Christmas special Issue 27
Come to France through the pages of The Good Life France Magazine... Discover: Provence, the hidden gems and most beautiful villages, French Alps, UNESCO listed Rocamadour... recipes and giveways, guides and an interview with international best-selling Kate Mosse who shares her favourite places in France...
Come to France through the pages of The Good Life France Magazine... Discover: Provence, the hidden gems and most beautiful villages, French Alps, UNESCO listed Rocamadour... recipes and giveways, guides and an interview with international best-selling Kate Mosse who shares her favourite places in France...
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Merry<br />
<strong>Christmas</strong><br />
What a year it's been. We've never done a <strong>Christmas</strong><br />
issue of The Good Life France Magazine before but I<br />
thought, why not? It's been such a difficult year that<br />
it would be lovely if we can bring some smiles with a<br />
bit of festive fabulousnesss from France.<br />
And so I started to put this issue together and I talked to some friends in the travel industry,<br />
style people, authors, top chefs and wine experts and they loved the idea. And they wanted<br />
to help make this issue super festive too. What began as a small project snowballed!<br />
Read on for a Michelin Star chef's exclusive recipe for gingerbread and a heart-warming tale<br />
of the chef's famous gingerbread making ancestor. Even my neighbour Madame Bernadette<br />
got involved! I wrote about her in my book My Four Seasons in France - how her Calvados<br />
based cocktails knock your socks off and her <strong>Christmas</strong> canapés induce her friends to sighs<br />
of happiness. Well, now you can make the cocktail too - and some of her favourite, very<br />
easy recipes that are perfect with aperitifs! And there are biscuit recipes, a gummy jelly<br />
recipe from a sweet toothed 2 Michelin star chef, plus how to make the ultimate hot<br />
chocolate Paris style. And lots of food and drink features for your taste of France at home!<br />
Plus there's a fabulous "how-to" feature on creating a <strong>Christmas</strong> bouquet from the floral<br />
team at the Chateau de Chenonceau in the Loire Valley, known as the Castle of Flowers...<br />
And destination features on Bordeaux, Megève and Boulogne-sur-Mer.<br />
Don't miss the chance to go into all 12 of our giveaway draws with a chance to win a<br />
brilliant week-long holiday in southwest France with a very <strong>special</strong> treat thrown in - wine<br />
tasting at a chateau anyone? Artwork, books, luxury bedding, gorgeous homeware, luxury<br />
gift boxes and much more - the giveaways in this issue are really, really wonderfully<br />
fabulous.<br />
I know most of us can't travel to France this holiday season, so we've concentrated very<br />
much on bringing France to you... And we'll be sharing our famous advent calendar photos<br />
on social media so please join me there: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter<br />
Wishing you a very merry <strong>Christmas</strong>, happy holidays and a happy new year.<br />
Bisous from my little pig sty office in the middle of nowhere, rural France,<br />
Janine<br />
Too much gingerbread?!
22<br />
24<br />
8<br />
Contents<br />
Festive Features...<br />
8 Chateau style <strong>Christmas</strong> bouquet<br />
The famous florist team at the Chateau<br />
de Chenonceau, Loire Valley show you<br />
how to create a stunning festive<br />
bouquet...<br />
12 <strong>Christmas</strong> in France<br />
It's not just an event but a feeling and a<br />
feast says Janine Marsh<br />
32 The 13 desserts of Provence<br />
Yes, in Provence, it's traditional to serve<br />
13 desserts at <strong>Christmas</strong>!<br />
84 My France at <strong>Christmas</strong><br />
The Atout France press team share their<br />
favourite things about <strong>Christmas</strong> in<br />
France!<br />
Festive food features<br />
Madame Bernadette's party food treats<br />
13 Cherry tomato lollipops<br />
14 Goats cheese with honey on toast<br />
16 Roquefort butter and walnuts<br />
22 Eiffel Tower Biscuits!<br />
They look great hanging from a<br />
<strong>Christmas</strong> tree and taste delicious.<br />
24 Gingerbread men (with berets!)<br />
Recipe for the traditional gingerbread<br />
men but with a French slant!<br />
30 Chef Lestiennes's Gingerbread Loaf<br />
The Michelin starred chef creates an<br />
exclusive recipe in honour of his<br />
ancestor, famous for gingerbread in<br />
France...
44<br />
30<br />
60<br />
46<br />
Contents<br />
Festive food features contd...<br />
36 How to make gummy jellies!<br />
Michelin Star chef Marc Meurin shares<br />
his favourite gummy jelly recipe.<br />
44 The ultimate French chocolat chaud<br />
How to make a scrumptious French style<br />
hot chocolate - perfect for <strong>Christmas</strong><br />
morning!<br />
Wine & cocktails<br />
18 Madame Bernadette's Calvados<br />
punch<br />
Guaranteed to blow your socks off!<br />
20 Brandy cocktails...<br />
French bartender Arnaud Volte's<br />
"<strong>Christmas</strong> stocking spritz"!<br />
38 Guide to wine pairing at <strong>Christmas</strong><br />
They look great hanging from a<br />
<strong>Christmas</strong> tree and taste delicious.<br />
42 How to choose a wine that suits your<br />
taste<br />
Wine expert Philip Reddaway explains<br />
how to choose the right wine for you.<br />
46 The history of coffee in France<br />
Sue Aran explores how the French came<br />
to fall in love with coffee!<br />
Explore France<br />
26 Le Weekend in Boulogne-sur-Mer<br />
The historic port town is absolutely<br />
perfect for a weekend break.
20 52<br />
Win a fabulous beach holiday!<br />
54 38<br />
60 Visit Paris Virtually!<br />
Melissa Barndon explores the internet in<br />
search of a Paris fix - and finds you can<br />
visit from home...<br />
68 Megeve, French Alps<br />
Rupert Parker heads to the Toquicimes<br />
food festival<br />
76 Merlot, Queen of Bordeaux<br />
Author Michael C Higgins explores Saint<br />
Emilion in Bordeaux and its right bank<br />
queen - Merlot!<br />
90 The French Republican Calendar<br />
The French Revolution led to the<br />
introduction of a new French calendar!<br />
92 French Style<br />
It'a hard to explain just what makes<br />
French style so <strong>special</strong> We chat to two<br />
experts about their style and products.<br />
competitions<br />
52 Win a holiday in southwest France<br />
54 Win a set of childrens adorable bedding<br />
54 Win artwork of your choice – 3 lucky<br />
winners here<br />
55 Win an absolutely stunning embroidered<br />
linen tablecloth<br />
55 Win a gorgeous luxury gift box of<br />
fabulous French things<br />
56 Win a lovely Provencal tablecloth<br />
56 Win a copy of Winston Churchill: Painting<br />
on the French Riviera<br />
57 Win a copy of Kate Mosse’s The City of<br />
Tears<br />
57 Win a fabulous coffee table book by<br />
artist Perry Taylor<br />
58 Win a copy of Exploring Wine Regions –<br />
Bordeaux<br />
58 Win a Signed Copy of The Secret Recipes<br />
of Sophie Valroux<br />
58 Win a copy of Finding Paris: A Novel
How to<br />
make a<br />
bouquet<br />
fit for a<br />
castle...<br />
Everyone who visits the Chateau de<br />
Chenonceau in the Loire Valley comes<br />
away with a memory of the exquisite<br />
gardens, the impossibly romantic white<br />
stone castle over a river with its pointy<br />
towers and arched bridge – and<br />
e<strong>special</strong>ly of the flower displays in<br />
every room.<br />
We asked the floral team at the castle<br />
to share their top tips for creating a<br />
bouquet at home...
<strong>Christmas</strong> bouquet Chenonceau
Above: Jean-Francois and Aurelie, the fabulous<br />
floral team at the Chateau de Chenonceau; left<br />
how to create a ribbon corsage<br />
What you need:<br />
Flowers and foliage<br />
Ribbon<br />
String to tie the bouquet, wire to hold the<br />
Tartan style ribbon or other pretty ribbon.<br />
Flowers used by Chenonceau<br />
Ruscus aculeatus – known as Butchers<br />
broom. Perfect for its dark green leaves and<br />
red berries<br />
Rose hips, for an extra colour zing<br />
Skimmia or other ornamental shrub with<br />
small berries<br />
Roses<br />
Select your roses and foliage and lay them<br />
out so you can see the colours together.<br />
Choose your vase first so you can cut the<br />
stems of the finished bouquet to fit.<br />
Make 8 loops with the ribbon to create a<br />
loose bow look (corsage style). Make the first<br />
loop, pinch and twist, then start another loop,<br />
pinch and twist until you have them all, then<br />
hold it together with wire in the centre.<br />
Alternate the flowers and foliage until you’re<br />
happy with the arrangement. Try to form a<br />
round shape by squeezing the flowers<br />
together. Tie them together and insert the<br />
wired bows to the arrangement and fluff up<br />
the loops.<br />
Create a large bouquet for your <strong>Christmas</strong><br />
table or several little round bouquet for a<br />
long table.<br />
Read about the Chateau of Chenonceau - the<br />
castle of flowers...<br />
Readers in UK can really up their <strong>Christmas</strong><br />
wreath-making game with the fun and<br />
fabulous online tutorials - including craft<br />
boxes sent to you - at ClassBento.co.uk
<strong>Christmas</strong> in<br />
France<br />
It's not just an event but a feeling and a<br />
feast says Janine Marsh as she<br />
reminisces on a <strong>Christmas</strong> past from<br />
her book My Four Seasons in France<br />
In the little farmhouses of my village you<br />
generally open the front door and find<br />
yourself in the main room of the house,<br />
where everyone spends most time. At my<br />
neighbour Madame Bernadette’s, that’s a<br />
large kitchen, the warmest room in the<br />
house, heated by a huge wood oven.<br />
We were invited for a <strong>Christmas</strong> soiree.<br />
Coming in from the crisp night air in which<br />
bright stars sparkled alongside a full moon in<br />
a velvety dark sky and the ground twinkled<br />
as frost was already forming – it was<br />
sweltering. The wall of heat instantly misted<br />
up my glasses leaving me momentarily<br />
disorientated in the steamy haze. Madame<br />
Bernadette had the perfect answer to that –<br />
a chilled cocktail made with calvados. If<br />
you’ve never had calvados before, be<br />
warned - this apple brandy from Normandy,<br />
the region that neighbours mine, can blow<br />
your socks off.<br />
And, I have to tell you, we were all pretty<br />
much sockless after a couple of hours...<br />
Soft music played in the background,<br />
something very French with a male singer of<br />
gravelly voice, perhaps Charles Aznavour –<br />
he has never gone out of fashion here.<br />
People were talking and laughing, helping<br />
themselves to delicious little pastries and<br />
canapés that Madame Bernadette had<br />
prepared earlier in the day. Delicate little<br />
melt-in-your-mouth choux buns filled with<br />
fresh, tangy goats cheese from the Goat<br />
Lady’s farm. Mini tartelettes filled with<br />
smoky lardons and onion confit. Delicate<br />
golden gougères like crunchy balloons<br />
flavoured with salty and nutty Comté cheese<br />
from eastern France. Tender mini-croquettes<br />
with silky tomato coulis, saucisson and blue<br />
cheese. And cherry tomato lollipops, like<br />
miniature shiny crimson works of art.<br />
Madame Bernadette beamed as everyone<br />
licked their lips in appreciation of her<br />
cooking skills.<br />
For me <strong>Christmas</strong> in France is not just an<br />
event, it's a feeling and a feast, a time to<br />
share. So, I asked Madame Bernadette to<br />
share with us her some of her favourite party<br />
food recipes and of course, her Blow Your<br />
Socks off Calvados cocktail....
