Bonjour French Market Friends,
Snow fell in Paris this week and covered the City with a white blanket (Image courtesy of Instagram SFavier). This did not deter the hundreds of farmers who descended on Paris and blocked off the Etoile at the top of the Champs Elysees, in protest against the proposed Mercosur free trade agreement between the EU bloc and 4 South American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Para
guay, Uruguay). Farmers believe this will open the door to cheaper imports which threatens their livelihood. They have expressed themselves strongly to the President and their fellow countrymen, with tractors rumbling through the elegant Champs Elysees. With France being a large agricultural country, the farmers response is important. President Macron has assured the farmers that their message has been heard and that France will vote against this agreement (Image courtesy Instagram).
Back here in Cape Town our Christmas visitors are starting to fly back to all t
heir chilly countries. This has been a bumper season for our city, with more than 500 000 visitors flying in. A big Thank you to all our amazing customers who supported us during the Season, we sold kilos of cheese, tins of caviar, lots of fresh truffles and loads of panettones. We only have a few Panettones left, which we are now offering at a reduced price. We also have some Baci chocolate left in stock which we have discounted. We have also discounted our maturer Camemberts and Pont l’Eveques as there is still plenty of stock.
Looking forward, we have a new stock of cheese that has just landed at the airport – unfortunately the original permits managed to get lost enroute, so we will have to have a new set couriered in from Paris, before we are allowed to unpack our 200kgs of cheese. Hopefully by early next week we will have our new stock of Vacherousse, Delice and Comte back on our shelves
.
If you are still out in the countryside enjoying your holidays, we have lots of interesting duck and pork pates, rillettes and terrines from France which are great for casual entertaining. I enjoy sharing these with friends for an aperitif accompanied by slices of fresh baguette an
d some crunchy, salty cornichons. The difference between these types is: Rillettes are shredded meat packed in fat; Pate or Mousse is usually a smooth spread made with liver; and a Terrine is usually a coarse textured meat spread which will have some garlic and herbs added. These come in 78gr picnic sized tins with pop up lids and 180gr jars.
We have just topped our alcohol stocks with some beautiful wines and spirits, Sancerre from Comte Lafond, Pouilly Fume from Baron Ladoucette, Chenin from Marc Bredif, Puligny Montrachet from Louis Latour, Armagnac from Domaine Tariquet and Calvados from Comte Louis de Lauriston. These spirits are as elegant and impressive as their illustrious producers. This week’s recipe is an easy, refreshing dessert recipe for lunchtime on a hot summer’s day. It does not require much skill and the iced orange juice with the hint of Grand Marnier is most refreshing. Pair with a glass of Grand Marnier and some macarons.
I wish you a peaceful weekend and look forward to seeing you again in the shop.
Regards
Suzanne and The French Market Team