And the winner is.....

..........SWEET GRANADILLA!

I am so relieved that someone had the answer, albeit slightly ashamed that I couldn't find it online.

As for where I got the answers, my favorite veg-head Astronomer, who earned his stripes eating Durian and all sorts of what must be weird food on his trip to HK, was the first one to guess. And I really should have thought to call Umami, who is a virtual treasure trove of answers regarding food. I have yet to name something she has not tried.

So, how did it taste? Well... I opened one of the passion fruits to do a true comparison. It is definitely sweeter and much more mild with a subtler taste than the passion fruit. The seeds were much softer and tasted vaguely of sunflower seeds, which makes the overall taste a little more bland. The passion fruit on the other hand was tart with hard little seeds and a more beautiful fragrance.

I'm very grateful to receive this p'tit cadeau and to the friends who helped me identify it.

Help!

What's orange and red, is very light, weighs almost nothing and is a fruit?

Give up?

Well don't ask me because I don't know either.

Last Sunday while strolling around Bastille Market, I spied some passion fruits selling for 3 euros a basket of 5. I bought a basket while the boy's mother picked up some of those tiny, ultra sweet, thin skinned bananas. While at the stand, I picked up one of these fruits and examined it curiously. The gentleman serving us, put one in our bag as a p'tit cadeau as it was a "jour de fete". In fact it was not any kind of holiday as such but election day so the mood was very jolly.

Quickly swept away after having paid, I was horrified to discover I had not asked him what this fruit was! So, I returned today to the Bastille market but to my dismay, the exotic fruit seller was not there today.

So I turn to the Internet where I still cannot seem to find it. Anyone who knows what it is, please please tell me.

All I know is that it is very light, has no fragrance to speak of and has turned slightly hollow and red over the course of the last few days. I'll be cutting into it tomorrow but will keep searching for the mysterious fruit tonight...

A la Biche au Bois

This entry has been a looooooong time coming. Because I have already been three times and have so far not said a peep about the place. But my return custom says only one thing about it:

She likes it, she really likes it!

For a few reasons: good food, good value and good service.

The first time I went, it was late, the restaurant was crowded (we were only able to get into the 9pm sitting) and it was freezing rain outside. I was unwell and feeling horrendous midway through the meal. I went outside to get some fresh air. An incredibly busy server noticed me and asked if I was alright. I assured him the food did me no harm but I wished to get some air. A chair was unearthed as if by magic (the place was PACKED!) and wiped, put in a discreet corner with a bit of a cover to protect from the rain and offered to me. When I returned into the restaurant, every single server stopped by to ask if I was alright and if they could get me anything. I was in shock. I had made no fuss, was not running through the restaurant nor pushing to get outside but was rather discrete about it but they were very kind and thoughtful without being pushy. Despite a full house of guests. I was impressed.

Even more impressed was the boy. For, despite my malaise, had polished off his starter, main, a plate full of cheese, (goading his poor Chinese colleague into taking a huge bite of blue cheese with no warning), most of the bottle of Burgundy and was sitting back like a Cheshire cat sipping his Armagnac.

The second time we went, it was with my family of Mom, Dad, Brother and girlfriend as well as the boy. Before I could get my camera out of its case, forks were flying, arms were reaching and plates were compiles so that everyone got a taste of everyone else's starter. A bloggable picture was out of the question. The boy sat, terrified of being stabbed in the eye and wisely waited until the flurry stopped before attacking his plate.

So now, the third time, we were able to finally enjoy the meal with no one feeling ill nor forks a flying.

To begin, the dinner is an astonishing good value at 24.90 euros including a starter, a main, a selection of cheese and a dessert. Some starters and mains may include extra costs but were not unreasonable in the slightest.

I started with the parfait au foie nature, a choice my Mother made last time of which I was incredibly envious. It came in two generous slices with a small salad and a pot of pickles and bread for the table. It was delicious, smooth and luscious, a delicious start to the dinner. I shared it out between others as it was a little too much for one person. Even a greedy person like me. The boy's Mother had the Salade Périgourdine which came with a generous and fabulous piece of foie gras, with a salad of haricot vert and tomatoes. After a taste, ALL of us wanted to change our entrees.