Madame Bernadette's trio of party canapés you can't go<br />
wrong with. They're really easy to make but pack loads of<br />
wow factor!<br />
Cherry<br />
tomato<br />
lollipops<br />
Ingredients<br />
1 box of cherry tomatoes<br />
5 tablespoons sugar<br />
Sesame seeds<br />
Dash of balsamic vinegar<br />
Toothpicks or aperitif picks<br />
Wash the cherry tomatoes in cold water<br />
and dry them.<br />
Make a liquid caramel by bringing the<br />
sugar to the boil with a little water and a<br />
dash of balsamic vinegar. Stick a<br />
toothpick in each tomato, poke it<br />
halfway into the caramel, then dip it in<br />
the sesame seeds, which stick to the<br />
caramel. Deliciously fresh and zingy!
Goats cheese<br />
with honey<br />
on toast
Ingredients for 10 pieces:<br />
10 thin slices of baguette<br />
10 slices of goat's cheese log<br />
Liquid honey<br />
Fresh thyme or rosemary<br />
Preheat the oven to 180°C/400 F/Gas mark 4<br />
Place the bread on a baking tray and bake for 3 minutes.<br />
Remove and arrange the goat cheese slices on the bread slices. Bake for 3-4 minutes.<br />
Remove and drizzle some honey over the goats cheese and sprinkle with thyme or<br />
rosemary.<br />
Serve immediately...<br />
Pair it with:<br />
One of the most classic wine pairings with goat cheese is a Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire<br />
Valley, a French region that produces both tangy goat cheeses and bright white wines with<br />
crisp acidity that intertwine perfectly. In this case though, let’s venture out to Bordeaux for<br />
a bottle of La Fleur des Pins Blanc a delicious wine that combines the roundness of<br />
Semillon with the tart acidity of Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris, to mirror the<br />
sweetness brought by the honey drizzle. Aromas of honey, apricot and white flowers will<br />
pair perfectly with the honey while a mouthwatering acidity will balance its medium bodied<br />
structure and make it an ideal companion to the goat cheese. The touch of toast from the<br />
oak barrel ageing will be perfect with the crunchy French baguette. Laurent Yung,<br />
Sommalier.com French Wine Club in the USA.
Roquefort butter<br />
and walnuts<br />
Madame Bernadette loves to do this easy party appetiser as the tasty<br />
roquefort beurre (butter) can be made in advance. You can freeze it and it<br />
keeps in the fridge for a few weeks.
70 g of softened butter<br />
100 g of Roquefort at room temperature<br />
1 teaspoon of cognac (optional)<br />
Crush the Roquefort and butter with a fork, to make a paste. Then add the cognac.<br />
Smother on crackers or blinis, small pieces of bread or toast sprinkled with some crushed<br />
walnuts!<br />
Pair it with:<br />
Roquefort is a rich, strong, sheep milk cheese with a salty tangy flavor that calls for a rich<br />
wine that can stand up to it with it structure and bold flavors. Sauternes, said to be “wine of<br />
kings and king of wines” by Louis XIV is the ideal candidate: Botrytis Cinerea or “noble rot”<br />
(a fungi that develops on the grapes only in very specific conditions) acts as a sugar and<br />
flavors intensifier, and brings to life a luscious wine with honey and exotic fruits aromas,<br />
lively acidity and great structure and complexity. The intensity of this wine will stand up to<br />
the Roquefort bold character, while the savory cheese will make the fruit of the wine shine.<br />
The combination of both will make for a perfect mouthcoating experience, with the acidity<br />
of the wine inviting for another bite. The walnuts will add some crunchy texture and will be<br />
met with nutty flavors in the wine. Laurent Yung, Sommalier.com French Wine Club in the<br />
USA
Madame Bernadette's<br />
Calvados Punch
Guaranteed to blow your socks off!<br />
Just mix together:<br />
1 litre of white rum<br />
1 litre of apple juice<br />
40 cl of Calvados<br />
1 litre of orange juice<br />
Ice cubes<br />
And serve with a smile<br />
If you like your Calvados to be effervescent and<br />
fruity, these mixes are fabulous:<br />
6cl Champagne<br />
4cl Calvados<br />
6 cl cranberry juice<br />
1 part Calvados<br />
1 part strawberry liqueur<br />
5 parts Champagne
The spirit of <strong>Christmas</strong><br />
Arnaud Volte, French Bartender at the London EDITION hotel in central London shares a<br />
fabulous <strong>Christmas</strong> cocktail with Brandy - it's not just for your <strong>Christmas</strong> pud! For this<br />
"<strong>Christmas</strong> stocking spritz", Arnaud loves Bardinet brandy which has been made in France<br />
since 1857 and is easy available in the UK.<br />
Pomme Canelle Spritz<br />
Ingredients<br />
35ml Bardinet brandy<br />
15ml lemon juice<br />
15ml cinnamon syrup<br />
20ml clear apple juice<br />
Top up with soda water<br />
Glass: wine glass<br />
Garnish: Lemon wedge & cinnamon stick<br />
To make cinnamon syrup:<br />
100gr water<br />
100gr caster sugar<br />
2 cinnamon sticks<br />
"<br />
The inspiration behind this cocktail<br />
is from my family's restaurant in the<br />
South of France, where I spent last<br />
<strong>Christmas</strong> with my grandparents.<br />
The signature dish was a cinnamon<br />
and apple pizza, and I can<br />
remember even now, how beautiful<br />
the smell was - it filled the whole<br />
place. Apple and cinnamon match<br />
really well with the vanilla and dry<br />
fruits notes of Bardinet.<br />
In a pan, heat the water and sugar until the sugar is dissolved.<br />
Reduce the heat, add the cinnamon sticks. Cover the pan and leave to infuse for 10-15<br />
minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool for at least an hour. Strain and<br />
pour into a bottle, it will keep in the fridge for up to one month.<br />
Food pairing: Soft and hard cheese, black pudding, tomato, salted peanuts and thyme.<br />
"
Stained glass<br />
Eiffel Tower Biscuits<br />
Biscuits<br />
1 cup/226g unsalted butter<br />
1 cup/200g granulated sugar<br />
4 cups/480g all purpose plain flour<br />
½ cup/65g cornstarch<br />
2 eggs<br />
¾ teaspoon salt<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />
Cookie cutters<br />
Directions<br />
Sift the flour, cornstarch and salt into a large<br />
bowl and whisk together.<br />
In a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream<br />
together the butter and sugar.<br />
Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla<br />
while still mixing on low.<br />
Scrape the sides of the bowl down and add<br />
the dry mixture. Mix together for 2-3<br />
minutes making sure its all combined.<br />
Split the dough into two pieces and roll out<br />
into about ¼ inch thick circles.<br />
"Stained glass"<br />
10-12 hard boiled sweets - coloured ones<br />
are best<br />
Ribbon - if hanging them on the tree<br />
smaller cutter, cut out a part of the centre for<br />
the "stained glass".<br />
Poke a small hole at the top of the cookie, for<br />
the ribbon to go through if you are hanging<br />
them. Place them onto a parchment lined<br />
baking tray.<br />
Put the hard boiled sweets into a bag and<br />
using a rolling pin crush the sweets until they<br />
are like powder. Add it to the middle of the<br />
biscuits.<br />
Bake for 12 minutes at 375 F/ 180 D, until<br />
golden.<br />
Leave for 2-3 minutes before moving to a<br />
cooling rack to allow the candy to set.<br />
Wrap in cling film and chill for an hour. The<br />
dough is easier to work with when its chilled.<br />
Cut into the shapes you want, then using a<br />
Once cooled, add a loop of ribbon to the top.<br />
Make a scrumptious Buche de Noel,<br />
<strong>Christmas</strong> yule log - find a fabulous<br />
recipe here on our website:<br />
Buche de Noel
Gingerbread men!<br />
Ingredients<br />
175g/6oz Soft Brown Sugar<br />
350g plain flour<br />
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda<br />
2 tsp ground ginger,<br />
100g butter (cubed)<br />
4 tbsp Golden Syrup<br />
1 large egg (beaten)<br />
30ml milk<br />
Icing for decoration<br />
Method<br />
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5<br />
Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ginger. Add the butter and rub in to make<br />
fine breadcrumbs and stir I the sugar.<br />
Warm the golden syrup, egg and milk in a pan until dissolved and let it cool. Stir into the<br />
dry ingredients and mix to a dough. Turn out onto floured surface and knead until<br />
smooth.<br />
Roll out and use a gingerbread cutter to cut out 12 gingerbread men - leave and transfer<br />
onto 2 baking trays. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes.<br />
Once cooled, decorate with icing! Add a beret and moustache for a little French flair!<br />
Note: The undecorated gingerbread men will keep for at least a week in a tightly covered<br />
container. To freeze, stack and wrap them tightly first in plastic wrap, and then in foil,<br />
and pop in an airtight container or freezer bag, and freeze for up to three months.<br />
How to make a delicious<br />
Paris Brest <strong>Christmas</strong><br />
cake, recipe on our<br />
website: Paris Brest cake
Boulogne-sur-Mer,<br />
northern France<br />
Years ago, when Boulogne-sur_mer was<br />
open to ferries from the UK, the town was a<br />
popular day trip destination. It was often the<br />
first French port of call (scuse the pun) for<br />
school kids. Its boulangeries inspired a<br />
lifelong love of French cakes and bread for<br />
millions of children subjected to ready sliced<br />
flavourless bread in plastic bags and sticky<br />
buns which whilst tasty, simply can’t<br />
compare with a jewel-like strawberry tarte.<br />
Coachloads of pensioners were disgorged in<br />
the car park of Auchan hypermarket and<br />
then let loose in the town to cram into<br />
smelly cheese shops and wander the market.<br />
Those with grand ambitions to drive south in<br />
search of the sun, disembarked from the<br />
ferry and stopped off in the town for a spot<br />
of shopping.<br />
However its ease of access somehow made<br />
Boulogne less valued than some French<br />
towns. Despite its historic centre, cobbled<br />
streets and ancient buildings. Its marvellous<br />
market, wonderful shops, delicious<br />
restaurants, great bars and cafés. Long sandy<br />
beaches where you can pluck mussels for<br />
your tea and roam the cliff tops full of<br />
poppies, climb Napoleon’s column, explore<br />
ancient forts, museums and cultural sites.<br />
And Nauiscaa, France’s National Sea Centre,<br />
the biggest aquarium in Europe. When the<br />
ferry route from Boulogne to the UK<br />
stopped. So did the tourists.<br />
The town suffered. Shops were no longer full<br />
of Brits ooh’ing and ah’ing over Maroilles,<br />
the local stinky cheese. The queue at the<br />
chateau museum on a rainy day had gone.<br />
The restaurants were no longer full to<br />
bursting with happy punters tucking into the<br />
local favourite – moules frites.<br />
But time has passed. And, things have<br />
changed.
