Bonjour French Market Friends,
This week the French football team continued to notch up victories at the Fifa 
World Cup by beating Denmark. The French nation will have their eyes glued on their team’s next game on Saturday 4 July against Paraguay, right in the middle of the USA’s 250th independence anniversary. The Washington celebrations are likely to be out played by the Swift-Kelce nuptials at Madison Gardens. In London, Wimbledon is in full swing, where all the stars of the tennis world are competing. Back home in CPT, Tuesday 30th was relatively peaceful except for the traffic chaos caused by a fuel tanker accidentally overturning and blocking one of the major highway connections.
Out of the blue I heard about a new market starting tomorrow at the Glen country club Padel section on the first Saturday of the month. The venue is
located above Maidens Cove, Clifton, with breathtaking views of the sea and the mountains, it’s an incredible backdrop. Of course, I got hold of the organisers and asked for a table, it’s like going back 20 years to when I took a table to the very first market the Old Biscuit Mill held. Back t
hen I thought I would do a table for a couple of weeks then go back to my real work. As you know its 20 years down the line and my business keeps growing. Pop into the Glen Padel Club tomorrow, if you are in the area, the market will be from 8-12. I have a small stand and I am serving Mimosa made with French Champagne and fresh orange juice, (or Champagne on its own) some pain au chocolats and some othe
r treats plus a little French cheese.
Our new stock of cheese arrived safely and is already flying around the country. All our favourites are back in stock, plus the amazing, churned salt crystal butter and unsalted butter from Normandie. The salt crystals come from the Bay of Guerande where the salt is dried out in pans on the edge of the sea. This makes the salt crystals much harder than regular salt so there is a lovely crunchiness in the butter.
Ou
r newest cheese is our 30-month aged Comte. Created by 5th generation cheesemakers Marcel Petite and aged in his massive cellars in the Fort St Antoine on the borders of the Jura, this is the first time we have imported it. The taste is incredible, more intense than our 16 month aged Comte. There is more crunchiness, due to the longer aging which creates more crystallisation. This is a really unique taste experience.
Also, in the Comte range we received our Comte butter biscuits. These are shaped like little shortbreads and have a great depth of flavour. Serve them to your friends with cocktails or hide them away and eat them all by yourself (which is what I am tempted to do).
The salt caramel biscuits from Brittany landed safely and are also flying off the shelves. You can r
eally taste the difference when biscuits are made with real butter. It’s like our frozen French croissants and pain au chocolat from France, they are made with real butter and the flavour is exceptional.
The fresh black winter truffles grown in S Africa season continues for another couple of weeks. We keep a couple in stock in our shop, or you can
pre-order with us.
For my recipe this week I am sharing a savoury tart which is ideal for a winter warming dish. This tart combines leeks, lardons (little chunks of bacon) and slices of Raclette. It is easy to make, warm and filling. I suggest pair with a Pinot Blanc from Alsace.
I wish all our American friends a very Happy 4th of July and Good Luck to the French football team who are playing against Paraguay on the 4th.
Have a great weekend filled with lots of delicious French cheese and treats.
Regards
Suzanne and The French Market Team