Here’s how to give your table real Christmas wow factor with a French cheese wreath…

French cheese wreath – fromage and flair

This is not a recipe as such, it is more of an assembly job, but it is fun, festive and a little frivolous. It’s easy to do and looks fabulous in the centre of a buffet table. All you need is a large platter, I used an antique cake platter. Grab a few fresh bay leaves, a baguette, some dried cranberries (called Craisins in the USA and Canada), a few freshly cracked walnuts and your favourite cheese. I used a round of Boursin cheese in the picure above.

Pop a nice little butter knife next to the cheese, so people can then help themselves to the cheese wreath. It’s simple, quick and fun, and the bay leaves impart a subtle taste to the baguette slices and also act as a room scenter. Genius!

Of course this idea will also work well with other cheeses. I recomment a mild cheese for a pre-dinner cheese platter. Leave the cheeses with attitude to be enjoyed with a glass of claret towards the end of the meal.

You can also use cheese spread, cheese cubes (made with hard cheese) and a whole young Camembert, though, not too aged and runny. Leave the oozy Camembert to have a bit of fun with the other big flavoured cheeses later.

This is guaranteed to make everyone be wowed by your artistry at the table!

Karen Booth-Burns is a freelance food and travel writer, recipe developer and food stylist with a passion for local, seasonal ingredients. She has an award winning blog and runs a seasonal cookery school in SW France.  www.lavenderandlovage.com

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The hauts de France in the far north is not known for its haut cuisine but for foodies who love fresh fish, tasty steak frites, robust stews and stinky cheeses that bite back, fabulous bread and cakes, savoury tarts and sugary treats, there are plenty of gastronomic opportunities. There are several Michelin star restaurants in the area, many excellent places to visit which combine great food with great views and if you love food, you’ll be in good company here.

One of the best places to explore the cuisine of the north is along and around the Opal Coast, so called thanks to the incredible quality of light, loved by painters over the centuries from Turner to Renoir who holidayed there.

5 great restaurants for lunch on the Opal Coast

1. Le Channel, Calais
The chef is great (I’ve never had seafood quite as succulent as this place) producing fabulous dishes with seasonal, local produce and the onsite patisserie chef’s desserts are quite irresistible. The staff are really friendly and speak English and the view across the Channel is terrific. (Read our review)

2. Belle Epoque Hesdin
Great food, very pretty inside and outside but best of all – this has got to be one of the friendliest restaurants in the region, about 40 minutes from the Opal Coast but worth the journey….

3. La Dune Aux Loups, Le Touquet
Lovely terrace, cool, charming interior, kids welcome and great food, it’s not a huge menu but all food is fresh, seasonal and home cooked – lovely!

4. Terrasse Hardelot

When the sun shines and you sit here with your chilled wine it feels just like you’re in the south of France, great ambience, very French.

5. Le Chatillon Boulogne

For a full English breakfast (opens 04.00) or oysters (!) or a typical and authentic fresh fish food lunch/dinner, this place is famous with the locals (book in advance, it’s always packed)

Or – make your own lunch: Pack a basket with a red and white check tablecloth, head to one of the many street markets in the area and grab a fresh baguette, cheese, beer, wine, ham and find a beach or a glorious country setting and while away an hour or two just chilling out… Here’s how to make a typically French picnic anywhere.

5 Great restaurants for dinner on the Opal Coast

1. Le Pavillon at the Westminster Hotel
For a Michelin star meal and a touch of utter luxury and class, this incredible art deco time machine hotel is unbeatable. Stars and celebrities have run amok here from Noel Coward and Winston Churchill to Sean Connery. The food in Le Pavillon is  fantastic, there’s no other word for it, it’s worth every centime, this isn’t just food, it’s awesome food. (Read our review of Le Pavillon)

2. Le Retour des Flobards Audresselles
Great fresh seafood, fabulous setting. Walk the meal off afterwards on the fabulous beach with its jurassic style rock pools.