My main, which was the classic coq au vin, came in a le creuset pot, a dark, fragrant scent wafting over it. It contained three large pieces of chicken, potatoes and mushrooms. The gravy or sauce was fabulous and everyone took turns dipping their chips (fries to me) in the sauce. The white meat was a bit too try to my taste but the dark meat falling off the bone, rich and delicious.

Then come one of my favorite bits. The cheese course. A huge round platter is brought around to the table and you are asked to choose what cheese you like. You are allowed to choose as much as you would like but be warned, the portions are generous. When my brother's girlfriend came, she turned to the boy to ask how much she could have and when he answered "as much as you want", the responding smile almost cracked her face in two. The blue is delicious, as well as the Pont Leveque. I'd go back just for the cheese.

Last but not least was the desserts. Before the Armagnac and the coffee, of course. And, in an effort to feel slightly better about my choice, I had l'Ile Flottant, a beautiful light meringue in a creme anglais drizzled with caramel. I had no problem finishing it. And the boy had no problem finishing the custardy creme anglais.

So, finally, my verdict is go. But if I can't get a booking next time, I'm pulling this post!

A la Biche au Bois

45 av Ledru Rollin, 12th

Metro: Gare de Lyon

Tel: 01 43 43 34 38

Hot days

We've had many visitors recently with more to come. One of our groups included a lovely couple whom we have known from Hong Kong. The male counterpart is currently studying in Cambridge and is a bit of a dessert aficionado ... obsessed with sweets is another good word to describe him. They were very easy going and since they had been to Paris before, they were in no rush to see all the sights. In their words, they were here to "hang out and eat". My kind of people.

Unfortunately, the lady got sick on the last day and so we decided to stay home to keep her company. Since we had already exhausted the eye toy game the previous evening, we thought we'd do some baking. On the hottest day of the year so far. In my not-quite-sealed gas oven.

The cry from the American gentlemen was for "Nestlé Toll House cookies" (said in a mock French accent, bien sur!). A search was made and ingredients purchased. No almond or vanilla extract or nuts were used and for the chocolate chips, 2 bars of 70% chocolate was chopped up. We omitted the baking soda, using self-rising flour, as it was the only flour I had on hand. While I measured, he beat, mixed and then rolled the dough into perfect balls. I laughed at his obsessive rolling into perfect spheres but I didn't laugh when they came out of the oven exactly 10 minutes later. Perfectly round, pale on top but golden on the bottom, they were the best damn cookies "I" had ever baked, combining a good soft chewiness. I was surprised, given my usual ineptitude at baking. I made them take the majority of the cookies with them as they left. After being left to sit for a day or so, I was disappointed to find that they did not have a good "chew" but was instead, a touch too soft and crumbly.

Determined not to be outdone and due to bananas going black, I made banana bars using this recipe but leaving out the cocoa and putting in a small bag of chocolate chips I had instead. I again omitted the rising agents and used the remainder of the self-rising flour. I had to bake in my 9x9 pan and it took closer to 50 minutes but the results were ... average. They were moist and just sweet enough without being too sweet but the crumb was not light and fluffy, more dense and sticky.

As the oven was on anyways, I also made Greek Ribs for the boy for dinner, using a dry rub recipe of my Dad's. They turned out delicious, if just a touch salty.

Dad's Greek Rib Rub

- 1 part sugar
- 1 part salt
- 1 part white pepper
- 1 part garlic salt (I just minced 3-4 cloves of garlic)
- 1 part msg (my Dad's miracle powder)
- 3 parts oregano

Rub pork ribs generously with the mixture and leave to marinate for a minimum of 1 hour. Can also be used on pork butt or shoulder. Best served with lemon wedges for squeezing over the meat.

There was no time for a picture, by the time I got back from the kitchen, the boy tore into them and they were a right mess!

A Whirlwind Tour

I know I promised last time that the next post would be about the traditional cuisine we had at the Diamond Anniversary dinner but I'm going to have to delay that for a bit. But for a very good reason! I will soon have a recipe given to me to post by the boy's mother! So stay tuned...