Find real France<br />
Those who want their French fix without<br />
hours of driving, are discovering that<br />
Boulogne is a perfect day trip or weekend<br />
stopover. It’s very easy to get to. From Calais<br />
it’s just 20 minutes down the autoroute A16<br />
(a toll-free part). And you'll find that<br />
Boulogne is a snapshot town of<br />
quintessential France. Perfect for those who<br />
love French food and wine, crave French<br />
culture and the café lifestyle – are<br />
discovering that this coastal city has it all:<br />
Medieval centre – check. Castle – check.<br />
Gorgeous countryside and beaches – check.<br />
Fabulous boulangeries and patisseries –<br />
check. Loads to do – check.<br />
And restaurants that you never want to<br />
leave because they’re so delicious – check.<br />
Which brings me to La Matelote, a Michelin<br />
Star restaurant that’s been shining a light on<br />
French gastronomy for more than 40 years.<br />
La Matelote<br />
In the March 3, 1888 issue of the New York<br />
Times a journalist wrote of “a galaxy of Gallic<br />
femmes a barbe”, ladies with beards, and of<br />
their popularity in France. In fact, so popular<br />
was the look that some women took to<br />
wearing fake beards and whiskers. In<br />
Boulogne-sur-Mer in the far north of France,<br />
one of the most famous of bearded ladies<br />
was Clémence Lestienne. Born Clémence<br />
Clarisse in 1834, she was known as much for<br />
the sweet treats she sold at markets in<br />
northern France as she was known for her<br />
looks. By the time she was 16 it was said that<br />
no one could compete with her gingerbread.
More than 100 years later, her great, great,<br />
great grandson Tony Lestienne is equally<br />
famous for his Michelin starred kitchen and<br />
hotel, La Matelote, the perfect weekend<br />
bolthole, which he runs with son Stellio. It’s<br />
just a stone’s throw from the market where<br />
Clémence once plied her trade.<br />
La Matelote means the “fisherman’s wife”<br />
and the restaurant excels in its fish dishes.<br />
Chef Lestienne opened it in 1979, winning a<br />
star in 1982 - which he’s held ever since.<br />
The restaurant has a plush but cosy,<br />
intimate interior and offers an excellent<br />
menu of fresh fish and mouth-watering<br />
desserts at an outstanding price (lunchtime<br />
2-course menu at €28) making it an<br />
institution in the north of France for foodies.<br />
With fishing boats unloading their daily<br />
catch virtually at the restaurant's door, you'll<br />
be hard-pressed to find a fresher selection<br />
of fruits de mer anywhere in France.<br />
“In a way” Chef Lestienne says “losing the<br />
ferry port allowed us to become more<br />
French again.”<br />
And in a way, La Matelote represents the<br />
updated Boulogne-sur-Mer – delectable,<br />
unpretentious, honouring its past and<br />
comfortable in its own skin.<br />
Tony and Stellio Lestienne get into the<br />
<strong>Christmas</strong> spirit and make gingerbread!<br />
In honour of his illustrious ancestor, Chef<br />
Lestienne has created an exclusive<br />
gingerbread loaf recipe for The Good Life<br />
France – see next page…
Michelin Star chef<br />
Tony Lestienne's<br />
gingerbread loaf<br />
Created in honour of his great<br />
great great grandmother<br />
Pain d’épices en mémoire de Clémence Lestienne, 1834 - 1919<br />
Le Pain d’épices de la femme à Barbe
180g of plain flour, sifted<br />
180g of honey<br />
70g butter<br />
2.5 teaspoons of gingerbread spices<br />
2g of baking powder<br />
7g of baking soda<br />
80g whole milk<br />
70g of soft brown sugar<br />
Pinch of salt<br />
Method<br />
Preheat oven to 160 Deg C<br />
Gently warm the honey, milk, and butter in<br />
a pan.<br />
Thoroughly sift the flour, yeasts and spices.<br />
Add the brown sugar.<br />
Mix all together.<br />
Line a loaf tin with butter and flour and<br />
pour the mix in.<br />
Cook for one hour – you may need to cover<br />
the loaf with baking paper towards the end<br />
of cooking to prevent the loaf from<br />
becoming too brown.<br />
Optional: You can add candied orange<br />
pieces to the dough or place on the<br />
gingerbread before baking for extra zing.<br />
Spices for gingerbread<br />
50g ground cinnamon<br />
3 star anise powdered<br />
10 powdered cloves<br />
20g ground coriander<br />
15g powdered green anise<br />
20g of ginger<br />
10g ground nutmeg<br />
Sift twice before putting the mix in a pot.
13 desserts of<br />
Provence<br />
Many of the <strong>Christmas</strong> traditions of France<br />
revolve around food, from buche de Noël -<br />
yule logs - and gingerbread to Kugelhopf and<br />
mulled cider. In Provence though, they go<br />
one step further. There it’s traditional to<br />
have 13 desserts at <strong>Christmas</strong>!<br />
Yup, 13 desserts – but not, I have to add, 13<br />
cakes, in case you’re wondering how on<br />
earth anyone can cope with such a thing.<br />
The tradition of Les Treize Desserts de Noël<br />
goes back several centuries and it’s said that<br />
the roots of this custom lie in religion and<br />
represent Jesus and his twelve apostles at<br />
the Last Supper.<br />
The ingredients of the 13 desserts varies<br />
from village to village, and even from home<br />
to home. But it always includes dishes of<br />
nuts, fruit and sweets plus an orange<br />
flavoured cake. The desserts are spread out<br />
on a table in dishes, and everyone is invited<br />
to take a little from each dish.<br />
It’s a tradition to lay the desserts out on<br />
<strong>Christmas</strong> Eve and leave them there for<br />
three days.<br />
Though everyone’s table might have a<br />
variation of dishes, you’ll pretty much always<br />
find “les quartre mendiants”, the four<br />
beggars, which represent monastic<br />
communities: walnuts or hazelnuts<br />
symbolizing the order of St Augustin,<br />
almonds for the Carmelites, raisins for the<br />
Dominicans, and dry figs for the Franciscans.<br />
And there will always be nougat, white with<br />
hazelnuts, pine nuts and pistachios to<br />
symoblise good, and dark nougat with<br />
melted honey and almonds to symbolise evil.<br />
The fougasse or pompe à l’huile takes centre<br />
stage. This is an olive oil flatbread flavoured<br />
with orange blossom. The tradition is to<br />
break a piece of the bread off with your<br />
fingers, rather than cut it with a knife - which<br />
some say will protect your money in the<br />
coming year. (There's a recipe over the page<br />
for those who'd like to make this delicious<br />
cake at home).<br />
The rest of the desserts vary according to<br />
location and preference and might include:<br />
Fruit: melon, oranges, dates and exotic fruit<br />
like kiwi or pineapple – the fruit is<br />
considered just one dish though!<br />
Grapes might also be included, ideally the<br />
last bunches of the season picked in the<br />
vineyards and preserved in attics and cellars<br />
until <strong>Christmas</strong>.<br />
And you might also have crystalised fruit, a<br />
Provencal <strong>special</strong>ity, made in Apt in the<br />
Vaucluse department.
Dates, sometime stuffed with marzipan,<br />
represent food of the region where Christ<br />
lived and died.<br />
And there might also be sweet Calissons<br />
d’Aix. The origin of these small, almond<br />
shaped biscuits goes back to the 1454<br />
wedding of King Rene and Jeanne de Laval<br />
in the city of Aix-en-Provence, when it’s<br />
claimed the court confectioner created the<br />
recipe!<br />
Calissons d'Aix<br />
There Photo: might Guenhaël also Kessler, be quince Vaucluse paste Tourist or Office<br />
gingerbread.<br />
Easy Provencal pompe a l'huile<br />
500g flour<br />
25g yeast<br />
75g sugar<br />
12.5cl olive oil<br />
Zest of one orange<br />
3 Tablespoons of orange blossom water<br />
10g of salt<br />
14.5cl lukewarm water<br />
Mix the yeast, 200g of flour and a glass of<br />
water and leave to rise for 45 min.<br />
Add the olive oil, the remaining flour, the<br />
lemon and orange zest, salt and sugar. Mix<br />
gently, cover and leave to rise for 3 hours, or<br />
overnight for 8 hours in the fridge<br />
Roll out the dough to an oval shape (as<br />
above), slash the dough with a sharp knife, a<br />
bit like a leaf patter. Cover and and let rise for<br />
1 hour.<br />
Preheat the oven to Gas Mark.7 (220 ° C).<br />
Bake for 15 minutes.<br />
Remove from the oven, brush with olive oil.