3. Hotel du Parc, Hardelot
A lovely airy dining room in this pretty hotel in a tranquil setting. The food is great and it’s so relaxing, and just a few minutes from the long, golden beach.

4. Atlantic Wimereux
Gorgeous views over the beach, watch the sunset with an aperitif and a delicious dinner for a perfect night. There are two restaurants in this grand art deco hotel, upstairs is gastronomique, downstairs is bistronomique and both are outstanding.

5. L’Estaminet de l’Andouiller, Douriez
For quirky charm, ex butcher Michel Vasseur’s restaurant is quaint and authentic. There is a spit roast pig in the restaurant first and third Friday of the month with music, and this place has a lovely, old time French atmosphere. It’s about 40 minutes from the coast. (Read our review)

The post 10 Fab Places To Eat Out On The Opal Coast appeared first on The Good Life France.

France is the land of baguettes, croissants, cakes and pastries, it’s certainly not known for its gluten free approach to gastronomy. Indeed it is as difficult to find a doctor who will test for intolerance as it is to find a restaurant that caters to those who need to avoid gluten. But that is all changing and Provencal chef Nadia Sammut is a big part of that change.

Nadia, who is a celiac sufferer herself, teaches cooking classes in the kitchens of a restaurant-hotel called La Fenière close to Lourmarin in the Vaucluse department of Provence. She has a passion for creating tasty dishes leaving out elements that are the main culprits for those who suffer food issues.  She is the go to guide for coaching other chefs on what gluten-free means and  is also re-writing the rule book on French recipes (leaving out gluten).She does though admit with a wry smile, that a gluten-free croissant might be “a way off yet”.

Nadia’s tireless campaigning to bring gluten issues out into the public domain in France has resulted in her working with the government. She has been advising on why it’s important to ensure consumers know what they’re buying. And, she’s very happy with the result since it is anticipated that a new law will come into force ensuring that food products must list fourteen of the most common ingredients that cause problems – including gluten.

Gluten Free Cookery Courses

Watching Nadia work in the kitchen of La Fenière  and enjoying a lesson in which you learn to make delicious and very French dishes sans gluten is an inspiring experience. Her enthusiasm is infectious and no matter what level you’re at when it comes to cooking (and believe me, I’m on the bottom rung of the ladder, my French friends call me “Flop Chef Not Top Chef”), she somehow manages to coax her pupils to produce something outstanding.

“It’s not about gluten-free” she insists “it’s about taste. Just because you’re gluten intolerant doesn’t mean you can’t have scrumptious food”.  Naturally the restaurant menu offers lots of gluten-free choices.

Nadia sources products from around the world as well as from local markets and companies like Bastide du Laval, an organic olive farm just down the road. Here French couple Carine and Roland Coupat make the most exquisite olive oil.  After 15 years spent in Los Angeles in the tourism business, they returned to France and bought an old vineyard only to find the vines were past their sell-by date. Undaunted, they planted 4000 olive trees and have won awards for their olive oil which you can buy in the farm shop. While you’re there, take a walk around their orchard and admire the trees which in the summer months vibrate to an orchestra of cicadas, the ever present, ever noisy southern French cricket-like insects.

La Fenière

There’s not much that beats arriving somewhere and being offered a glass of cherry juice from just picked cherries in the enchanting garden. Well actually, yes there is! Being show to your hotel room which is exquisitely decorated and looks over a cool pool! Or perhaps it’s the utterly delicious food that’s served here, or the magnificent gardens. And, if you take a cookery lesson with Nadia or her mother Samut, a Michelin star chef – then that might just be the best part about a stay here.

Whatever it is that you seek, a taste of gluten free France, beauty, tranquility, truly delicious food, La Fenière is authentic and gorgeous. It’s a hotel that makes you feel a bit as if you are staying with very stylish friends who have the best taste, it’s everything you imagine Provence to be and it’s a place that inspires.