For the last week and a half, my parents from Hong Kong and my brother and his girlfriend from Montreal descended like a plague of locusts upon our tiny flat, eating most anything in sight! It's been a big, greedy binge of French food and I was determined to have them try everything. As the boy explained to my Mom, "It's not a successful holiday unless you leave just a little bit fatter." My Mom took this bit of "advice" to heart and proceeded to demolish the breadbasket each and every time.

My parents arrived earlier than my brother so the boy and I decided to take them down to visit the boy's parents in the South of France, booking them into a bed and breakfast in Puyloubier (which became "Polar Bear" under my parent's pronunciation). You might be dreading to think what two big city mice would fare in the tiny village but they loved it. Including the "main street" comprised with all of 1 shop, 1 restaurant, and a square.

But back to the food. We went to Relais Sainte Victoire, who infamously had a tiff with the Michelin people, with the chef saying that he requested his star to be removed while the Michelin guide insisting that the star was removed in 1995 due to the lowering standards of the food. Oddly, the front glass panel of the entrance displayed the Michelin Guide sticker for 2007, while the inside were framed articles, proudly announcing their rejection of the Michelin star so as not to compromise their cooking. Let me just start the review by saying that we were all in agreement that the reason for rejecting the star may have been more a pre-emptive move as it certainly did not deserve a star, neither for service nor the food.


I started with a mixed platter which comprised of a jellied terrine (bottom right), which was much, much too tart and mushy, a forgettable dish of gratin mussel and scallop (bottom left), a nice block of quince foie gras covered in breadcrumbs (upper left), and an odd, incredibly dense, pate/meatball type spread that was like rillettes with no fat and without the creamy texture (upper right).

Our mains came and I had ordered the lamb "de lait", after the wonderful experience with my cochon de lait. When it came, it was a lovely piece of lamb with a rosemary mash but nothing close to spectacular. As nice as my lamb was, the one the boy's mother received was horrendous. Full of fat, gristle and uncooked parts, it was virtually inedible. When the waiter came over to enquire regarding the food, we pointed it out to him, whereupon, he shrugged and did absolutely NOTHING about it.


Which shows the quality of restaurant where the guests' pleasure means absolutely nothing.


The desserts were obviously their forte, with the presentation finally showing some care. My platter of chocolate desserts looked nice but was not spectacular. The cone of dark chocolate filled with a aniseed-y foam was average. It may be dampened by the fact that I can no longer eat any more foam as I do enjoy dark chocolate and aniseed. The mousse was rich and light and was not so sweet as to make my teeth hurt. The chocolate mille-feuille was a little too hard for my taste and the contrast of tastes with the ice cream did not work as well as hoped.


To be absolutely fair, the food was decent but for the reputation, the dispute regarding the star, it was very sub-par. On top of which the disinterested service, the lack of presentation and the setting of the restaurant make me wonder about the truth of chef René Bergès actually refusing the star.



Relais Sainte Victoire
53, avenue Sylvain Gautier
13100 Beaurecueil
Tel : 33 (0)4 42 66 94 98

Ye Olde Shoppe O' Sweets

Last weekend, the boy and I went to the North of England to attend his grandparent's Diamond Anniversary (that's a whooping 60 years of marriage, yon wee rascals!).

It was done in the great tradition of the boy and his wonderful family. Big, loud and lots and lots of fun. His Aunt, a historian, had rented a grand old double decker bus and toured around the area reliving moments of significance in her parents' life. It was magnificent. While on the bus, I must admit I was slightly distracted. You see, we were handed a bag of Olde Fashioned Traditional Sweets. Mostly hard candies and all of them new to me. So, wrapped up in my little paper bag of sweets, I hassled the boy's sister in law to tell me what all of them were and what they tasted like.

Here are the results of my hard research (all done for you of course):

(Apologies for the size of the pic. I'm not technically competent. You can see a slightly larger size here.)

To my absolute horror, the boy's lovely, lovely grandmother, as I was leaving, tried to hand me her bag of sweeties, making sure to tell me, "I didn't have many!".

And no, of course, I didn't take them. I'm not that awful!

