Dear French Market friends,
2023 marks the 200th anniversary of the creation of the game of rugby by William Webb Ellis. Tomorrow is the opening match in Paris of the Rugby World Cup 2023, at the magnificent Stade de France. Hosts Les Bleus of France and the All Blacks of New Zealand will kick off an exciting 7 weeks of rugby. There are twenty participating teams of 33 players selected to play. 48 matches will be played in 10 cities across France with 10 of the matches being played at the 80,000-seater Stade de
France in Paris. Two and a half million tickets are expected to be sold over this period.
After the recent South African defeat of New Zealand, the two favourite teams to win the cup look like South Africa and France, luckily, they were not drawn in the same pool. The 26-year-
old captain of France, Antoine Dupont, is recognised as one of the top rugby players in the world. Playing scrumhalf for Toulouse Club, he has great leadership and playing skills plus a charming personality which comes out in his interviews. He talks about his family and how they support him in his amazing career and about the importance of his friends and fellow team members. On Monday when President Macron met the team on their training field, he told them he was behind the team all the way, and that France was very proud of them.
It will certainly be an exciting time over the next few weeks, and we are looking forward to seeing lots of fans coming to watch the games on the big screen at the Alliance
Francaise du Cap at 155 Loop street. Tomorrow evening the Opening ceremony and match will be screened and on Sunday afternoon the RSA vs Scotland match will be screened. We will be serving French wine from Bordeaux as well, made by the Technical team of the Chateau Giscours, Petite Sirene rouge is a Cab Sauv Merlot blend and the Petite Sirene blanc is a Sauvignon Blanc Semillon blend, to make you feel you are in France.
Here in our little cheese shop, we are getting requests for French cheese platters for clients who 
are watching the matches in their homes with their friends, and want to have a taste of France, while they enjoy the games. We have plenty of cheese from all the different regions of France in stock. We have raw milk Brie de Meaux and small Camemberts from Normandy; creamy Vacherousse and firm textured, 16 months aged Comte from the Jura. Tomme and Reblochon from 
the Savoie. Firm textured sheep’s milk Ossau Iraty from the Basque region; Buche de chevre from the Loire; Fourme d’Ambert and Bleu from the Auvergne to mention just a few.
We have plenty of French wines to accompany the cheeses from Burgundy, Bordeaux, the Loire, the Rhone, and Provence. There is a wine to suit every cheese and every palate. Plus, we have champagne to celebrate the winners.
Th
e new range of pastries were well received last weekend, my biggest challenge is stopping myself from eating all the stock, each one I “tested” tasted amazing. Patisseries this week include more beautiful cakes and pastries. There are individual crunchy chocolate cakes, Paris Brest choux pastry filled with cream, Macaroons flavoured with blueberries, coffee, chocolate, and vanilla; Madeleines; Financiers sponge cakes; chocolate and vanilla eclairs.
For this week’s recipe I chose some fresh pears which I poached in red wine and spices, then added pieces of chocolate to make a rich sauce to coat the pears. The spices and wine gave a beautiful flavour to the pears and the chocolate created a lovely sauce. The dish has a strong spicy flavour and is really easy to make. Serve with a bowl of fresh whipped cream.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the start of the Rugby World Cup 2023.
Regards
Suzanne and The French Market Team