More on Provence:
Visit Lourmarin for a taste of Provence
Roussillon, the red rock town of Provence
Lavender fields of the Vaucluse
Markets of Provence

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A classic romantic French menu that anyone can make anywhere.

Lay a red and white check tablecloth, a few flowers in a small vase or glass jar (moderation in flowers is very French), chill a bottle of white, pop a bottle of Champagne, let the red wine breathe. Play a little bit of French music, and make the dishes with love. This is the perfect romantic French menu for any time and on Valentine’s Day,  it’s a real winner.

Soup of the day

Champagne

Cute ha?!

Fabulous French Starter

Deliciously gooey baked Camembert

One to share:  pop the cheese in the oven, cut the baguette into small chunks and dip in – here’s the recipe: Baked Camembert
Or
French Onion Soup

Did you know that in olden days, onions were considered an aphrodisiac in France? French onion soup was served at weddings to fortify the newlyweds!

Classic French Main Course

Rachel Khoo’s Red Wine Chicken roast

Delicious and simple to make – this delicious red wine and chicken dish from the author of My Little Paris Kitchen won’t keep you in the kitchen for hours getting red faced, make in advance, pop in the oven and serve with aplomb.
Or
Mussels in white wine sauce with cheese

This is such a quick dish but it looks fabulous when you pop that big pot of steaming hot, aromatic mussels on the table to share with your loved one.

Delicious French Dessert

Crepes Suzette

If you’re feeling ambitious and want to really wow someone, flambéing pancakes is a sure fire way to get their attention. Actually they are easy to make with our perfect pancake recipe, a delicious orangey sauce and a perfect way to end the meal. Easy, classic, French Crepes Suzette recipe
Or
Coeur a la crème

The little heart-shaped dessert is the perfect way to end the meal, it’s light and tasty and easy to make in advance. Recipe for Coeur a la Creme 

Serve your dish and tell you loved one, Je t’aime – I love you…

Bon appetit…

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France is the No. 1 consumer and exporter of oysters in Europe producing 150,000 tonnes every year.

King Henri IV (1553-1610) was said to eat a eye-popping 300 of them at a time. His grandson Louis XIV had them delivered fresh daily to Versailles or wherever he was and was known to eat six dozen at a time. Diderot the French philosopher and Voltaire the writer and philosopher ate them for inspiration, as did Napoleon Bonaparte before going into battle. Casanova, the 18th century lover, used to breakfast on 50 oysters.

To this day the French still can’t get enough for them and they are the food of choice at times of celebration like Christmas and New Year. Around half of all oysters eaten in France will be eaten between these two festive dates.

98% of oysters are cupped but they can also be flat (called plats) – and much more expensive. They are ranked for size by number: from 0 to 5 for cupped oysters and from 000 (the biggest) to 6 (the smallest) for flat ones. Cupped oysters are designated “fine” or “special” which indicates the amount of meat, with special oysters being the meatiest ones.

How to eat oysters

Oysters are almost never rinsed which is to help preserve the flavour. You’ll find them on sale in supermarkets, poissoneries, and at street markets. To keep them fresh, they are kept on ice and often beautifully displayed (like these above at the market at La Fleche in the Loir). In restaurants too they are generally served on ice to keep them fresh. Take an especially small fork, gently pry the oyster, squeeze lemon or mignonette sauce, made of chopped shallots and red wine vinegar in the shell, or go au naturel and slurp it back in one gulp.

French for oyster is huître – pronounced wee-tra (without the h).

Oyster bars are known as huiteries and you’ll find them in all major towns.

You generally order demi-douzaine – a half dozen or a douzaine – a dozen

Oyster regions of France

Normandy Oysters

Known for its highly iodised and fleshy oysters. Fans may have their favourites such as the special oysters of Isigny, tasty and pulpy, and those of Saint-Vaast, which are known for their nutty flavour. Utah Beach is said to produce sweet oysters.

