Bonjour French Market Friends,
28 year old F
rench chef Paul Marcon and his team members celebrated the winning of the Bocuse d’Or trophy in Lyon, beating 24 other international teams. Thereby restoring the world’s most prestigious cooking trophy to the land where Master chef, Paul Bocuse, created the international competition in 1987. Paul Marcon and his team’s winning recipe was a pie made with venison braised in red wine with wild mushrooms and rich duck liver, followed by an apple dish flavoured with Chartreuse. It sounded amazingly tasty and deserved to win (Image credit Bocuse d’Or ref T Copertina). 
Another great event happened last week in France with the Haute Couture fashion houses displaying their collections for the Spring Summer 2025 season. Exquisite garments were paraded in front of the world’s most fashionable leaders. In order to be included in this most exclusive world, the Fashion Houses have to be admitted as Members of the Federation of Haute Couture and Fashion. One of the initiatives of the Federation is SPHERE, the development of emerging young brands to enable the growth of younger fashion designers and maintain Paris as the ultimate peak of the global fashion Industry (Image credit Chanel).
Back here in our beautiful city, Cape Town has again won a global award in the “Which?.co.uk ” UK consumer magazine, their members ranked CPT as their best city experience outside of Europe during 2024, particular high marks went to the quality of the food. Great publicity which will boost our tourism and support our local economy. In our lovely French cheese shop, our fridges are full of the best French r
egional cheeses, patisseries, wines and champagnes, I bet some of those travellers visited us.
As we head to Valentine’s Day on Friday, we are suggesting a Valentine’s Day Gift of Love, made with a Bottle of Rose champagne, a tin of Caviar, a pack of blinis, a Camembert from Normandie, a French country terrine, a fresh baguette and a heart shaped Valentine’s cake. We can also add some fresh oysters and fresh roses. This Valentine gift can be delivered within the Greater Cape Town area. Contact me for more details as this needs to be booked by Tuesday the 11th at the latest, as some stocks are limited. We can adapt the
gift to suit your requirements.
Remember to stock up on some of our delicious home-baked, French-made, pain au chocolat and croissants, as many clients have told me that their idea of a romantic start to Valentine’s Day is to have some of these freshly baked pastries served for their breakfast plus a glass or two of Champagne.
For a rose-col
oured Valentine’s cocktail I suggest, a Kir Royale. Mix a teaspoonful of Crème de Cassis (a blackcurrant liqueur from Dijon available in our shop) in a glass of Champagne this gives a beautiful rose colour. If you prefer a slightly sweeter cocktail try mixing some Red Vermouth with a glass of Crémant d’Alsace, to create a beautiful frothy red sp
arkling wine.
I enjoy a home-made flan made with fresh fruit; this week I am sharing a recipe for a Plum flan. This is easy and can be made quite quickly and baked before guests arrive. This plum flan can be served hot or cold and accompanied with a dollop of cream or ice cream. Pair with a glass of Armagnac, the single distilled brandy from the region of Armagnac south of Cognac. See recipe below.
I hope you have a restful weekend, watching the rugby or just relaxing on the beach.
Regards
Suzanne and The French Market Team