Bonjour French Market Friends,
Yesterday the revered French war journalist, Resistance heroine, poet and cartoonist, Madeleine Rffaud, 
passed away peacefully at 100 years of age, in her Paris apartment. Madeleine worked for L’Humanite newspaper and reported on wars in Indo Chine, Algeria and Vietnam, where she covered the resistance movements. Madeleine was decorated by Charles de Gaulle with the Croix de Guerre for her work with the French Resistance movement and by the Vietnamese Ambassador for her crucial role supporting the independence of Vietnam, who described Madeleine as a model of dedication and selflessness. Madeleine’s advice was “don’t be a Martyr, be a Resister, Resisting is to love people”.
After the dust settled post the USA elections, one of the early reactions on French news, was the concern expressed by wine famers in Bordeaux to the incoming President’s potential increase of import Tariffs, particularly levies on French wine imported into USA. This is a major concern because the USA market is the largest purchaser of French wines and accounts for over 25% of their global sales, approximately USD2.5billion.
Here in Cape Town, we have kept our heads down and focussed on our preparation for the upcoming season, with orders placed for hundreds of kgs of French cheese to come in, during the next few weeks,
this includes seasonal specialities such as Mont D’Or and Delice with truffle filling. We have been chosen to supply the buffet for the Festival of the Nouveau Beaujolais on 22 November at the Alliance Francaise du Cap. This Event celebrates the release of the first wine made from the French harvest of 2024 which is raced around the world. Beaujolais is made solely with Gamay grapes and the new wine is fresh, fruity and low in tannins. Bookings for the event can be done on Quicket, bookings close on the 15th November.
This week I suggest that you try some of our authentic Camembert du Bocage from Normandie. The 
flavour of this cheese is reminiscent of the slight tang of the coastline pastures, where the deep pastures give the Normande cows a rich creamy milk. I also recommend our triple cream Delice from Burgundy, this subtle flavoured cheese is made with additional cream which gives it a richer texture. It can be served on a cheese board or
as a side dish to a dessert, similar to a crème fraiche. Another popular creamy cheese is the Vacherousse, made with milk from cows grazing in the Jura mountains. This cheese has a light orange crust with a slight tang and a gooey, subtle flavoured centre. In the firmer textured cheeses, I recommend the hand-crafted unpasteurised sheep’s milk Ossau Iraty from the Basque region in the Pyrenees. It even has the Basque emblem engraved in the crust of the cheese. This cheese is similar to Manchego but with a greater depth of flavour.
Try some of our Tomme de Savoie, this is a wheel of traditional alpine cheese, firm texture and subtle flavours made with raw milk cheese from the Savoie mountains. Ideal as a cheese to serve at breakfast time and to guests who prefer gentler flavours.
In the charcuterie meat section, we have received more stock of the saucisson sec style salami made for us locally. We have the coarse textured traditional pork terrine which I recommend pairing with some crunchy cornichons, these are the salty crisp small gherkins that are so popular in France. We also have the pure duck 
liver mousse from France. This rich textured mousse has a deep and rich flavour. Pair with some of our locally made fig preserve. This duck mousse is ideal to serve as an easy starter with fresh slices of crisp baguettes or as cocktail snack.
We have received a new stock of the Pinot Noir from Comte de Thun. This beautiful wine is produced on Comte Ferdinand’s wine estate at the Chateau des
Fraussailles. The vineyards are located on the Plateau Cordais, in the Gaillac 
region. Gaillac is one of the oldest French wine producing regions, dating back to Roman times. The designated Geographical region (IGP) is Cotes de Tarn and the closest city is Toulouse in the southwest of France.
This week I am sharing one of my favourite recipes from the French countryside, a 
coarse textured pork terrine made with Armagnac and Port. This is a dish that is served sliced with fresh baguettes and cornichons whenever you have an “Apero” (pre dinner drinks) in the countryside in France. It is easy to make but requires some advance planning as it needs to rest for 2 days before serving. See recipe below.
I hope you enjoy the Rugby on Sunday evening as the Bokke play Scotland at Murrayfield, come into our beautiful shop and stock up on some good French wine and plenty of tasty snacks to serve your friends. Unfortunately, we don’t stock any Haggis.
Regards
Suzanne and The French Market Team