Brittany Oysters

Cancale, Saint-Brieuc, Morlaix and the Bay of Brest are all well-known for cupped and flat oyster. The majority of the small amount farmed are from Brittany.

The Cancale oyster is farmed in the shadow of the Mont Saint-Michel and has a firm and salty flesh.

The Paimpol deep-sea oyster, raised in farms far out in the bay, is deliciously juicy and plump.

Another Brittany celebrity is “the Belon”, whose appellation designates three Brittany estuaries on the south coast of Finistere where the coastal seawater mixes with fresh water from rivers and springs.

The oysters farmed around Quiberon and in the Gulf of Morbihan in southern Brittany grow in richly fed tidal streams. They have a distinctive and energising flavour.

Oysters from the Central West Coast

Ile de Ré, Noirmoutier. Oysters farmed off the Vendée coast are highly reputed.

Marennes-Oléron, Charente-Maritime is the most extensive oyster farming area in the world with the advertising slogan “Matured in Marennes-Oléron and nowhere else”. The ancient salt marshes which form the oyster beds give an aroma and sometimes a special hue to the oysters.

Arcachon Oysters

The Arcachon Basin (Aquitaine) has been producing wild oysters since days of old. Today it has become an important breeding centre, supplying spats (oyster larvae) to most of France’s oyster-farming basins. The baby oysters suction onto terracotta tiles placed by the farmers and are then placed in sacks to continue growing.

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In France, strawberries are adored – in fact the French even claim to be responsible for the popularity of the delicious red fruit!

The common woodland strawberry was known in Roman times and grown in Europe since early days but it was much later that the sweet red strawberry will know today was cultivated. In France they are called fraises.

In 1714, Amédeé François Frézier, an explorer, mathematician and naval military engineer of Louis XIV was sent to South America to spy on the Spanish who had ports there. He returned to France with some strawberry plants from Chile and gave them to the gardeners at the King’s Royal Gardens in Paris. The fruit was white, quite large “as big as a small egg” said Frézier and not particular tasty. The Paris gardeners sent the plants to Brittany where they were cross bred with other berries grown around the town of Plougastel near Brest. They produced the succulent tasty strawberries we know and love today.

Nowhere loves them more than the town of Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne, famous for making the biggest strawberry tart in the world!

Beaulieu-sur-Dordogne in Correze, Limousin claims to be at the heart of “Strawberry Country” and celebrates its Fete de la Fraise every spring on the second Sunday of May. There is a competition for the best fruit, producer’s stalls, music, games, sports activities, circus school, craft market, a parade and an incredibly enormous strawberry tart – enough to give the thousands who attend this colourful festival a slice! Entry is free to this typically French festival.

The picturesque town is in the heart of Dordogne in a beautiful and unspoiled part of France that’s well worth a visit – even if you don’t make it to the Strawberry Festival!

Now… if only we could team the biggest strawberry tart in the world with the biggest bottle of Champagne in the world – we’d have one big party on our hands!

More on Limousin
Going potty for pottery in Limoges
Aubusson – the Tapestry Town

www.beaulieu-sur-dordogne.fr

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How to make French pancakes at home, the perfect French crêpe recipe…

Pancakes are not a new invention, historians think they were being made at least as far back as 7000 BC in a similar form to how we make them today. They can be eaten hot or cold, sweet or savoury,  as a main course, dessert or as a snack, and creperies specialising in the making of pancakes can be found throughout France. They’re very easy to make at home, in the north of France it’s traditional to use beer in the mix whilst in Normandy and Brittany people often add a glug of Calvados, apple brandy. Although eaten all year round, it’s traditional in France to cook them on 2nd February for La Chandeleur, “Pancake Day”.

Ingredients for 6-8 pancakes

125g (3/4 cup) plain flour
pinch of salt
1 medium egg
300ml (10.14 oz) milk
25g (2 tablespoons) melted butter

Directions

1. Mix flour and salt in a basin, make a hollow in the centre and drop in the egg. Stir with a wooden spoon and add the milk gradually, until all the flour is worked in.

