Dear French Market friends
Happy New Year to you, I hope it is a year filled with memorable meals shared with best friends and families.
This morning at the Elysees Palace in Paris, President Macron welcomed bakers representing the whole industry, to partake in the annual tradition of sharing the Galette des Rois. This year, this special Kings’ cake, which is served to celebrate the Epiphany (usually on 6 January), was made by Jean-Yves Bouillier, director of the Moulin de la Croix Nivert bakery in Paris. Jean-Yves started making the cake at 7pm last night and only finished in the early hours this morning. The cake is made with puff pastry and filled with frangipane and baker’s cream. The cake then baked slowly for 2 hours before being transported to the Elysees Palace in time for the cutting of the cake by the President. The ingredients for the cake were all made in the bakery, the big difference to the normal Galette is the size, being 1.15m wide, as it needed to feed over 150 guests.
During his address, the President congratulated the French Baking industry on the recognition of the French Baguette by UNESCO as an “Intangible cultural heritage.” The President expressed his solidarity with this important industry over their concerns of the rising cost of electricity, which is directly impacting their businesses, after all you cannot bake without an oven. The French government has put in place plans to assist small businesses, such as bakeries, to assist with the impact on their cash flow, caused by the sharp increase in energy prices. (Images courtesy Le Parisien)
Whilst the tradition of families sharing the Galette des Rois started in France several centuries ago with a hidden Feve (large, dried bean) inside. The cake is thought to be a descendant of earlier pre-Christian traditions with the celebration of the rising sun after the Winter Solstice as the cake is shaped in a golden circle, with circular lines drawn across the surface, making it look like a golden sun.
French tradition requires the youngest member of a family to decide which slice of cake to be allocated to particular family members. The person with the Feve is then crowned as King and can dictate their rules for the day. The other difference of the Elysee Galette des Rois is that there is no lucky charm hidden inside, for the President to win. Apparently, it is felt to be inappropriate for the French President to potentially win the Feve and be declared King for the Day!
In our little shop we are catching up after an incredibly busy Festive season, my Team worked really hard to ensure that everyone received all their treats on time. With our Online shop up and running just in time for Christmas, we even received orders from families overseas to deliver gifts of cheese and wine to their family members here in South Africa. We still have plenty of cheese for you to enjoy.
We have loads of deliciously gooey Epoisses. This is a washed rind cheese from Burgundy that is finely sprayed with brandy over a period of several weeks. The crust slowly turns orange, and the centre becomes completely gooey. The aroma is pungent, however the flavour is not as intense as the aroma. We are offering a 25% special discount on Epoisses while stocks last.
We have plenty of mature, raw milk mountain cheese including Beaufort d’Ete, Comte and Morbier from the Jura, St Nectaire fermier, Emmental des Vosges, Tomme de Savoie. Also, from Savoie we have Reblochon which has a dry crust and soft centre. Plenty of creamy brie and Vacherousse. In the blue cheeses we have Bleu d Auvergne, Fourme d Ambert and Gorgonzola. In our goat’s cheese range, we have buche de chevre and a light goat gouda from Holland.
In our fresh sliced terrine range this week, we have a coarse textured duck and green peppercorn and the soft creamy duck liver mousse. Plus lots of jars of terrines, rillettes and pates which are ideal for summer picnics.
Surprisingly, we only have a couple of chocolate pandoro and pistachio pandoro cakes left from our massive Christmas cake range. These are now discounted by 25% so come in and grab one while stocks last.
This week’s recipe is a Galette des Rois made with puff pastry and frangipane filling. I suggest you use a readymade butter puff pastry. Remember to hide the Feve (lucky charm) in the cake after you make it and have a crown ready, to crown the King or Queen who wins the Feve. See recipe below. Definitely pair this with a glass of French champagne by Tribaut Schloesser.
Wishing you a sunny and relaxed weekend,
Regards
Suzanne and The French Market Team