Bonjour French Market Friends,
Last weekend saw the re-opening of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris after the catastrophic fire 5 years ago. The magnificent re-
opening ceremony of this most loved of all the French monuments, brought together over 50 Heads of State from across the world. President Macron’s government had funded and assisted the rebuilding of the Cathedral after the devastating fire. In his welcoming speech Macron said, “The bells of Notre Dame are ringing again”. After a five year silence, the bells rang out across Paris. During the ceremony firefighters, rescuers and builders involved in saving people during the fire and in the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral took part in a parade.
Here in Cape Town, on the 6th of December, we celebrated the Festival of St Nicolas, often identified as the “ori
ginal Father Christmas” with an Alsatian meal of traditional Choucroute and other Alsatian specialities. St Nicholas joined us, dressed up in all the traditional red robes and red hat and handed out gifts to the children. This was organised by the Alsatian society, an informal social group, which celebrates the specialities from the region of Alsace. If you would like to find out more, please message me and I will put you in touch with Rene Vogel the organiser who is from Alsace.
We have now reached our Peak season, and everyone is coming in for gifts and food to share with their friends. My main cheese shipment arrived safely, and we have plenty of speciality cheeses that I brought in for the Festive season.
We have the Pouligny St Pierre, these are unique pyramid shaped 
cheeses made from raw goat’s milk in the town of the same name, in the Loire valley. The cheese has a white wrinkly soft crust which dries out slowly and turns grey as it ages. Pair this with some of our beautiful Pouilly Fume or Sancerre wine from the same region. We have some St Maure; these are small goats’ cheese in the shape of a log which are dusted in ash.
We have the mini triple cream delice layered with truffle, these come in individual 100g boxes and make a really special gift for someone who loves truffles. We received some Livarot, which is a
speciality washed rind cheese with distinctive bands of reeds wrapped around it. Also known as the captain’s cap as the shape and patterns resemble a French Captain’s cap. We have received some St Marcellin, these small 80g cheeses are rich and creamy and come in individual dishes. We have received the Mont D’Or, 
this is a 350g circular cheese with a soft surface. These unique cheeses are wrapped around with pine bark, this gives them a unique flavour. Many people like to warm the Mont D’Or up with the addition of some wine or slices of garlic. Our Mont D’Or comes with a dinky bottle of Vin d’Arbois, the local regional wine, so that you can make a genuine fondue from the region of the Mont D’Or.
In addition to these special cheeses, we do have a wide range of traditional unpasteurised French cheeses, from soft and creamy to firm and aged, to serve at your Christmas Feasts, do ask me if you would like us to make up a platter for you.
We have a range of preserves such as whole green figs in syrup, confits made with Fig and Thyme, Pear 
and ginger, Tomato and chilli and many more to accompany the cheeses. We have plenty of crackers to serve with the cheese as well as our daily fresh baked sour dough baguettes and the frozen bake-at-home baguettes.
Our traditional Panettone Christmas cakes are flying out the door as are the Baci chocolates. If you are looking for interesting presents for Foodie lovers, we have a range of French mustards, vinegars, herbs spices, terrines and pates which make great Xmas gifts.
We also have a wide range of French wines and spirits to pair with your cheese or to give as gifts to your friends. A new wine we 
brought in this week is the Rose L’Exuberance made with 100% Merlot grapes. Grown and produced on the estate of Clos Contenac in St Emilion, Bordeaux France. This wine has a unique depth of flavour and roundness. I can well recommend it.
We have ordered Buche de Noel from our French baker. We will
have two styles in the shop from the 20th of December so please contact me if you would like more information or if you wish to order one.
We have a small stock of fresh black autumn truffles in the shop this week and will bring in a small quantity for Xmas. These are limited so please book one if you would like to get one.
This week’s recipe is a traditional English Christmas Pudding recipe from my really old family cookery book, I love the aroma 
when making the pudding, it is steeped as much in history as it is steeped in brandy. My favourite accompaniments are clotted Devonshire cream and Brandy butter and a glass of my favourite Louis Roederer Crystal Champagne.
I hope you have a great weekend. I look forward to seeing you in the shop again soon.
Regards