Next report shall be on the foods I ate that evening. I am waiting to find out the correct spelling of the stuff I ate. I know it was "something in the corner" (I think it was sent to the corner for being naughty) and something else that sounds like "fun knuckles". I'll let you know as soon as I find out....

Aligood

A week back, we went with friends to L'Ambassade d'Auvergne, one of the winners of Michelin's Bib Gourmand for 2007. Bib Gourmands are awarded to restaurants which serve quality cuisine at a maximum price of 35 euros, not including drinks.

I was excited to try it due to one particular side dish, the Aligot, which is a mashed potato, garlic and cheese concoction which seemed destined to please my greedy palate.

We went with the same friends with whom we had a very quick dinner at Chez Omar and all of us approached this outing with mild apprehension. We needn't have worried. This was about the furthest away from that experience, in fact, it was a parody of opposites.

We were greeted by an impressively mustachioed Maitre D' who took our coats before pointing us to the upstairs salon, where we were seated in a very large comfortable room, given menus for aperitifs, wine and food and left to decide what to order. The waitress patiently helped us decipher the different aperitifs before leaving to fill our order, returning with a plate of gourgeres to whet the appetite.

The light, cheesy gourgeres (cheese profiteroles) were so good and I was so hungry that I was well pleased when I saw that there were at least two per person, very generous in view that we were also served a small crock of terrine, and some lovely chewy bread with which to start the meal.

I went with the set menu, with a choice of lentil salad or boudin noire with apples, to be followed by either the magret de canard with the famed Aligot or pork with braised cabbage, to be followed by our choice of dessert, for a reasonable 28 euros.

One of our friends as well as myself went with the lentils, which arrived in a large earthenware pot, of which three heaping tablespoons were shared onto our plate. I couldn't finish my entree, much to the dismay of our charming waiter, who threatened no dessert if I didn't at least try, exhorting the others at the table to help finish our huge bowl of tangy, warm lentil salad with chewy, flavorful lardons. The four of us tried but in the interest of saving our stomachs for our mains, we ended up having to disappoint the waiter.

After a short break, the waiter came over once again to demonstrate the Aligot, stirring it forcefully on the burner then bringing over the copper pot to 'pull' the Aligot, showing the melted cheese and potato mixture, imparting a lovely warm fragrance. We were all dying to try it at this point.

Our magret de canard were plated and served and we all dug in. The warm Aligot was lovely, much chewier than I expected but with a nice, smooth texture. When it got a bit cold, it was not as nice, much chewier, a bit more like cooling fondue but not gummy in any way. A tough feat, I should think. Unfortunately my magret de carnard was a little too tough with the tendons and I was not able to finish the rich duck and the filling Aligot.

The waiter tsked again at my not empty plate but made "une exception" when taking my dessert. Either believing that perhaps we hadn't had *quite* enough food or that the few minutes before our dessert was served we were feeling peckish, the waiter also brought over a few slices of their house cake (I apologize for not remembering what it was called), which tasted, to me, much like the Italian Panettone without the fruit and raisins.

We were feeling very stuffed indeed when our desserts arrived. I had ordered a banana compote with bitter chocolate sorbet. I enjoyed the sorbet but found the 'naner compote a bit strange, with odd crusty, sweet bits and soft bitter bits.

However, these were just minor as I could not possibly finish the dessert, much to the chagrin of our waiter.

Total time in the restaurant? A whooping 4 and a half hours. And at no time during our visit did we feel rushed or unwelcome. We were well taken care of by the friendly yet professional staff, were very well fed throughout the meal and what with the Aligot demonstration, the conversation and the good food, it was a most enjoyable evening and one that I would be eager to repeat.

L'Ambassade d'Auvergne
22 rue du Grenier St-Lazare, 3rd
Tel: 01 42 72 31 22
Metro: Rambuteau

Fabled Star

Following the success of L'Atelier, Umami's husband suggested we try another Michelin starred restaurant, namely Christian Constant's more casual fish and seafood restaurant, Les Fables de la Fontaine. It had received good reviews from Pim herself as well as from my guide book and the Michelin guide and seemed like a shoo in for a great dinner.