Chef Meurin's<br />
iressistible<br />
gummy jellies<br />
When we asked 2 Michelin Star chef<br />
Marc Meurin to share a favourite<br />
sweetie recipe with us, he didn’t<br />
hesitate – gummy jellies.<br />
The soft, sweet chewy bonbons were<br />
invented almost 100 years ago in<br />
Germany. The creator, Hans Riegel,<br />
worked in a sweet factory and hated his<br />
job so he starred making his own<br />
candies and selling them at street fairs,<br />
or delivered to customers by his wife on<br />
her bike! Riegel named his company<br />
after the first two letters of his first<br />
name, last name, his home city, Hans=<br />
HA, Riegel= RI, and Bonn= BO: Haribo.<br />
Most sweets of the day were hard, and<br />
Haribo’s soft and chewy gummy bears<br />
as he called them (also known as gold<br />
bears now) were wildly popular. And the<br />
rest as they say is history – Haribo are<br />
now everywhere and soft jelly sweets<br />
are an iconic confection.<br />
Here's how to make them at home...<br />
Ingredients<br />
100g water<br />
<strong>27</strong>5g sugar<br />
225g glucose<br />
37g gelatin<br />
12g fruit juice – lemon/ref fruits/mint – your<br />
choice! If you’re using flavouring instead –<br />
leave out the fruit juice.<br />
Colouring of your choice<br />
Equipment<br />
Moulds - silicon moulds work best
How to make gummy jellies at home:<br />
1. Place the water, sugar and glucose in a saucepan. Heat everything to 125 ° C.<br />
2. Add gelatin (it may help to soften sheets in cold water first) and lemon juice.<br />
3. Divide the mix between different bowls and add colouring for different coloured jellies.<br />
4. Pour into moulds (silicon works best) and allow to cool completely.<br />
Chef Marc Meurin's stunning luxury hotel<br />
Chateau de Beaulieu in the beautiful<br />
countryside of Busnes, near historic<br />
Bethune, northern France is a perfect<br />
weekend treat. The chef offers cookery<br />
lessons (book in advance, they are very<br />
popular) and has two restaurants - the 2<br />
Michelin Star Le Meurin and the bistro<br />
Jardin d'Alice. He also has an onsite sweet<br />
shop that is crammed full of wonderful<br />
bonbons and macarons that are out of this<br />
world delicious. Satisfy your inner Willy<br />
Wonka at the sweet shop, indulge in the<br />
restaurants, relax in the hotel and discover<br />
this beautiful area of northern France.<br />
lechateaudebeaulieu.fr<br />
tourisme-bethune-bruay.fr
Guide to<br />
perfectly pair so you can match French wine<br />
with holiday foods to help you enjoy wine<br />
like a Frenchie during the festive season.<br />
Cocktails and vin chaud<br />
Wine pairing<br />
at<br />
<strong>Christmas</strong><br />
In France, <strong>Christmas</strong> meals lasting up to 6<br />
hours are fairly normal. <strong>Christmas</strong> is a time<br />
to indulge in the finest food possible, in fact<br />
it’s more about food that gifts for most<br />
French people. And of course if there’s<br />
food – there’s wine.<br />
But, with more than 200 wine varieties to<br />
choose from – how do you know which are<br />
the best wines to drink at <strong>Christmas</strong>? We<br />
asked Laurent Yung of the renowned French<br />
wine club, SomMailier.com, for some tips!<br />
How the French drink wine at<br />
<strong>Christmas</strong><br />
The French truly understand how to<br />
celebrate the pleasures of the table. It<br />
doesn’t matter which region you’re in, fresh<br />
seafood and fine cheeses, decadent desserts<br />
and delicious wines are among the stars of<br />
the table.<br />
Champagne, sophisticated reds from the<br />
Rhône Valley, Burgundy and Bordeaux, and<br />
lusciously sweet dessert wines like<br />
Sauternes are all favourites. Here’s how to<br />
Extravagant boozy <strong>Christmas</strong> parties aren’t<br />
common in France. People tend to meet up<br />
to celebrate the holidays with a glass or two<br />
of something decadent and delicious. Festive<br />
French cocktails include Kir Royale, a<br />
gorgeous ruby-hued drink made from<br />
Champagne and a splash of Crème de Cassis<br />
or blackcurrant liqueur. Or maybe a classic<br />
Sidecar made with citrusy Cointreau and<br />
warming Cognac.<br />
Vin chaud is also popular, a fragrant spiced<br />
warm wine. If you fancy trying vin chaud at<br />
home, don’t use an expensive French red<br />
wine. Copy the French by picking up an<br />
everyday, not costly, bottle of red. Add<br />
festive spices like cinnamon, cloves and<br />
cardamom and maybe a shot of Cognac<br />
(recipe for vin chaud). In Normandy and<br />
Brittany, cider replaces wine for a cidre<br />
chaud drink, a little bit lighter but just as<br />
joyful and uplifting.<br />
Wines for <strong>Christmas</strong> dishes<br />
In France, <strong>Christmas</strong> Eve is the pinnacle of<br />
the <strong>Christmas</strong> feasting season. Beautifully<br />
decorated tables are perfect for a sumptuous<br />
<strong>Christmas</strong> feast and the very best French<br />
wines. Known as le réveillon or the “wakeup”<br />
dinner. It is not uncommon for the<br />
French <strong>Christmas</strong> Eve dinner to include<br />
elaborate five or six course menus that can<br />
take up to six hours!<br />
Kick things off by opening a bottle of<br />
Champagne or sparkling wine. The bubbles<br />
are guaranteed to get you in a festive mood.<br />
According to scientists, the magnesium,<br />
potassium and zinc in Champagne really does<br />
make you feel happy. Don’t attempt to count<br />
the bubbles though – there are an estimated<br />
11-15 million in each bottle!
Wines for starters<br />
Languedoc red to go with<br />
Pair starters which have a sweetness to them<br />
with a glass of chilled sweet wine like<br />
Sauternes, Barsac or Monbazillac or a semisweet<br />
Côteaux du Layon. These luscious<br />
golden wines offer the perfect mix of<br />
richness and fresh acidity. Or you might<br />
choose a dry white wine like Riesling from<br />
Alsace or even an intense, buttery<br />
Chardonnay if you prefer to avoid<br />
overwhelming your palate with a sugary wine<br />
at the start of the meal.<br />
Other classic entree options include garlic<br />
snails paired with a crisp Chablis from<br />
Burgundy. For salty oysters and smoked<br />
salmon choose a Champagne with a decent<br />
acidity balancing freshness to help to cut<br />
through the heavy, oily texture of the food,<br />
cleanse the palate and leave you ready for<br />
the rest of your feast.<br />
Wine with every course!<br />
Main course wines<br />
The main course, plat principal, comes next.<br />
The centerpiece is usually a large bird, roast<br />
turkey, Guinea fowl or pheasant, often<br />
stuffed with a chestnut mix. Lobster, crab,<br />
duck or seasonal game like venison or boar<br />
are also popular. With such a smorgasbord of<br />
flavors on the table, most families keep their<br />
main course drinks simple and classic. This is<br />
the ideal moment to bring out a Grand Cru<br />
Bordeaux, a good Burgundy or a fine<br />
Chateauneuf du Pape.<br />
Wines for cheese<br />
No French feast would be complete without<br />
a cheese course which usually comes<br />
between the main course and dessert. A<br />
choice of cheeses might include the softies:<br />
creamy cow’s milk Vacherin, Brie de Meaux<br />
or Camembert. Then it’s on to the hard<br />
cheeses – Comté or Cantal. Complete your<br />
cheese board with a tangy goat’s milk<br />
Tomme de Chèvre and a piquant blue like<br />
Roquefort or Bleu d’Auvergne. Here the<br />
choice of wine all comes down to personal<br />
preference. Pick a Beaujolais cru or<br />
the hard cheeses, a decadent Champagne for<br />
the creamier cheeses, or try the classic<br />
sweet-salty combo of Sauternes and blue<br />
cheese.<br />
Discover how to create a perfect French cheese
choices are a glass of Banyuls, a fortified<br />
wine from the rugged Languedoc-Roussillon,<br />
a demi-sec Champagne or even a chilled<br />
Cointreau on the rocks.<br />
If you can manage one more sip, it’s<br />
customary in France to close the meal with a<br />
digestif. Try a small serving of mellow<br />
brandy, appley Calvados, Armagnac, Cognac<br />
or something a little more unusual like herbal<br />
liqueur Génépy which is made in the Alps.<br />
Wines to go with desserts<br />
After that button-popping meal, you might<br />
enjoy a lighter dessert. In France a bûche de<br />
Noël is the number choice. A chocolate<br />
sponge cake shaped and decorated to look<br />
like a Yule log (here’s how to make one at<br />
home). This sweet treat should be paired<br />
with a wine that is even sweeter, so great<br />
Laurent is a wine expert who runs<br />
SomMailier.com, a French Wine Club in the<br />
USA. Members receive delicious boutique<br />
wines, selected by wine experts in France as<br />
well as detailed information about wine and<br />
food pairing ideas to help you really discover<br />
French wine. We think a club membership is<br />
the perfect <strong>Christmas</strong> present! Get a <strong>special</strong><br />
introductory offer of 10% on any product –<br />
just use the code TGLF2020 on the checkout<br />
page…
How to choose a French wine<br />
that suits your taste<br />
Wine expert Philip Reddaway shares his top tips to help you choose wine<br />
that's just right for you...<br />
Standing in the wine aisle of the supermarket,<br />
confronted with a range of 500<br />
different wines, or perusing a 4-page wine<br />
list in a restaurant can be quite a daunting<br />
experience. France produces more than<br />
2,900 different types of wine, more than<br />
360 different appellations (a legal defined<br />
area of production) and over 200 indigenous<br />
wine varieties. So, how do you know where<br />
to start?<br />
If price isn’t an issue, then simply picking the<br />
most expensive bottle seems like it might<br />
work. But - will the wine actually suit your<br />
taste rather than that of the collectors and<br />
critics who determine market prices?<br />
Besides, for most of us wine is a regular<br />
purchase where cost is definitely a<br />
consideration – and even most wine buffs I<br />
know like to think they can spot a bargain.<br />
My advice is to tackle this from first<br />
principles, trusting your own taste buds.<br />
Start by thinking about what kind of wine do<br />
you generally prefer to drink? Do you like<br />
dry or sweet? Do you like your red wine<br />
beefy and powerful or lighter and fruitier? If<br />
you prefer white wine, is it full and oaky, or<br />
crisp and refreshing that gets your taste<br />
buds humming?<br />
Once you've broken down your style<br />
preferences in this way then a little advice<br />
from a retailer or a little bit of research will<br />
lead you to the wine regions and key<br />
varietals of France that are “classic”<br />
examples of these styles. You shouldn’t<br />
need more than around 8 appellations/<br />
varietals to get you going.<br />
Here's how this might work:<br />
“I like Chardonnay but I’m not too keen on all<br />
the oak”.<br />
A Chablis from Burgundy is my classic choice<br />
here, usually unoaked or very lightly oaked.<br />
There are wines at prices to suit all budgets -<br />
from the excellent wines produced by cooperatives<br />
up to some very<br />
fancy Grand Crus. Pretty well every store or<br />
restaurant is going to stock a Chablis<br />
precisely because it’s an acknowledged<br />
classic.<br />
“I like my whites dry but with some floral<br />
tones, not keen on that buttery thing.”<br />
The classic here would be a Sauvignon based<br />
wine from Sancerre in the Loire Valley, very<br />
dry with attractive grassy/gooseberry<br />
aromas and pleasing saline minerality.<br />
“I like bold reds with some bite, love that<br />
cigar box thing.”<br />
If this is you, go for a Cabernet Sauvignon/<br />
Merlot blend from Bordeaux. You don’t have<br />
to pay high prices, look for the entry level<br />
Medoc appellation or the satellite Cotes de<br />
Bourg. These will deliver the style without<br />
hurting your pocket.<br />
“I'm more of a white drinker than a red. But<br />
when I drink reds I’m looking for easy fruit<br />
flavours and not too much alcohol.”