2. Beat well and add remaining milk and the melted butter.

3. The consistency should be like single cream.

4. Cooking: For each pancake, heat a small amount of butter in a frying pan. When it begins to smoke, stir the batter and pour approximately 3 tablespoons into the frying pan. When golden brown underneath, turn and cook other side.

5. Serving: Turn out on greaseproof paper, sprinkle with sugar and roll up or fold into quarters. Place on a hot dish and serve immediately with honey, jam, syrup, lemon or orange juice.

Pancakes keep well in the refrigerator and can be frozen.

Apple pancake cake

Sweet French toppings that turn your pancakes scrumptious!
Crepes Suzette – posh pancakes you won’t be able to resist…
Buckwheat pancakes Brittany style…
Chocolate hazelnut crepe cake 

Karen Burns-Booth is a food & travel writer, recipe developer and food stylist. See more of Karen’s recipes at her award winning blog Lavender and Lovage

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A few blocks from Vieux Lyon, with its impressively large district of renaissance architecture in France, Brasserie Georges seems to have changed little since its foundation in 1836 by Georges Hoffer, a Strasbourg brewer. Liza Perrat visits a historic restaurant which has hosted the gliterrati of the literary world for almost two centuries…

I can almost feel the flourishes of France’s greatest literary quill. I sense the laborious, but convivial toil of the grape harvest portrayed in the 1924 frescoes of Francisque Guillermin, decorating the grandiose, 600m2 ceiling.

What about: The ghosts of literary spirits recounting their tales compete with the real spirit of the beer brewed on site, and, alongside these writers, entertainers, politicians and artists have also graced the walnut tables. Their memories are carved in the archives of French history, as their names are engraved in copper plaques on the red moleskin banquettes.

Jean Sarrazin, 19th century Lyonnaise poet called ‘the olive poet’, proclaimed his poems while handing out olives at the Brasserie Georges.

Table 102 is dedicated to Paul Verlaine, also a 19th century French poet. His stylistic innovations gave a new musicality to French poetry and laid the foundations for free verse.

In an old ledger a debt is clearly marked: Alphonse de Lamartine owes the Brasserie Georges restaurant 40 francs. The famous poet, who loved to go to Lyon and dream on the banks of the Rhône river, never paid for the two half casks of beer drunk in 1857.

French author Jules Verne had fifty four novels published during his lifetime. Famous for works such as ’20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’, ‘Journey to The Centre of The Earth’ and ‘Around the World in 80 days’, he also frequented ‘La Georges’ as it is fondly known to  the locals.

Mistinguett (1875 – 1956), the ‘Queen of the Paris music hall’ from the silent era, ate at table 30. She was the most popular French entertainer of her time and once, the highest paid female entertainer in the world. ‘A kiss can be a comma, a question mark or an exclamation point. That’s basic spelling that every woman ought to know,’ proclaimed Mistinguett.

Table 22 is dedicated to French novelist and critic, Emile Zola. His 1877 depiction of alcoholism, ‘L’Assommoir’, made him the best known writer in France. Founder of the naturalist movement in literature, Zola redefined naturalism as ‘nature seen through a temperament’.

The passage of Anatole France is captured at table 119. Writer and critic, he was one of the major figures of French literature of the late 19^th and early 20^th century, and winner of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1921.

The ‘defender and illustrator of French cuisine’, Maurice Edmond Sailland, claimed table 5. Known as ‘Curnonsky’, this writer and journalist was reputed for his size and appetite (1m85, 120kg). In 1927 he was crowned the gastronomic prince by public referendum. Of all the world’s gourmets, none has ever attained the exalted status of Curnonsky and he came to be known as a representative of the more pleasant passions of la belle époque. Once, upon being offered an enormous lifetime income simply for stating that margarine was the equal of butter, he refused indignantly. ‘Nothing,’ he said, ‘can ever replace butter.’

