Our Products
French Cheeses
French cheeses range from the gentlest, creamiest Brie to an overpowering Epoisses. Cheese is, without a doubt, the greatest export of France. The beautiful fat cows graze in deep pastures ranging from the salty shores on the coast of Normandie, across the vast Massif Centrale and up to the magnificent French Alps.
The milk they produce is one of the reasons why these cheeses cannot be replicated because it derives a unique flavour from the grass where they eat; therefore it is truly a product of its unique grazing area. The French Market offers you cheeses from across the different regions of France and there is one to suite every palate.
Meat and Pâté
In France there is a deep appreciation of all meat products, generically described under the name “Charcuterie”. This includes all meat products from different animals. No part of an animal is wasted and chefs have created dishes over the centuries using local ingredients which transform the dish into a regional speciality.
For example traditional dishes from Gascony will often include the local brandy, Armagnac, and dishes from Perigord will often include truffles. When you walk through a typical market in France you will see the tables loaded with Charcurterie such as Pates, Terrines, Rillettes, Rosette de Lyon, Saucisson sec and Confit de canard.
Caviar and Seafood
Caviar is one of the great gourmet treasures. Originally sourced from the roe of the wild sturgeon (Acipenser) in the Caspian Sea, it was served as a delicacy at the table of the Tsars. Nowadays global Treaties have been entered into to protect the species, and the sturgeon fish are now farmed in various freshwater lakes and rivers around the world. The rarity of the product is linked to the age that the sturgeon takes to reach maturity. The caviar roe is named after the different sturgeon species.
We stock a range of fish products including White anchovies from Cantabria in Italy and from other areas of the Mediterranean; hand sliced tuna fillets from Italy; sardines, canned tuna and mackerel rillettes from Brittany.
Truffles
One of the stars of a gourmet dinner is, without a doubt, a dish made with truffles. This incredibly aromatic tuber is recorded as early as the Babylonian times, four thousand years ago. Over the millennia the truffle has popped up in history and started to get a strong following in the Renaissance period at the Italian court, with Caterina de’ Medici. Truffles continued to be admired and studied. Finally in the 1920s Giacomo Morra, a famous chef in Alba, named the regional white truffle as “the Truffle from Alba” and created a great international awareness of this unique regional produce.
Truffles can be found most of the year in Italy and France, but the ones with the best aromas are the ones that grow in the damper, cooler months. The distinctive aroma is not dissimilar to garlic, but not the same. It is susceptible to changing weather and can be out of season for a few weeks if the weather is too warm or dry.
French Wine, Champagne & Spirits
France has a climate that is ideal for growing grapes, this led to the cultivation of vineyards in many regions, dating back to pre-Roman times. Recent research has proved that the earliest stone wine press was making wine in 425 B.C. by the Gauls, near Montpellier in the South of France. This was probably due to the influence of Phoenician traders who sailed across the Mediterranean Sea. With the arrival of the Romans, wine production travelled up the Rhone then slowly spread across France. In the southern Rhone town of Gigondas, the Chateau St Cosme still has some wine cellars that were built by a Roman who settled in this area.
The French have excelled as masters of blending and combined this with barrels made from the local oak growing in the Limousin forests, which enhanced the flavours. The skills of the French craft can be enjoyed in all their great wines. France is deservedly recognised as a global leader in wine production.
Frozen Pastries, Pasta & Dairy
Imagine sitting here at the other end of the world from Paris, and eating a freshy baked croissant, that is as good as one you would find at a little café in Paris. During the Pandemic many clients assured us that the ability to eat freshly baked French croissants and pain au chocolat each morning at home, kept their spirits up during the worst of the Lock Down.
The reason why the pastries are so good is because they are made in France with real French butter and fine quality ingredients. We bring croissants and baguettes into Cape Town uncooked, and frozen. All you have to do to cook them, is to place them in the oven or an air fryer, and they turn out perfectly every time, you can taste the difference.
Have them as a treat on the weekend, take them away on holiday or just make freshy baked baguettes for your children’s lunch box.
Dry Goods
At the French Market we stock a wide range of dry goods imported from France and several other countries. Using these unique and authentic products enables you to recreate the original textures and flavours of traditional gourmet dishes.
Our range includes dry beans and grains, and biscuits and cakes from across Europe. Our aromatic range of mustards, oils and vinegars remains ever popular. And our range of savoury and sweet preserves are perfect for a summer French picnic lunch.
Fresh Local Produce
The French Market sources fresh produce from farms in the region. We stock produce that is growing in the season.
White asparagus grows for about 2 weeks only in September.
Globe artichokes grow in the Voor Paardeberg in Spring time from about September to end of October. As soon as the weather starts to warm up the artichokes disappear.