A classic Beaujolais from the Gamay grape<br />
produces juicy wines that slip down easily<br />
and are often only 12.5% alcohol, low by<br />
today's standards.<br />
If you approach the challenge of how to<br />
choose a good French wine that suits your<br />
taste in this way, you will swiftly build a<br />
reliable list of appellations and varietals that<br />
suit your palate.<br />
Of course, not all Chablis is great Chablis.<br />
The next stage of your adventure is to get to<br />
know the better producers. Be bold and seek<br />
advice wherever and whenever you can find<br />
it. And taste it if you can to make sure you<br />
agree! Talk to your sommelier and the<br />
manager at your wine store – they love<br />
nothing better than being quizzed.<br />
Once your base camp is established,<br />
continue the taste journey and venture out<br />
into the unknown... Try the explosive exotic<br />
fruit and rose petal flavours of a<br />
Gewürztraminer from Alsace, the intense<br />
sweet strawberry and herbal spice of a pure<br />
Grenache from the Rhone, the adventure<br />
continues..<br />
I offer the above advice in the knowledge<br />
that this process is precisely how I have<br />
come to know and appreciate French wines<br />
over more than 40 years. It’s not a quick fix<br />
but it is true to what your unique palate<br />
enjoys in a wine - and the learning curve is a<br />
constant delight!<br />
Philip Reddaway holds a Wine and Spirit<br />
Educational Trust diploma, qualified as an<br />
AIWS (Associate of the Institute of Wine and<br />
Spirits) and is a WSET approved wine<br />
instructor. He runs Rhone Wine Holidays<br />
fabulous wine tours in the Rhone Valley.
The ultimate French<br />
chocolat chaud
"<br />
French style hot chocolate is decadent, it<br />
can’t be denied. Luxuriously rich, smooth,<br />
creamy and oh so chocolatey.<br />
It was introduced to the court of Versailles<br />
during the reign of Louis XIV but it was his<br />
grandson Louix XV who made it a feature of<br />
Versailles cuisine. During his reign, the<br />
popularity of hot chocolate soared – the<br />
King even took to making it himself, so<br />
enamoured was he of the rich drink. During<br />
his reign the first chocolate making<br />
machines were invented and <strong>special</strong>ist<br />
outlets were set up in Paris.<br />
Marie-Antoinette even bought her personal<br />
chocolate-maker with her from Austria<br />
when she married Louis XVI in 1770.<br />
It was expensive though, so didn’t really<br />
become popular with everyone until the<br />
19th century when factories such as Menier<br />
opened to produce it en masse.<br />
You could make it like King Louis XV whose<br />
recipe is as follows:<br />
Place an equal number of bars of chocolate<br />
Ingredients<br />
and cups of water in a cafetiere and boil on a<br />
low heat for a short while; when you are ready<br />
to serve, add one egg yolk for four cups and stir<br />
over a low heat without allowing to boil. It is<br />
better if prepared a day in advance. Those who<br />
drink it every day should leave a small amount<br />
as flavouring for those who prepare it the next<br />
day. Instead of an egg yolk one can add a<br />
beaten egg white after having removed the top<br />
layer of froth. Mix in a small amount of<br />
chocolate from the cafetiere then add to the<br />
cafetiere and finish as with the egg yolk.<br />
Source: Dinners of the Court or the Art of<br />
working with all sorts of foods for serving the<br />
best tables following the four seasons, by<br />
Menon, 1755 (BnF, V.26995, volume IV, p.331)<br />
Or you could make it like a Parisian! We<br />
asked Paris-based Ian Benton of La Chambre<br />
Paris luxury linen bedding to share his<br />
favourite recipe for hot chocolate, perfect<br />
for a lazy lie-in…<br />
2 cups whole milk<br />
6 ounces/170g top quality dark or bittersweet chocolate (at least 70%)<br />
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar (optional and according to taste)<br />
Tiny pinch of sea salt<br />
Whipped cream for serving (optional)<br />
Powdered cinnamon for extra <strong>Christmas</strong> cheer<br />
Instructions<br />
Win a set of<br />
superb La<br />
Chambre Paris<br />
bed sheets for<br />
kids see page<br />
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Heat the milk in a pan until it's hot and bubbles appear, but not boiling. Add the salt and the<br />
finely chopped dark chocolate and whisk until dissolved and smooth.<br />
Heat it to a very low simmer, whisking continuously, but don’t let it boil. Simmer for about<br />
three minutes during which time it will thicken.<br />
Stir in the brown sugar if you like your hot chocolate sweet, and whisk until smooth.<br />
Pour into cups.<br />
For extra decadence serve with a dollop of whipped cream. And for a little <strong>Christmas</strong> cheer,<br />
sprinkle a pinch of cinnamon powder over the cream.<br />
And… relax.<br />
Note: For an even thicker result, make the hot chocolate ahead of time, let it cool and then<br />
reheat when ready to serve.<br />
"
The History<br />
of coffee in France<br />
Photo: Barbara Pasquet James, Focus on Paris
There’s a thriving coffee culture in France and<br />
for first time visitors it takes a bit of getting<br />
used to. Generally French cafés don’t have a<br />
menu of types of coffee, you’re expected to<br />
just know what to ask for (find a handy guide<br />
at the end of this article). But how did it get to<br />
be so popular in the first place?<br />
Sue Aran, an American, who lives in the<br />
gorgeous Gers department, AKA Gascony, and<br />
runs fabulous tours, tells the tale of France’s<br />
love affair with coffee…<br />
Madame Sévigné, one of the great French<br />
literary icons remembered for her extensive<br />
and opinionated letter writing said, “There are<br />
two things the French will never swallow –<br />
Racine’s poetry and coffee.” Fortunately, she<br />
was wrong about both.<br />
Coffee had been around almost a thousand<br />
years before it reached France. Legend has it<br />
that in Ethiopia where the coffee plants grew,<br />
in the 9th century monks made an infusion<br />
with the berries after witnessing a goatherd<br />
eating them and clearly being invigorated by<br />
the experience. Coffee travelled round the<br />
world, seen as a medicine and an aid to<br />
prayers and by the 16th century coffee<br />
houses were established in Constantinople<br />
(now Istanbul).<br />
It wasn't always popular<br />
By the early 17th century, coffee was<br />
introduced to Europe through Venetian<br />
merchants. It was met with strong resistance<br />
from the Catholic church. However, when<br />
Pope Clement VIII was asked to declare the<br />
“black, sooty beverage” the invention of<br />
Satan, he replied, “Let me taste it first.” He did<br />
and proclaimed, “This devil’s drink is so<br />
delicious we should cheat the devil by<br />
baptizing it!” After his pronouncement coffee<br />
spread through Europe like lightning. Venice’s<br />
first coffee house opened in 1645, England’s<br />
in 1650 and France’s in 1671, although coffee<br />
arrived in the port of Marseille in 1644.
Photo: Credit Le Procope Paris<br />
The royal penchant for coffee<br />
Coffee was first introduced to Paris in 1669<br />
by Suleyman Aga, the ambassador to the<br />
court of King Louis XIV of France. Aga was<br />
sent by Mohammed IV with sacks of coffee.<br />
He described it as a magical beverage when<br />
mixed with a small quantity of cloves,<br />
cardamom seeds and sugar, which in those<br />
day was bought by the ounce at the<br />
apothecary’s shop. He also brought the<br />
apparatus used for the preparation of the<br />
Turkish style coffee drink. It included china<br />
dishes, and small pieces of muslin<br />
embroidered with gold, silver, and silk, used<br />
as napkins. He became the darling of<br />
Parisian society, remaining in the city long<br />
enough firmly to establish the custom he<br />
had introduced.<br />
Two years later, in 1671, an Armenian<br />
whom everyone called Pascal, opened a<br />
coffee-drinking booth at the fair of St.<br />
Germain. He offered the beverage for sale<br />
from a tent, supplemented by the service of<br />
Turkish waiter boys, who peddled it among<br />
the crowds from small cups on trays. The fair<br />
was held during the first two months of<br />
spring, in a large open plot just inside the<br />
walls of Paris and near the Latin Quarter. As<br />
Pascal’s waiter boys circulated through the<br />
crowds on those chilly days the fragrant<br />
odor of freshly made coffee encouraged<br />
many sales of the steaming beverage. Soon<br />
visitors to the fair learned to look for the<br />
“little black” cupful of cheer, or petit noir, a<br />
name that still endures. This marked the<br />
beginning of Parisian coffee houses.<br />
In 1686, the Café de Procope was opened by<br />
Sicilian chef Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli.<br />
He had come to Paris from Italy acquiring a<br />
royal license to sell spices, ices, barley water<br />
and lemonade. As a keen business man he<br />
added coffee to the list and soon attracted a<br />
large and rather distinguished clientele:<br />
noted French actors, authors, dramatists and<br />
musicians. With the opening of the Café de<br />
Procope, coffee became firmly established in<br />
Paris.
Louis XIV (1638-1715)<br />
grew his own coffee beans<br />
in greenhouses on the<br />
Versailles Palace grounds.<br />
He handpicked the beans,<br />
roasted them, and ground<br />
them himself. He loved to<br />
serve his own coffee to<br />
guests of the Palace<br />
Read more about the Kings<br />
potager (vegetable<br />
gardens) at Versailles .<br />
Voltaire (1694-1778), a French<br />
writer and public activist,<br />
allegedly drank between 40 and<br />
50 cups a day which he mixed<br />
with chocolate. He credited<br />
coffee for the inspiration and<br />
stimulation behind the<br />
development of his<br />
philosophies. He paid hefty<br />
bonuses to his servants who<br />
could find his favourite coffee<br />
beans.<br />
The first merchant licensed to sell coffee in<br />
Paris was François Damame, who secured<br />
the privilege through an edict of 1692. He<br />
was given the sole right for 10 years to sell<br />
coffee in all the provinces and towns of the<br />
kingdom, and in all territories under the<br />
sovereignty of the king. Every city in France<br />
soon had its coffee houses.<br />
In 1714, Louis XIV received a present from<br />
the Dutch, a coffee tree for Paris’s Royal<br />
Botanical Garden, the Jardin des Plantes. The<br />
Dutch had successfully grown the coffee<br />
tree on the island of Java. This inspired Louis<br />
XIV to consider Martinique for growing<br />
coffee. He gave a clipping to a young naval<br />
officer, Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu who sailed<br />
for Martinique. Pirates nearly captured the<br />
ship and a storm nearly sank it. Drought<br />
followed, water grew scarce and was<br />
rationed, but de Clieu gave half of his<br />
allotment of drinking water to his stricken<br />
cutting. Under armed guard, the cutting was<br />
planted and grew strong. In the next 50 years<br />
it yielded a whopping 18 million trees.<br />
Coffee become the king of drinks in Paris...