Antoine de Saint Exupéry, Lyonnaise writer and pilot, honoured table 35. Born in Lyon on 29^th June, 1900, he joined the French air force in Strasbourg in 1921 as a mechanic. At 26, he became a pilot on the mail service from Toulouse to Dakar. In 1938 he moved to the U.S.A., where he wrote his best-known novel, ‘The Little Prince’ in 1940. According to some sources, it was the third most widely read book in the world during the last century, after the Holy Bible and the Ku’ran. He moved back to France after the beginning of WW11 and joined the army. On 31^st July, 1944, his plane was shot down on one of his missions over the Mediterranean Sea. Lyon’s international airport is named Saint Exupéry in his honour.

Ernest Hemingway, Jacques Brel, as well as Madame Chirac and The Heir prince of Japan have also chosen from the menu’s good value selection.

While deciding in which famous seat to park your behind – Edith Piaf, Auguste Rodin, or Edouard Herriot- take a moment to study the menu.

Traditional pork, duck and seafood varieties of sauerkraut are offered, as well as magnificent seafood platters, of which the freshness is undeniable thanks to daily deliveries from Normandy and Brittany. ‘Try the Norwegian omelette,’ I’d been advised. Expecting salmon and eggs, I was agreeably satisfied with the splodge of vanilla ice-cream, Grand Marnier and meringue. The waiter, impeccably dressed and politely efficient, was not impressed at my surprise. At 170,000 meals annually, 40 tonnes of sauerkraut, 46 tonnes of meat and poultry, 19 tonnes of fish and 58,000 litres of beer, he has seen it all. Not to mention two Guinness book records held by Brasserie Georges.

A 1500 tonne sauerkraut served in 1986 to 2000 guests and a 34 metre long, 1368 egg Norwegian omelette in 1996 is recorded along with the forefathers of contemporary French literature.

As I leave this monument of Lyonnaise gastronomy, I glance into the magnificent mural mirror and wonder at what these walls could tell…

www.brasseriegeorges.com

LYON CITY INFORMATION: Situated at the crossroads of Northern Europe and the Mediterranean, two hours from alpine ski resorts and three hours from the sea, Lyons, capital of the Rhône-Alpes region is the second largest contributor to the French economy. Its exceptional location and numerous advantages guarantee its rank as one of the most important ‘Eurocities’ of the future.

Author Liza Perrat grew up in Wollongong, Australia. She now lives in France with her French husband whom she met on a bus in Bangkok. Find out more about Liza Perrat

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There are many great French cakes but for connoisseurs, the cake known as Opera represents a taste of France at its most sophisticated and delicious.

Opera Cake History

The creation of the cake goes back to 1955 when great French pastry chef Cyriaque Gavillon worked at the legendary Dalloyau shop in Paris. Dalloyau have been trading since 1682 and were suppliers to the court of Versailles. It was the perfect match when Cyriaque, a genius with patisserie and an artist who created the most amazing cakes and sugar decorations, and Dalloyau got together.  When inventing the Opera cake he wanted to make something that in taking one bite, would give a taste of the whole cake. He worked on layers and tastes and came up with a wonderfully sophisticated cake. His wife told him it reminded her of the Paris Opera House, Palais Garnier. It was a name that stuck, the Opera cake was born.

Known throughout the world, the rectangular cake is made of three layers of Joconde almond flavoured sponge soaked in coffee syrup and topped with coffee butter cream and chocolate ganache. The top is covered with a deep dark chocolate icing.

Every good boulangerie will make a version of this legendary cake and in the Paris Dalloyau store it is still one of their best-selling cakes.

More fabulous French cakes and their history:

St Honoré cake, made in honour of the Patron saint of French bakers
Madeleine – one of the most popular cakes in France
Charles Quint’s Finger – one of the most bizarre cake histories in France
Croissant – great French icon
French cake photo gallery feature

The post Opera Cake History and French Flair appeared first on The Good Life France.