The restaurant itself was very...cozy. It had a long bench along one side of the wall with tables placed quite closely together so that to get out of the tables required quite a bit of movement of your neighbours. On the other side were two other tables and a small bar type on the short end facing the street. We were seated rather close to our neighbours and the kitchen but made do.


We were first served a nice, albeit a bit too cold, amuse gueule of a layered shot of white, creamy mousse topped with what I think was creamed shrimp mouse with tiny croutons. I forget what the white cream was but I do remember it being fairly tasty, whetting our appetite for our starters.





The starters on other tables looked disconcertingly similar to our amuse-gueules with layered salads but we went with the choices and I started with Langoustines cooked "a la minute". Which turned out to be simply half a dozen steamed Langoustines served with a small dish of mayonnaise. I was undaunted and happy to dig in and get my fingers dirty but I was disappointed. The flesh of the langoustines were mealy and was not firm and sweet as I had expected.

The boy ordered what he termed a "posh prawn cocktail", which was lumps of crab meat with mayonnaise like sauce, topped with iceberg lettuce and a shrimp mousse that was a lurid shade of orange. It tasted... like a posh prawn cocktail.


Our mains consisted of a "pave de lieu a la plancha", which was like a pan fried sea bass with a crisp skin, plated with beans and squid, surrounded by Parmesan foam and a circle of balsamic reduction.




The other main, was a white fish, similar to John Dory with a buttery flesh, plated with a potato mash with leeks and I *think* celeriac, again surrounded by the Parmesan foam and a circle of balsamic vinegar.






Truth be told, I wasn't that impressed with either of them. Although in hindsight, I'm not sure what I expected, being a fish restaurant but I did expect some unusual combinations or something clever to be done with the fish. What I got was simple pan fried white fish paired with something quite average and plated not at all in an interesting fashion. I am not a snob but was surprised to see different dishes plated in the same manner, not really what I expected of a Michelin starred restaurant.


The theme continued onto dessert where orders of a chestnut and apple compote and a cherry and freeze dried banana compote arrived looking remarkably similar and uninteresting. As Umami rightly puts it, it looked factory-line made.


All in all, I don't think I'd return. It was average food and over priced for what it was. It didn't make me want to try Christian Constant's other starred restaurant, Le Violon d'Ingres.

I remarked to the boy as we left, "this restaurant's a bit squishy". It's funny how "cozy" becomes "squishy" after an average meal carrying high expectations.




Les Fables de la Fountaine

131 rue St-Dominique, 7th
Tel: 01 44 18 37 55
Metro: Ecole Militaire

L'Atelier

Firstly, apologies for the silence. I have been dealing with some health problems lately and after nine hours in the hospital watching streaking rats in the emergency, I needed some time to recover and regain my appetite!

Happily, the doctor told me to "Mangez beaucoup!" (Eat lots). Something NO doctor has ever told me to do. Quite obviously we are in France. Unfortunately, I still don't have much of an appetite but, I did have some places to tell you about before I fell ill....

So, first of all, for the the boy's birthday 2 weeks ago, I took him to L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon, winner of one star in the 2007 Michelin Guide and a hopeful for two stars.



Upon entering, the first thing we saw was a teeny tiny pig rotating at the back of their open kitchen.


While looking at the menu, the charming Maitre D' came over to chat about the HK restaurant, offer us his card and to introduce the specials of the day, which included the tiny pig or cochon de lait. I went with his recommendations for the starters and chose the piglet as my main course. I was glad I did because five minutes after my order, the kitchen announced that there was no more cochon de lait left!

The boy went with the Menu Découverte which was priced at 110 Euros and consisted of a fabulous amuse bouche of a foie gras royale with port jelly and Parmesan foam. It was delicious, tasty and we were excited to try the rest.

My starter of l’oeuf cocotte crème was disappointing. I had high expectations, having heard of the luscious, perfectly cooked state of the egg coddled in cream. Unfortunately I have been spoiled by the perfect eggs made by those running authentic Japanese noodle houses and this was nothing special.



The boy's menu started with carpaccio of Saint-Jacques scallops with uni, whose delicate taste was sadly overpowered by the dill marinade.


His Langoustine ravioli was sumptuous, lush and rich. The boy would happily have a bowl of those for his dinner. Unfortunately this was followed by a type of fried fish dumpling which was way too mushy for my tastes.