"<br />
Napoleon Bonaparte asked<br />
for a spoonful of coffee while<br />
on his deathbed, and his<br />
autopsy revealed coffee<br />
grounds in his stomach. He is<br />
credited with the quote:<br />
I would rather suffer<br />
with coffee than be<br />
senseless.<br />
"<br />
During the reign of Louis XV (1715-1774)<br />
there were 600 cafés in Paris. At the close<br />
of the 18th century there were more than<br />
800. With the invention of the first<br />
percolation system coffee maker, “La<br />
Débelloire,” by Jean-Baptiste de Belloy,<br />
Archbishop of Paris (1802-1808), the<br />
number of cafés increased to more than<br />
3000.<br />
Napoleon Bonaparte had a passion for<br />
coffee claiming “I would rather suffer with<br />
coffee than be senseless” - and he<br />
reportedly drank up to 50 cups a day.<br />
Coffee is still loved by the French – though<br />
not as much as that…<br />
Sue Aran lives in the Gers department of<br />
southwest France where she runs French<br />
Country Adventures, which provides private,<br />
personally-guided, small-group food & wine<br />
adventures into Gascony, the Pays Basque,<br />
Tarn and beyond…<br />
How to order coffee in France<br />
Café/café noir/espresso/café express:<br />
Though the French word for coffee is “café”,<br />
if you order “un café” at a French coffee<br />
shop, don’t expect coffee with milk, you’ll<br />
get an espresso in a small cup called a<br />
demitasse.<br />
Café au lait: Coffee with milk is for breakfast<br />
only. Some places still serve it in a bowl, the<br />
old traditional way but not that much these<br />
days. It’s espresso from lunch time onwards<br />
and only between or after meals, even late at<br />
night... French people are horrified by milky<br />
coffee drinks after 11am!<br />
Café crème: Espresso with foamed milk, like<br />
a cappuccino,<br />
Café allongé: An espresso diluted with extra<br />
hot water. If you want extra milk, you'll need<br />
to request lait supplémentaire
Noisette: Espresso with a splash of hot milk<br />
that’s hazelnut coloured – hence the name.<br />
Drink your coffee like the locals do – at the<br />
bar or in a café, not in a large paper cup in<br />
the street!<br />
Café Crème: Esperesso coffee with extra<br />
water and a drop of cream (or cream and<br />
milk).<br />
Café décaféiné: Decaffeinated coffee.<br />
And whatever coffee you choose - always<br />
use S'il vous plait - please...
Win<br />
a fabulous week-long holi<br />
southwest France
day in Médoc-Atlantique, Gironde,<br />
WIN A HOLIDAY<br />
Enter our brilliant competition for a chance to win a blissful week-long break at Le Verdonsur-Mer<br />
on the coast in the Médoc-Atlantique region (medoc-atlantique.com/en).<br />
Surrounded by scented pine-forests, inviting ocean and prestigious Bordeaux vineyards, the<br />
4* Sunêlia La Pointe du Médoc setting befits as lazy or active holiday as you wish: sandy<br />
beaches for escapism and watersports, forests for welcome shade, and gentle cycling<br />
paths – including the famous Vélodyssée – for discovery and pleasure.<br />
The Médoc boasts over 1000 wine producers: the Route du Vignoble et de l’Estuaire<br />
(Bordeaux to La Pointe du Médoc) runs through famous villages and past noble châteaux,<br />
with frequent opportunities to stop for a tasting. Better still, the organic Chateau Loudenne<br />
at Saint-Yzans-de-Médoc is offering the lucky winner a fabulous vineyard and cellar tour<br />
with wine-tasting and a scrumptious picnic of local produce - wine and soft drinks included!<br />
Sunêlia La Pointe du Médoc’s facilities include a heated indoor pool and outdoor pool with<br />
waterslide, a super spa and friendly corner shop selling fresh local produce, breads and<br />
pastries. Dine at Le Medocain (July/August) for irresistible regional <strong>special</strong>ities. Pétanque,<br />
mini-golf or table tennis are available, and children love the mini-farm with its goats, pigs,<br />
chickens and ponies. If you can tear yourself away from the park, discover the colourful<br />
local village markets and a host of cultural and historic sites close by.<br />
The prize, for 2 adults and 2 children (valid 9th April to 14th July 2021, subject to<br />
availability) includes the best available 2-bedroom chalet at Sunêlia La Pointe du Médoc,<br />
continental breakfast, 2 days’ cycle hire, and one tour/tasting and picnic at Le Chateau<br />
Loudenne.<br />
La Pointe du Médoc is one of 29 luxury holiday parks in the Sunêlia Vacances collection<br />
(Sunelia.com/en) for glamping and camping in beautiful beach, mountain and countryside<br />
locations in France, Spain, Italy and Holland.<br />
Competition closes on 31 December 2020 – just in time for New Year’s Day!<br />
To go in the draw and enter your details below so we can contact the winner…<br />
CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE DRAW<br />
Rules: No purchase necessary; travel, and travel insurance are not included; the prize,<br />
valued at more than €1000.00 may not be exchanged for money; employees of the<br />
organisers of the content may not enter the draw. The prize must be taken within the dates<br />
stipulated. The Winner, drawn at random by the organisers, will be contacted by email and<br />
announced on Sunelia's Instagram page: .<br />
Sign up to Sunelia’s newsletter for details of holidays in France, and find their 2021<br />
brochure here.
Win<br />
Ideal <strong>Christmas</strong><br />
Looking for ideas for gifts to buy? We've got the perfec<br />
<strong>Christmas</strong> even more <strong>special</strong> in this challenging year - w<br />
Francophile happy and enter the draws as you go!<br />
WIN a set of adorable childrens bedding from La<br />
Chambre Paris<br />
The Kid's aren't being left out - it's <strong>Christmas</strong> after all! We<br />
absolutely adore these brilliant childrens bedding sets from<br />
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attention to detail is just of many things that makes this<br />
Paris-based company so very <strong>special</strong>.<br />
Treat yourself, your family and your friends at <strong>Christmas</strong> to<br />
some gorgeous luxury linen French bedding (they ship<br />
globally), after all we do spend more than a third of our<br />
lives in bed! Find out more at: La Chambre Paris (sign up to<br />
their newsletter to get 10 Euros off your first order...<br />
CLICK ON TH E PIC OR HERE TO ENTER THE DRAW!<br />
WIN Artwork of your choice - 3 LUCKY winners...<br />
IXXI are an innovative art company<br />
who have partnered with several major<br />
global museums, photographers<br />
photographers and designers including<br />
the Louvre Paris, Getty Images, The<br />
National Gallery London, Disney and<br />
many more. Choose a beautiful piece<br />
from their picture perfect Paris<br />
collection at the size that suits your<br />
personal space.<br />
If you can’t wait to get your hands on a<br />
beautiful piece of art for yourself or as<br />
a perfect gift to be delivered (globally)<br />
to a loved one – see their website<br />
here: IXXIyourworld.com<br />
CLICK ON THE PHOTO OR HERE TO<br />
ENTER THE DRAW!
Gifts for Francophiles<br />
t French and French inspired gift list for your shopping from home list. And to make<br />
e're giving them all away! Browse this lovely selection, make your favourite<br />
WIN an absolutely stunning embroidered linen tablecloth<br />
Pimlico Home Collection are renowned for<br />
their gorgeous and chic homeware products in<br />
France and Europe. We’ve partnered with<br />
Pimlico to give away a stunning pure white<br />
embroidered linen tablecloth – “Julia”. This top<br />
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middle and two large embroidered scalloped<br />
borders along the length. The simplicity of the<br />
linen and the luxury of the embroidery make<br />
the Julia tablecloth a classic.<br />
Don’t want to wait to find out if you have<br />
won? Right now you can get 15% off of any<br />
Pimlico purchase, and get something beautiful<br />
delivered to your home (global) or sent as a gift<br />
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discount code at checkout: GOODLIFE15.<br />
Valid through 31st December 2020: Pimlico.eu<br />
CLICK ON THE PHOTO OR HERE TO ENTER THE DRAW!<br />
WIN a gorgeous luxury gift box of Fabulous French things!<br />
My Beautiful French Collection’s<br />
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things wherever you are...<br />
Beauty products, books, clothing,<br />
jewellery, sweet things and sometimes<br />
whimsical things, antiques and arty,<br />
pretty and beautifully bijoux things.<br />
If you can’t wait to see if you win a gift<br />
box of beautiful French things or want<br />
to send this ideal gift to a loved one,<br />
find the details here:<br />
MyBeautifulFrenchCollectionBox.com<br />
CLICK ON THE PHOTO OR HERE TO<br />
ENTER THE DRAW!
Win<br />
Ideal <strong>Christmas</strong><br />
More perfect French and French inspired gift list for you<br />
year - we're giving them all away! Browse this lovely sel<br />
WIN a lovely Provencal tablecloth<br />
Family run FrenchShopping.co,uk<br />
source all of their tablecloths from the<br />
makers directly in France and ship<br />
around the world. For your prize,<br />
choose any size in the lovely lemons<br />
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coloured lemon fruit and white flowers<br />
on a Mediterranean blue or soft green<br />
background.<br />
Feel free to browse the lovely choice of<br />
authentic sunny Provencal, <strong>Christmas</strong><br />
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Shopping’s online shop – they make<br />
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CLICK ON THE PHOTO OR HERE TO<br />
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WIN a copy of Winston Churchill: Painting on the French Riviera<br />
Win a copy of Paul Rafferty's ravishing<br />
book - a voyage of discovery in the<br />
footsteps of Sir Winston Churchill who<br />
travelled in the French Riviera, capturing<br />
its most beautiful locations on canvas.<br />
Churchill painted more than 150 scenes<br />
and Rafferty reveals for the first time<br />
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makes for a wonderful gift for all art,<br />
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available from Amazon and all good<br />
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CLICK ON THE PHOTO OR HERE TO<br />
ENTER THE DRAW!
