Bonjour French Market Friends,
This week we are preparing for Mothers Day which is next Sunday 12th of May. With many of our yo
ung people working overseas, the question is how does one send treats home to RSA for Mother to enjoy. The easy answer nowadays is to order online and have them delivered to your Mothers’ door. The good news is that we do offer this service around the country, it takes 24 hours for a delivery to reach all the major cities in ZA. Orders can be done online on our website, or sent via email to info@frenchmarket,co.za or Whatsapp +27 83 300 6725. If your family is overseas then you can gently hint that they contact me to organise a special treat for delivery to you for your Mothers Day.
Our large cheese stock has landed from Paris and we are waiting for Customs to release, so we should 
have loads of French cheese here for this weekend. One Mother’s Day gift is a unique French cheese board with slices of cheese which we can custom slice according to your mother’s preference, such as soft and gentle flavours, hard and strong flavours, or smelly and gooey. To the board we can add jars of French terrines, Italian salted crackers, some preserves and a bottle of Rose Champagne. We can add a bunch of fresh flowers to the order (if delivery is within the greater Cape Town suburbs area). Message me if you want to get more details.
Another favourite gift for Mothers Day is a beautiful cake, such as this exquisitely decorated cheesecake with fresh flowers. We do stock individual patisseries and our French baker can make larger cakes but this requires several days notice, so please remember to pre-order.
Alternatively we can organise a bottle of French champagne and some flo
wers, these always makes one feel special and much loved. We have champagnes from various houses including smaller Houses such as the Tribaut Schloesse brut and Rose champagnes, the Grand Crus from Le Mesnil and the top of the range unbelievably beautiful Cristal by Louis Roederer. They are all listed on our website if you wish to view the prices. And the easiest gift is a voucher, which we can email to you and your Mother can come in and create her own treat.
New cheese in stock today is a semi-firm textured Goat’s cheese made by Grand’Or in Holland. This Gouda style cheese has been made with pasteurised goat’s milk. The cheese has a pale white colour and a mild flavour. It can be sliced or cut in small blocks and added to a fresh green salad, or pair with honey or an onion chutney. It is ideal for people who prefer not to consume cow’s milk products.
Another cheese we have received from Holland is the famous Edam red ball. This is a pasteurised cow’s milk cheese that was named after the Dutch town of Edam where the cheese market has taken place since the 1500s. The cheeses were traditionally carried into the market on flat boats. Edam cheese is wrapped in red wax because this cheese was designed to last during the long sailing ship voyages around the world. The cheese texture is medium firm and has a pleasant, subtle flavour.
Porcinis, or Cepes as they are called in France, are one of my favourite mushrooms with their wide 
caps, spongy under cap and thick stems. They have a deep flavour and can be found in many French and Italian countryside recipes where large forests abound. In South Africa they grow in Autumn (April May). Our current stock comes from the SAPI pine forests near Kokstad, where the porcinis grow in the clean sandy soil underneath the trees.
When cooking the porcinis the hats are usually sliced lengthways and
the stalks horizontally as they are thicker. Start by frying the stalks first, then the sliced caps last as they cook much faster. This week’s recipe is a simple to make dish of thick slices of Porcinis wrapped with crispy fried pancetta, some slices of garlic and fresh Rosemary. These flavoursome mouthfuls can be served as a starter before the main meal or as a light main course. I suggest pairing them with a Louis Latour Pinot Noir from the Ardeche.
Have a great weekend and look forward to seeing you in our shop some time soon.
Regards,
Suzanne and The French Market Team