My "grenouille en fritot a la purée d’ail", or deep fried frog's leg on a garlic puree was also a disappointment, with a thick breaded coating on the overcooked and much shrunken delicate frog's leg.

The boy's meal picked up with the chestnut soup flavored with celery, smoked lard and foie gras. This was followed by a nice piece of sea bass.




Our mains arrived, both accompanied by the namesake's famous light yet creamy potatoes. The boy choose the baby lamb chops (as opposed to the veal sweetbreads). These were lovely pieces of tender lamb but I was distracted. Not by the potatoes (which the boy insisted was, fancy mash) mind you.



It was my main.... Oh, what a main it was.


I must admit I had felt a twinge of guilt when I saw what a tiny piglet it was but that all melted away as quickly as the meat melted in my mouth. It was, without exaggeration, the best piece of pork I have ever eaten. I still dream about it and could have eaten another portion immediately. Pink, almost white, it was subtly piggy, tender and the most succulent piece of flesh ever. It was so damn good I'm drooling as I type.


My only complaint? Not enough crackling!! Love that stuff.

I was completely satiated at that point but the boy twisted my arm into ordering the souffle despite that he had two desserts in his menu.


I'm so glad I listened. It was the infamous Souffle Chartreuse avec crème glacée pistache. It was eaten up very quickly let me assure you!


The boy and I thoroughly enjoyed our meal and experience which lasted a good 3 plus hours. The Maitre D' was quirky, friendly yet professional, all the staff were incredibly friendly without any of the pretension and snootiness we are sometimes subjected to. The hostess even let me into the kitchen for a closer photo of the pig. The menu is a good deal if you are interested in a selection of dishes but if they have the cochon de lait, trust me, get it. It is very much worth the trip.


One thing you must be warned of though, is that due to the bar type seating of the restaurant, you may end up chatting to your neighbours. A somewhat disconcerting experience for my oh so English boy.



L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon
5 rue de Montalembert, 7th
Tel: 01 42 22 56 56
Metro: Rue du Bac
(reservations only for the 1st seating; 11:30am and 6:30pm)

Le Dôme du Marais

Lucky for us the boy managed to get us an apartment in the Marais, a bustling place with plenty of restuarants to try. One of them, Le Dôme du Marais, is within stumbling distance of 2 blocks from our front door and had been given a good review so of course we had to go and drag Umami and her husband with us!


Their menu changes seasonally and the evening we went, there were a choice of two menus, one at 35 euros and the other at a little over 40 euros. There were a choice of 3 starters, 3 mains and 2 desserts on each menu with different ingredients in each of them. We went with the 35 euro menu due to the choices offered and a bottle of wine was chosen in deference to our visit to the Salon de L'Agriculture, to wash it all down.


After an amuse-gueule of a cumin laced lentil salad accompanied with a pea soup with a dollop of crème fraîche, three of us started with a tartare of salmon tartare, which were three generous slices of salmon, served with a parsley sauce and a tart green apple salad. It was very nice although I found the apple salad a little bit too tart.

The boy had a starter of fresh oysters dressed in a crisp, light, green apple dressing which seemed to actually enhance the flavor and played off the sea-saltiness of the oyster's natural deliciousness (I'm biased).

For mains I went with the veal cheek which was served with a kind of pickled red cabbage and topped with matchstick apples. It photographed horribly so I won't show it here but it did taste quite nice with the sauce and its soft, tender texture, as is normal with veal cheek. Umami remarked that it didn't have much of a "taste" being veal and I believe she is right but I think my palate may still be in need of more refining to identify such things! Umami also quite liked the pickled red cabbage which I didn't enjoy very much.


The other three guests went with the very charmingly named "Assiette de Monsieur Cochon", a degustation platter of organic pig. This was composed of a glazed and roasted porcine slices, which tasted very much like char siu, a kind of brochette of a centre cut pork chop, boudin noir (blood sausage) and a kind of a crêpe .


Besides the brochette of pork, the other three items were underwhelming. After tasting Monsieur Gilles Vérot's boudin, it has ruined me for others. I did not taste the crêpe although it was commented that it was a little strange.