Gifts for Francophiles<br />
r shopping from home list. And to make <strong>Christmas</strong> even more <strong>special</strong> in this challenging<br />
ection, make your favourite Francophile happy and enter the draws as you go!<br />
WIN a copy of Kate Mosse's The City of Tears - out January 2021<br />
Win a copy of Kate Mosse's brand new book<br />
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CLICK ON THE PHOTO OR HERE TO<br />
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WIN any one of Perry Taylor's gorgeous Gascony coffee table books<br />
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rusty oranges and mustardy yellows<br />
which reflect the earthy splendour of<br />
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drawings present an affectionate<br />
celebration of the French way of life.<br />
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CLICK ON THE PHOTO OR HERE TO<br />
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Ideal <strong>Christmas</strong> Gifts for Francophiles<br />
WIN a copy of Exploring Wine Regions - Bordeaux<br />
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Visit Paris -<br />
virtually<br />
If you need your regular dose of French culture like you do your morning coffee,<br />
look no further than Google Arts and Culture says Melissa Barndon.<br />
Dedicated to bringing, well, arts and culture, to everyone, it means there are many<br />
sites and museums all over the world, more than 2000, that you can visit without<br />
stepping out your front door. So head to France to discover glittering châteaux,<br />
gorgeous museums and gracious gardens as well as marvellous monuments from<br />
the Eiffel Tower to the Pont du Gard and landscapes as diverse as the lavender<br />
fields of Provence to the streets of Lyon.<br />
And for Paris lovers – here are five virtual visits you shouldn’t miss…
Chateau de Versailles<br />
View this most magnificent of all châteaux<br />
from your home. Immerse yourself in the<br />
17th century and take a 360 degree tour<br />
through the sparkling Hall of Mirrors, and<br />
then meander outside the palace for a stroll<br />
through the arched colonnades in the garden<br />
and the bronze fountains.<br />
If you want to see past the glitz and the<br />
glamour and learn something about the<br />
history of Versailles, online exhibits range<br />
from “Fashion at Versailles: For Him” to<br />
“Louis XIV: the Construction of a Political<br />
Image”. There’s even a quiz - Which royal<br />
would you be? And the Sun King, creator of<br />
this sumptuous palace, invites you to spend<br />
some time in his sumptuous bedroom…<br />
The wonders of the palace of Versailles are<br />
not limited to its walls - it was built during a<br />
time of great scientific discoveries and<br />
inventions. If you look closely you will see<br />
astronomy, world globes, and cherubs<br />
wielding scientific instruments in all the<br />
hidden corners of the palace. Did you also<br />
know that Louis XVI loved maps so much he<br />
had a separate room built onto his<br />
apartments with a <strong>special</strong>ly made desk -<br />
purely for map drawing?<br />
Hundreds of paintings, from portraits of<br />
Marie-Antoinette with her children, to the<br />
coronation of Napoleon, line the silk covered<br />
walls. And when painting changed to<br />
photography, what better subject than<br />
Versailles - the troops in formation at the<br />
Place d’Armes in 1870; the state receptions<br />
for Queen Victoria and John F. Kennedy.<br />
Even the fallen trees after a vicious storm in<br />
1990.<br />
So put on your best frock, pour yourself a<br />
glass of champagne, and explore this<br />
beautiful palace without ever leaving your<br />
couch (except for more champagne, of<br />
course).<br />
Visit Versailles: the palace is yours
French Senate<br />
If you’ve been to Paris, you’ve almost<br />
certainly seen the Palais du Luxembourg,<br />
that elegant building which takes pride of<br />
place in the Jardin of the same name. But<br />
unless you’re a French senator, you’ll find it<br />
almost impossible to take a peek inside.<br />
Originally built by Marie de Medici in the<br />
17th century, the palace was a prison and<br />
court of justice during the French<br />
Revolution. It became a military hospital in<br />
the Prussian invasion of Paris and a home<br />
for the commander of the Luftwaffe in<br />
World War II. And finally the permanent<br />
seat of the Senate of the Fifth Republic from<br />
1958. It was here that Victor Hugo<br />
defended freedom and the Republic…<br />
For an impressive overview, begin your<br />
virtual tour with the exhibit titled ‘Palais du<br />
Luxembourg, 400 years of history’, which<br />
will take you to every corner of this<br />
magnificent building. The gilded walls dating<br />
back to the Renaissance are juxtaposed<br />
against the modern conference rooms with<br />
their tv screens and comfy chairs. Watch for<br />
the sweeping view of the library with its<br />
cupola painting by Eugène Delacroix and its<br />
shelves filled with ancient leather worn texts.<br />
The Salle des Conférences is the most<br />
opulent room in the palace. At 57 metres<br />
long, it was originally the Throne Gallery<br />
built for Napoleon III in 1852. Take the tour<br />
‘Palais du Luxembourg, siège du Sénat’ and<br />
lose yourself in this golden gallery. Can you<br />
spot Napoleon’s throne? Seat yourself<br />
comfortably in the dark red velvet chairs and<br />
look up, where a veritable treasure trove of<br />
murals await. It’s a feeling not unlike being in<br />
the Sistine Chapel.<br />
The separate Petit Luxembourg is the<br />
residence of the President of the Senate.<br />
peep inside the working office and wander<br />
along the marble terrace.
I didn’t think that a museum about money<br />
would be terribly interesting (unless they<br />
were giving some away), but I was wrong!<br />
The Luxembourg gardens are as beautiful as<br />
the Palace, and you can take a leisurely stroll<br />
past the circular basin or sit and watch the<br />
sailboats.<br />
The French Senate is only open to the public<br />
on the third weekend in September for<br />
European Heritage Days or by a guided tour<br />
with the permission of a Senator, so take the<br />
opportunity to walk through its doors now.<br />
Visit the French Senate, Palais Luxembourg<br />
Monnaie de Paris<br />
Show me the money! Or, we can head on<br />
over to where it’s made, the Monnaie de<br />
Paris, or Paris Mint. With one of the longest<br />
facades along the Seine river, this elegant<br />
neo-classical edifice houses the world’s<br />
oldest money producing institution. For over<br />
1,150 years, the Monnaie de Paris has been<br />
making coins. First on Île de la Cité, then<br />
various sites in Paris including the Louvre<br />
Palace for a century or so, before moving to<br />
the Quai de Conti in 1775.<br />
Start your guided tour on top of the museum<br />
building, which gives you a not so common<br />
view of the Seine: the tip of the Île de la Cité.<br />
Looking much like a pointed nose, this<br />
peaceful green space is a haven in which to<br />
sit and idly watch the boats pass by. Across<br />
the river, on the right bank, the Louvre rises<br />
majestically. And in the distance are the two<br />
tallest points in Paris - the Eiffel Tower and<br />
Tour Montparnasse.<br />
The Monnaie de Paris building, referred to as<br />
11 Conti, is today made up of a museum of<br />
the money-making process, and the original<br />
factory which mints medals and coins of<br />
precious metals. Production of legal currency<br />
was moved to Pessac in the southwest of<br />
France in the 1970s, The ‘12 centuries of<br />
excellence’ exhibition is a comprehensive<br />
overview of the minting of money in France,<br />
and ‘The roaming of Monnaie de Paris’ tells<br />
you how they came to stop roaming and<br />
made their home on the left bank of the<br />
Seine.
But there’s more to see than ancient<br />
currency. In its hallowed halls, particularly<br />
the gorgeous Salon Guillaume Dupré, have<br />
been held a number of modern art<br />
exhibitions, where plastic trees and metal<br />
skull sculptures sit incongruously against<br />
painted cupolas and carved balustrades.<br />
Some of the exhibits are: American artist<br />
Kiki Smith, Thomas Schütte, controversial<br />
Paul McCarthy (you really have to see the<br />
photograph of his ‘trees’), and a collection of<br />
works from the Centre Pompidou in Paris.<br />
I didn’t think that a museum about money<br />
would be terribly interesting (unless they<br />
were giving some away), but I was wrong!<br />
Visit: Monnaie de Paris<br />
Mobilier National, Manufacture des<br />
Gobelins, de Beauvais, de la<br />
Savonnerie<br />
As you sit on your couch and click through<br />
the Google Arts and Culture website, do you<br />
find yourself looking around your living room<br />
and dreaming of a makeover? Does it need a<br />
Louis XIV chaise longue, a dining table for<br />
20, a few medieval tapestries for the floor? If<br />
so, the Mobilier National is the place to go.<br />
They have been creating and conserving the<br />
treasures of France for five centuries. However,<br />
unless you live in the Élysée Palace,<br />
these valuable pieces aren’t for you. But the<br />
website itself is a treasure chest: open the lid<br />
and delve into the wonders of silken fabrics,<br />
golden tapestries and exquisite lace.<br />
Formerly based in the Grande Gallery of the<br />
Louvre under Louis XIV and now housed in<br />
the historic Gobelins tapestry factory, the<br />
Mobilier National is responsible for<br />
furnishing palaces, presidential residences<br />
and embassies. They also for maintain, create<br />
and distribute a unique worldwide collection<br />
of over 130,000 pieces of furniture and<br />
textiles.
And how are these pieces designed and<br />
made? Through three important and<br />
influential factories: Les Gobelins, Beauvais<br />
and La Savonnerie.<br />
Walking through the exhibits is akin to being<br />
in Versailles, in the Louvre, in the bedroom<br />
of a queen. Marvel at the intricacies of<br />
Renaissance tapestries and fabrics and learn<br />
how they were fabricated. It’s easy to lose<br />
yourself for a few hours learning all about<br />
dyeing fabrics, lace-making and wood<br />
carving. And if you don’t know what a<br />
nuancier is, this is your chance to find out.<br />
Visit: Mobilier National<br />
Opéra National de Paris<br />
Imagine this. You’re standing on the stage of<br />
the Palais Garnier. Before you an adoring<br />
crowd is on their feet, clapping wildly at your<br />
moving and tragic performance of Swan<br />
Lake. Bravo! Bravo! They cry. Now if it was a<br />
nightmare you’d look down and see that<br />
you’re naked, but on this virtual tour you are<br />
free to dream of yourself in a tutu. This<br />
opulent building was finished in the late<br />
nineteenth century and was the official home<br />
of Paris Opera and Paris Ballet until 1989.<br />
Now it's mostly used for ballet performances.<br />
Once you have finished with your standing<br />
ovation on the stage, there is much to see. If<br />
ever there was a room filled with gold, it is<br />
the Grand Foyer. Cast your eyes upwards<br />
and follow the history of music and of Paris<br />
ornamented with colourful frescoes awash<br />
with gold leaf. Apollo receives a lyre from<br />
Mercury. Calliope, Clio and their sisters, the<br />
nine Greek muses, cast a loving eye from<br />
lofty heights. The siege of Paris is enacted in<br />
historical glory.<br />
Access to this glorious golden chamber is via<br />
the Grand Staircase, on whose marble<br />
pedestals sit entwined Greek goddesses<br />
holding candles to light the way.
Photo: Daniela Perria Rickey<br />
Keep on walking and you come to the<br />
prosaic but essential heart of the building -<br />
dressing rooms and practice rooms, and then<br />
ascend to the roof for a stunning 360 degree<br />
view of the Paris skyline.<br />
And what of the rumours that the Phantom<br />
of the Opera stalks the Palais Garnier? It is<br />
true that the 1910 novel of the same name<br />
was largely inspired by stories that a man<br />
with no face lived in the underground ‘lake’,<br />
and that the building itself is the setting for<br />
the famous opera. Does he haunt there still?<br />
Come and see for yourself.<br />
Visit: Opéra national de Paris<br />
Extra treat - An exhibition of costumes from<br />
the opening days of the Palais Garnier until<br />
the present, in the Centre National du<br />
Costume de Scène<br />
BONUS virtual visit to Claude Monet's<br />
House<br />
Head to the countryside west of Paris to the<br />
lovely village of Giverny where you'll find the<br />
house and gardens of Claude Monet.<br />
The Fondation Claude Monet website has<br />
created an extraordinary online tour, guiding<br />
you through the doors of the famous pastel<br />
pink house. You'll have the memorable<br />
yellow dining room to yourself, explore the<br />
kitchen, bedrooms and salons where you'll<br />
see some of his paintings hanging. It's a<br />
touch screen visit so you control where you<br />
go next!<br />
It's a wonderful chance to study the Monet's<br />
home style up close. There's no virtual tour<br />
of the gardens - but there are videos.<br />
Visit: Monet's House
Toquicimes Food Festival<br />
Megève
Mountain food doesn’t get better than in Megève in the French<br />
Alps, nestling in the shadow of Mont Blanc.<br />
Rupert Parker attends a three day culinary festival.