In Offin, in the Seven Valleys, Pas de Calais tucked down one of the side streets of this tranquil little village is an extraordinary secret. There are no shops or bars and not many signs of life except on a Sunday, when the auberge of a local vegetable grower opens for lunch…

Offin is about an hour from  Calais port, it nestles in the valleys of a green and lush part of rural northern France whose earth is rich and nourishing.

It is, says Francois Delepierre, a local artisan producer, just about perfect soil for nurturing and feeding the heirloom vegetables he grows organically year round on his little farm. Drive down the somewhat misleadingly named Grande Rue where the farm is located and if you blink, you’ll miss the sign for Aux Legumes d’Antan. And that would be a great loss for you because this little place is a treasure trove of fabulous vegetables and fruit from days gone by (d’antan in French), sold in the ancient shed that serves as a shop.

The best day to visit is certainly a Sunday as that is the day that Francois and his mother open up their little auberge and serve a traditional, authentic French country Sunday lunch. Using produce from their farm they have become one of the most sought out little eateries in the area by both locals and visiting tourists.

Tour the few acres at the back of the restaurant and you will discover an amazing array of vegetables which reflect eight years of hard work by horticulturist Francois. At first when I saw it I thought it was a little overgrown and ever so slightly messy. But I looked closer and found that in fact everything here is in harmony, sure the weeds are high but they are beneficial to the plants and wildlife and that is precisely what Francois wants. It is 100% organic and 100% wildlife friendly.

Somehow, despite the often wet weather of this part of northern France (nicknamed “The French North Pole” by southern neighbours), Francois manages to grow thousands of different types of fruit and veg.  What is more he does it all with only the help of his mother Dominique who is just as passionate as he is about this little farm.

Francois explains that he spends several hours a day tending to the gardens as well as having a stall at seven local markets, making jams, soups, chutneys and other fabulous products to sell. He also helps in the restaurant kitchen and runs workshops on a variety of themes at the farm.  I ask him when he sleeps and he smiles and says “not very often, usually I go to bed about midnight but I’m up at around 4 in the morning to start again”.

Like all great artisans, for Francois it’s all about heritage and passion for the produce. As we wander round the garden he stoops to pick carrots – purple, white, yellow. He cuts vegetables straight from the stalk and offers them up to be admired, seven varieties of aubergine, beans that make your eyes spin “these are sweet, these have a strong flavour, perfect for soups”. Francois knows the history, the tastes and the uses for all of the vegetables and loves to share the knowledge.

In the herb garden I’m astonished when Francois gives me a “menthe chocolat” stem to sniff and taste. It is amazing, it absolutely is chocolate and mint, and then he offers me pear and apple mint and shows me the aromatic tunnel, 120 different herbs and I’m hooked. I look at his mother Dominique and make a mental note to eat more veg, she looks so young and also survives on four hours a night and confides “it’s the vegetables”. As we walk around Dominique and Francois fill a wheelbarrow with fresh veg which is at it most perfect point of picking, ready to take to the kitchen to prepare for the Sunday lunch. I ask them if they can squeeze me in. “Not this week” says Francois “Every chair is filled” and I make a note to book to for the next week; if you want to join the foodies who are beating a track to this place, book in advance (details are on the website below).

In the auberge is a big fireplace and a piano, it feels like you’re in the front room of the house I say to Francois.  “You are” he agrees“ you are chez nous, comme en famille; you will feel at home, like a friend”. The menu varies according to the season and you will be served an aperitif, starter, main course and desert plus Dominique’s famous home made bread, cooked in her hundred year old wood oven. You will be assured of the most truly organic and cherished food, produced locally in a most convivial atmosphere in the heart of real France.

The farm shop is open during the afternoons at weekends. Find out more on their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/leslegumesdantan

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