FrenchMarketNews 16Jan2024-CapeTown TopCity-LaVendee race-Winter Truffles-Epoisses-Vacherousse-FrenchMarketRecipe 2025 03Croissant«Hamburger»Auvergnat

Published on: 20 January 2025

Bonjour French Market Friends,

No surprises that this week, Time Out readers have voted Cape Town as top city in the world for 2025, that’s why we all live here and you can even find French cheese.

News from France this week is that the toughest, single-handed, non-stop, non-assisted global yacht race, The Vendee Globe, was won by Frenchman Charlie Dalon in 64 days in his yacht the Macif Sante Prevoyance. He sailed over 27 000 kilometres from the port of Les Sables d’Olonne in the department of La Vendee, on the West Coast of France. The race route took him South, down the Atlantic Ocean, rounding our beautiful Cape of Good Hope. Then East through to the huge challenges of strong winds in the heart of the Indian Ocean, sailing south of Australia and South America, where he turned North back up the Atlantic to France, to the home port of Les Sables D’Olonne. He was met by a flotilla of boats, fireworks and a rapturous crowd. It was an outstanding achievement. One note is that there is no “Epicerie Fine” (a fine food shop like the French Market) enroute, so the sailors’ meals are carefully planned as they must last for at least 3 months. As one sailor Alan Roura said, after several weeks at sea, “a small piece of cheese can bring immense pleasure”. (Image courtesy Instagram Charlie Dalin).

Luckily for our clients, we can offer you kilos of French cheese to enjoy whenever you feel like it. If  you like really smelly cheese, this week I recommend our Epoisses which has been washed in the Marc (brandy) from Burgundy. This cheese is creamy in the centre with an orange crust and really intense aroma. If you enjoy creamy but mild flavoured then try for some of our triple cream Delice also from Burgundy. If you enjoy creamy with a slight aroma then try some of our Vacherousse from the Jura, this cheese also has an orange crust but the aroma is mild and the centre is deliciously soft.

A favourite, firm textured cheese from the Jura is Comte. This cheese is ripened for a minimum of 16 months in the Fort St Antoine. The aging gives a distinctive depth of character to the cheese. Our Beaufort D’Ete is a firm textured cheese from the Franche Comte region produced from milk by cows that graze on summer grass from alpine pastures which creates a rich milk. The Beaufort is aged for a minimum of 10 months. For a tarter cheese like a cheddar, I recommend that you try the Cantal entre Deux from the Cantal mountains in the Auvergne, in the heart of France. This cheese is one of the ancient cheeses of France and has been made since pre-Roman times in this region. The cheese has a dry crust with a distinctive aroma, and a dense yellow centre. The cheese is aged for about 8 months. Also from the Auvergne is St Nectaire which is a semi washed rind cheese with a medium texture and a pungent smell. See this week’s recipe below, which includes some St Nectaire.

The current fresh truffle in season is the Black winter truffle from La Norcia in Italy. This beautiful truffle has an intense aroma. Price is R54 per gramme. Let me know if you wish to order some as we  bring it in on a pre-order basis only. Also in our truffle range we have various truffle flavoured products from Italy and France including Truffle flavoured butter, oil, salt, cream and sauces.

In our meat product range we have the delicious creamy duck liver mousse from St Orens in the south West of France. This duck mousse can be sliced and served on a fresh slice of baguette or as a starter with a light salad.

In our biscuits and cakes range we have received fresh stock of lemon flavoured Madeleines, palmiers (little Pigs ears) and cheese straws. We will have new stock of canneles on Friday. We also have new Don Jimena biscuits from Spain in an attractive box, which make a great gift for tea time. These are a tasty assortment of individually wrapped almond cakes, puff pastries, mini crumble cakes, and chocolate crumble cakes.

In preparation for Valentine’s day on the 14th of February we have ordered some individual heart shaped cakes. Please let me know if you wish to reserve one. They will be freshly baked and ready for collection on the Friday 14th.

For my recipe this week I have decided to share a simple recipe which can also be cooked on a braai- it is a “hamburger” topped with some melted St Nectaire cheese from the Auvergne. The hamburger is served in one of our bake-at-home butter croissants that are made in France. I suggest pair this with a glass of Petite Sirene Cabernet Sauvignon from Bordeaux.

I hope you have a great weekend and celebrate our beautiful city’s achievement.
Regards

Suzanne and The French Market Team

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