Moving onto dessert, I couldn't resist the tarte chocolat noir et marron glace, spoom a L'Absinthe, which was a delectable dark and not too sweet chocolate tarte which had a layer of marron glace at the bottom, and a little cup of delicious light foam flavored with a sprinkle of Absinthe, giving it a nice anise-y flavor.






The more restrained among us went with sorbet and exotic fruits before indulging in the complimentary petit fours of some type of coffee custard, homemade sweet mint marshmallow, almond snaps and butter cookies.





Personally, for the price, the friendly service, the food, the atmosphere and the generous servings, I would return. Although I would have to try hard not be swayed by the cute sounding names in the future.

Le Dôme du Marais

53 bis rue des Francs-Bourgeois, 4th

Tel: 01 42 74 54 17

Metro: Rambuteau

Salon International de L'Agriculture 2007

I went to the Salon International de L'Agriculture last week, an huge agricultural exposition showcasing all the diversity of local produce and animals as well, as of course, culinary specialties. The prestigious bronze, silver and medal awards for the Concours Général Agricole are also displayed and products sold.

The show ran from the 3rd to the 11th of March and unfortunately we did not attend the "Nuit de L'Agriculture" which ran until 11pm, I spent approximately 7 hours at the show.

It was great fun for the family as evidenced by the throngs of people crowded around everywhere. A friend asked whether it was as bad as the food expo in Hong Kong whereupon generations attend together, often carrying their exhausted children while loading up their baby strollers with produce, elbows way out and much pushing to get to the front of the queue or to grab a slice of saucisson from a vendor's tray. OOOOH yeah, exactly like that here too. Oh but it was HUGE! The food halls alone (in which, I am only slightly ashamed to say I spent 6 hours and 45 minutes) were massive and I barely made it through.



I quickly passed by the live animals, which were all beautiful, clean and brushed with their best face and hooves forward.


One sheep looked straight at me thinking "Do you f***ing believe this? Just eat me already, this is humiliating!"




In addition to this was a perfect specimen of a moo cow, you know, the ones that you draw in kindergarten when you think ALL cows look like this. I don't know where y'all live but I have never seen one looking so nice.




It was quite funny to see all the cows lined up neatly right behind the "viande" (meat) stand with chefs cooking their brethren. It's nice to see that no matter how fantastic the children thought the animals were, they had no issues tucking into the meat. No tantrums and threats to go vegetarian with this lot!



Besides the agricultural bit there were also interesting contests going on. While the competition as to who is the quickest to change the chain on a chain saw didn't really float my boat, these bad ass women with axes, they were wicked (or whatever "cool" adjective kids use these days)!



Until the lady on the far right winked at me. I was a little horrified for a second while smiling best I could (she had an AXE, man!) but relaxed and waved at her like a five year old when she mouthed the words....


..."thank you" after I took her picture.


What a woman!




Of course I lost it when it came to the food halls. There were mountains and mountains of huge wheels of bread at one stand;

varieties of dried saucisson ranging from wild boar, to liver to nut, cheese, wild mushroom and herb flavored, it was completely overwhelming and utterly delicious;

legs of ham strewed all over another booth;

while sugared fruits and marzipan was laid out like shiny jewels at a different stall;




and award-winning poultry, all tucked into white cotton socks seemingly dozed peacefully nearby, dreaming no doubt of becoming dinner shortly.

One of the more interesting, at least to me, interactive exhibits was the blind tasting, hosted by Dans le Noir, where we entered into a completely dark room, led by a staff who were visually impaired and were served three items; which ended up consisting of foie gras on toast (yum!), red wine and tapenade. The first two were easy due to the texture and the strong identifiable taste/smell but the second, I thought it was either a white or a rose, showing how sometimes your senses can trick you into what tastes heavier and lighter.

We also had to have a Grand Marnier crêpe, especially one which allows you to sprinkle as much of the wonderful liqueur as you wish on top of your crêpe. Despite the loud encouragement from the French ladies behind me to put more and more liqueur, the huge magnum bottle was tricky to handle when trying not to squish two crêpes into one sticky mess.

A most delicious day out.