Bonjour French Market Friends,
Across France the Christmas trees have lit up the main town squares, creating beautiful settings for local markets. In Strasbourg, the Sapin de Noel (Christmas tree) is over 30 metres high and towers over the traditional Christmas market. Here in in Cape Town our Christmas lights were switched on by our energetic Mayor, in the city centre with a Festival of music that rocked the thousands of families that came to enjoy the celebration.
If you have any friends in Swakopmund, please tell them that I have now launched our French cheese and a selection of our French wines at the Model store, in the heart of this beautiful coastal town. Breathtakingly beautiful with the surrounding vast dunes, this is the place where Namibians go for their Xmas break. The beaches in the central bay area are clean and well maintained. I stayed at the Strand hotel (which is part of the same OL group that owns the Model stores) and is located
right on the beachfront.
Apart from the sea views, friendly service and high-quality accommodation, the hotel has a great seafood restaurant. I had some fresh Namibian oysters which were the best I have tasted. For Capetonians this is such an easy place to get to as it is only a 2-hour flight, via Walvis Bay airport. If you cannot get to Swakop, do remember that we can supply fresh oysters, either closed or shucked, to you for your festive season meals. We need 24 hours minimum advanced orders.
We ha
ve topped up our cheese stock in Cape Town with hundreds of kilos of cheese from Paris. We have finally received raw milk Emmental from the Fromagerie Narbief-Bizot in the Franche Comte region, located in the Jura mountains. This dairy is famous for its artisanal mountain cheeses. This Emmental is made by combining the raw milk curds with rennet followed by heating the curds, after which the cheese is pressed, then allowed to mature for at least 3 months. During this time the holes appear in the cheese as it ripens, these
swell during the maturation. The irregular hole shapes are the proof of artisanal production. When you taste this artisanal Emmental, your mouth is filled with flavour, it is beautiful.
Another speciality cheese we have brought in for the Festive season is small 100gr boxes of Delice triple cream cheese with a layer of truffle, if you love truffles then this is a perfect addition to your Festive cheese platters.
We are now in full swing as everyone prepare for their special meals and parties to celebrate Christmas with the families and friends. The most traditional French dessert is the Buche de Noel. This is a log shaped chocolate cake with different fillings and décor depending on the chef. We are having 3 different styles o
f Buche made by our French pâtissier chef Cedric for our shop. The size is 12cm and serves 5 to 6 slices (larger sizes can be pre-ordered). The Buches will be available from Friday 19 December in our shop. The three styles are:
“Three Chocolates Buche” which is made with a combination of white chocolate, milk chocolate and dark chocolate, dacquoise (layers of hazelnut meringue and whipped butter cream) and chocolate crisp.
“The Piemontoise Buche” which is made with hazelnut Dacquoise, chocolate caramel mousse and hazelnut Bavaroise. “The Praline Success Buche” which is made with praline butter cream, pralinette and Almond Success base.
Our Christmas specialities are all flying out of the shop. We have a few Baci advent calendars left, opening a new door in the calendar to get a delicious Baci choc each morning is a perfect way to start the day. We have various sizes of Panettones. The little 100g panettone in fruit or chocolate are great stocking fillers. The 500gr and 750gr panettones make great gifts when you are invited over to friends and you wish to give them a special Xmas treat.
We have lots of chestnut products in stock for your Xmas recipes, unsweetened puree, sweetened puree and whole cooked chestnuts. Chestnuts make a good alternative to flour. This week I am sharing a recipe for a gluten free Buche de Noel made with chestnut puree, butter and chocolate, see recipe below.
Serve with a glass of Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge, a fine Cognac brandy flavoured with Bigarade oranges. In 1827 Jean-Baptiste Lapostolle distilled these oranges in his fruit liqueur distillery near Paris. His granddaughter Julia married Louis-Alexandre Marnier. They had the original idea of combining the distillation of Bigarade oranges with Cognac. Nowadays this beautiful liqueur is created in the 13th century Chateau of Bourg Charente in the heart of the Cognac region, where the oranges are distilled and the cognacs are blended in the cellars. You can find some Grand Marnier in our beautiful little shop in Gardens Centre, in the heart of Cape Town.
I hope you are enjoying a relaxing weekend and watched the pod of whales passing our shores off Seapoint (yesterday evening), blowing the occasional spout of water to the delight of locals and tourists.
Regards
Suzanne and The French Market Team