Bonjour Dear French Market Friends,
On Wednesday this week, President Macron announced the appointment of France’s youngest ever Prime Minister. Aged 34, Gabriel Attal has climbed quickly through the ranks of French politics. He moves up from his current position as Education Minister. His youthful enthusiasm, combative spirit, (not to mention the good looks), and fast rise through the ranks, is seen as an action by Macron to appeal to the younger voters to bolster up his party.
Back here in Cape Town most Capetonians have returned to work, h
owever the wonderful long summer evenings means that we, and all our international visitors, can still enjoy our summer for several weeks. Picnics are very much part of our summer entertainment, with outdoor concerts and relaxed family outdoor lunches. We can create cheese picnic platter for you.
Ideal cheeses to take to picnics are the ones that are prepacked in individual 
boxes. Our Camembert from Normandie comes in a light wood 150g box, a 250g box and a 1 kg wheel. This unique and authentic PDO Camembert le Bocage from the dairy of St Hilaire de Briouze, is made with locally produced. raw milk from the surrounding farms of the dairy. The pastures are very deep which gives the cows’ milk the richness needed to produce this Camembert.
I can also recommend the Pont l’Eveque as a good cheese for a picnic, it comes in a square light wood box. Also made in Normandie, named after the town of “Pont l’Eveque” (the bridge of the Bishop), this cheese resembles the shape of a “pave” a square cobblestone. The cheese is a wash-rind style, with a light orange crust and soft creamy centre. It has a more pungent aroma than Camembert.
We have received new stock of wild pink salmon roe from norhern Pacific. Used regularly on sushi, these large pink roe are most attractive to decorate picnic salads. Returning on Friday this week, are capers in salt from Italy. These have been unobtainable for several weeks so we are thrilled to get them back in stock. The flavour of capers in salt, as com
pared to capers in brine, is more intense and flowery.
Another returning stock on Friday is white anchovy fillets with garlic and parsley, also known as Boquerones, these are really popular for adding flavour to many dishes.
For salad dressings we have received stock of French Hazelnut Oil, this has an intense roasted nutty flavour. With a high Vitamin E content, it is considered very 
healthy and can also be used as a beauty product for one’s hair as it is not as oily as olive oil. Hazelnut il is not normally heated but used at its natural temperature. I found a simple salad recipe with red cabbage, hazelnuts and hazelnut oil which is good for a summer picnic. See Recipe below. I suggest pairing with a glass of our Petite Sirene Rouge, a Cabernet Sauvignon blend from Bordeaux.
Hope you have a great week as you continue to enjoy our Cape Sunshine.
Regards
Suzanne and The French Market Team