores representing luxury brands for 
tourists. The wide boulevard leading up to the Arc de Triomphe was covered with a 216m long, red and white check “tablecloth”. Food was provided by a group of 8 restaurants serving two sittings of picnic style baskets. Over 270,000 people applied for the free 4000 tickets. The weather was a perfect sunny day and the guests enjoyed a beautiful event.
Back here in our beautiful country, our focus this week was on the General Elections that took place yesterday. The Elections appear to have gone off fairly well, despite long delays, everyone who wanted to, got to vote. Now we wait for results which will take a few days to finalise.
In our shop this week we have received lots more cheese. One new product is packs of ready-grated cheese Fondue Savoyarde. Containing raw milk alpine cheese from the Savoyarde region, including Abondance which is very rare here. To prepare, all you do is rub the inside of your casserole pot with raw garlic, warm up a cup of white wine, once simmering you slowly add the cheese and 
stir in until it has melted. Ideally stir the cheese in a figure of eight. Serve this with chunks of our crisp baguette.
Also, from the Alps this week we have received a new stock of Beaufort d’Ete. This cheese is one of the most famous of the French Alpine cheeses, with its dense texture, concave shaped back and stunning flavour. From t
he Pyrenees we have received a new stock of Ossau Iraty, the firm textured sheep’s milk cheese with the dry outside and dense texture. The nutty flavour is subtle and pairs well with a walnut bread and a Cabernet Franc such as our Comthe de Thun Cabane 2014.
From Bordeaux we have received a new stock of the Ile de Guerande salt crystal butter from Bordeaux. It has a smooth, dense texture and excellent flavour.
Apart from cheese we have a whole range of French terrines and other treats including freshly baked 
madeleines. These light weight, bite sized cakes, have a hint of lemon zest and are a perfect pairing for a cup of tea or coffee. In addition, we have the richer, chocolate coated French patisseries, crisply baked palmiers, crunchy cheese straws and gratton (pork scratchings) which are crisp fried pork crackling.
My recipe for this week is a simple family supper dish called Parmentier d’Agneau. This dish is based on the well-known
Hachis Parmentier (cottage pie). In this recipe lamb mince replaces beef mince and Epoisses cheese is added to the mashed potato, plus a side sauce of garlic. This is a good dish to serve in winter, it smells great and is warm and filling. For a wine pairing I would recommend a glass of La Maze Merlot made by Comte de Thun in Gaillac.
I hope you enjoy watching Roland Garros and have a relaxing weekend full of delicious French cheese.
Regards,
Suzanne and The French Market Team