It’s 10 o’clock on an October Sunday<br />
morning and I’m in the main square of<br />
Megève. Inside a large tent there’s a panel of<br />
chefs tasting Fondue, cheered on by a small<br />
but enthusiastic crowd. This competition is<br />
one of the many events in the annual three<br />
day Toquicimes food festival, celebrating all<br />
that’s best in mountain food. The sports<br />
complex, Le Palais de Megève has been<br />
transformed into a huge food market where<br />
I sample products delivered from local farms.<br />
Highlights include cheeses like Reblochon,<br />
Beaufort, Tomme and Raclette, plus various<br />
sausages and cured meats.<br />
But first, a bit about this stunning French<br />
Alps village...<br />
Calvary<br />
Megève, literally the village on the water,<br />
was a quiet farming town until the 19th<br />
century when the parish priest, Father<br />
Ambroise Martin, had an idea. Inspired by<br />
what he’d seen in Italy, he came up with a<br />
scheme to erect fifteen chapels and oratories<br />
depicting the stations of cross, on the slopes<br />
above the town. Work took place between<br />
1840 and 1878 and this Megève Calvary<br />
began to attract pilgrims to the "Savoyard<br />
Jerusalem". So much so that hotels and<br />
lodging houses were built to accommodate<br />
them, the beginning of tourism.<br />
The chapels have recently been restored to<br />
their former glory and as you climb up the<br />
hill, there are tremendous views over the<br />
town with Mont Blanc in the distance. Each<br />
chapel or oratory has a different<br />
architectural style and inside they’re<br />
decorated with frescoes and "trompe-l'oeil"<br />
paintings plus 50 life size painted wooden<br />
statues. The climax of these is a crucifixion<br />
scene, with crosses so large that the chapel<br />
was built around them.
The Rothchilds<br />
After WW1, Baroness Noémie de<br />
Rothschild was a frequent visitor to St<br />
Moritz, but didn’t get on with the German<br />
aristocracy. So much so that she decided to<br />
establish a ski resort in France and bought<br />
a huge area of land in Megève. Together<br />
with her husband, Maurice de Rothschild,<br />
she built the Mont d'Arbois in 1921, a<br />
luxury hotel equipped with an ice rink.<br />
More chalets followed and she went on to<br />
create the first cable car in 1933, an airfield<br />
and an 18-hole golf course.<br />
Top right: Megève in<br />
autumn; bottom left,<br />
a few weeks later,<br />
Megeve in winter;<br />
entre Calvary<br />
crosses<br />
By the 1950’s Megève was one of the most<br />
popular ski resorts in Europe and attracted<br />
many wealthy individuals and celebrities,<br />
including Jean Cocteau, Sacha Distel,<br />
Charles Aznavour and Brigitte Bardot. It<br />
features in the 1963 film Charade, where<br />
Audrey Hepburn's Regina Lampert meets<br />
Cary Grant's character and is still the<br />
playground of the rich and famous.<br />
Henry Jacques Le Même<br />
Architect Henry Jacques Le Même came to<br />
Megève in 1926 and one of his first<br />
commissions was to build Chalet Noemie<br />
for Baroness de Rothschild. His design was<br />
based on a typical Savoyard farmhouse,<br />
which he transformed for contemporary<br />
use. The ground floor housed the skis and<br />
cars, the first had the living rooms, with an<br />
extensive balcony, and the top floor had<br />
the bedrooms. He went on to build more<br />
than 200 chalets like this and, as a result,<br />
created a stylistic unity for the town.
Gastronomy<br />
In spite of its celebrity, Megève is still a<br />
thriving farming town as I discover when I<br />
accompany a herd of cows down from their<br />
summer pastures. It’s a family affair with<br />
three generations taking part in the<br />
celebrations. They tell me they’re passionate<br />
about the quality of their milk and the<br />
excellence of the cheese they produce. In all,<br />
around 45 farms supply around 75 eateries<br />
including 35 mountain restaurants. Among<br />
the elite are its four Michelin-starred<br />
restaurants which boast a total of seven stars<br />
among them.<br />
The Flocons de Sel is one of only <strong>27</strong><br />
restaurants in France to hold the coveted<br />
three stars. Here Chef Emmanuel Renaut has<br />
an "eat local, build local" philosophy and he<br />
gets up early to forage for wild mushrooms<br />
and herbs. On the night I sample his food,<br />
there are plenty of porcini, truffles and other<br />
varieties peppered among the courses. Unlike<br />
a classic French menu, vegetables feature<br />
heavily including a delightful parsnip and<br />
beetroot gnocchi in a horseradish consommé.<br />
Of course, there’s sympathetic wine pairing<br />
and the service is perfect, closely supervised<br />
by Madame Renaut.<br />
Toquicimes food festival<br />
The festival includes a series of tastings and<br />
cooking demonstrations as well as an<br />
opportunity to try the local products. There<br />
are also keenly fought competitions for best<br />
Fondue, Pâté Pie, Mountain Soup and<br />
Chartreuse, the local liqueur. Amateurs<br />
compete alongside professionals, with<br />
celebrated chefs like Guillaume Gomez<br />
(presidential chef at the Elysee Palace),<br />
Franck Reynaud (renowned Franco-Swiss<br />
chef) and Philippe Rigollot (famous for his<br />
pastry). Various restaurants in town offer<br />
<strong>special</strong> Menus Toquisimes, all around €35,<br />
and stalls in the streets allow you to sample<br />
some of their dishes.<br />
The next Toquicimes Festival takes place in<br />
October 2021, details: toquicimes.com
A Spin over Mont Blanc<br />
Even though the famous mountain is visible<br />
from the town, there’s no better way of<br />
getting up close then in a small aeroplane.<br />
The Altiport de la Cote 2000 is just outside,<br />
nothing more than a strip of asphalt amidst<br />
green pastures. There’s been a recent flurry<br />
of snow so the mountains are peak white<br />
against the blue sky.<br />
It’s a bright and sunny morning as I climb<br />
over the wing into the small single engine<br />
Musketeer. There are two in the back but<br />
I’m up front with the pilot and he<br />
reassuringly says conditions are<br />
“impeccable”. We’re soon above Megève's<br />
Mont d'Arbois (at 1833 metres) and make<br />
our way to the Mont Blanc Massif above the<br />
Chamonix Valley, still in shade at this time in<br />
the morning.<br />
Our target, at 4808m looms up front,<br />
towering above its rivals, and we follow the<br />
Argentiere Glacier. A swift left turn around<br />
the Aiguille Verte brings us above the Mer<br />
de Glace, its snow pristine. There’s a certain<br />
amount of twisting and turning as we get<br />
alarmingly close to the sheer rocky pinnacles<br />
of the Aiguille de Midi. I can only hope the<br />
pilot knows what he’s doing.<br />
He points out the mountain refuges which<br />
are used as jumping off points for the ascent<br />
of Mont Blanc and, crossing one ridge, we<br />
scatter a herd of Chamois. It’s exhilarating<br />
stuff, with perfect light, really a memorable<br />
experience. After 40 minutes we touch down<br />
back at the Altiport and I’m a little shaken,<br />
even a bit stirred.<br />
Details: Aerocime.com
Of course, if you’re going to indulge in fine<br />
dining, it pays to get some exercise. In the<br />
winter the ski slopes are justly renowned but<br />
you can keep fit in any season. An extensive<br />
network of mountain trails and cycle tracks<br />
circle the town so I set out on an e-bike. This<br />
makes light work of the hills and I’m soon<br />
staring at Mont Blanc in the far distance. My<br />
final meal is a Toquicimes lunch at Le Palais<br />
to raise money for the French Bocuse d’Or<br />
team. I tuck in with relish – after all, it’s not<br />
every day that I’m given the opportunity to<br />
eat for France.<br />
Useful Information<br />
See Megeve.com for more information<br />
The 5* Fermes de Marie has an excellent spa<br />
The 3* Coin du Feu has been refurbished<br />
EasyJet has return flights to Geneva from<br />
London Gatwick<br />
Return transfers from Geneva Airport to<br />
Megève cost from £90pp based on two<br />
people sharing a vehicle.
Bordeaux Michael ?<br />
Merlot<br />
Queen of Right-Bank Bordeaux
Author Michael C Higgins, PhD explores Saint-Émilion’s<br />
Magical Wine Region
The Queen of Grapes<br />
Merlot wines so often gets pushed aside<br />
into the shadows of Cabernet Sauvignon.<br />
The popular wine film Sideways told a<br />
similar tale. “Cabernet is King” is commonly<br />
the imposing mantra. And with the grand<br />
reputation of Bordeaux’ Médoc Grand Cru<br />
Classés of 1855 that is filled with Cabernet<br />
Sauvignon excellence, Merlot is often<br />
overlooked as a beautiful wine.<br />
And beautiful she is. “Merlot is Queen”<br />
being feminine, she is softer, with more<br />
rounded elegance, and a fruitiness that<br />
makes this wine so delicious. And drinkable<br />
much earlier than Bordeaux Big Cabernet<br />
Sauvignon, which generally needs at least<br />
ten years before it is ready. The Queen is<br />
more admirable than you might imagine. The<br />
most expensive wine in Bordeaux is a<br />
Merlot: Château Petrus, 100% Merlot,<br />
grown on the blue clay in Pomerol (Right<br />
Bank).<br />
This story about Queen Merlot begins with<br />
terroir, the concept of soil influencing the<br />
wine. The Left Bank of Bordeaux grows<br />
Cabernet Sauvignon because it loves the<br />
gravel and sandy soils there, whereas the<br />
Right Bank grows Merlot because it loves<br />
the limestone and clay soils. The Right<br />
Bank’s most notable region is Saint-Émilion<br />
where a medieval village sits on top of the<br />
limestone plateau. This wine region is as<br />
beautiful as its wines...<br />
Saint-Émilion village<br />
In Bordeaux, there are many historic towns,<br />
villages and hamlets. Saint-Émilion is a<br />
village you do not want to miss. It originates<br />
back to Medieval times with Romanesque<br />
architecture dating back to the 2nd century<br />
when the Romans planted wine grapes<br />
there. The history is deep and immense and<br />
the village itself became a UNESCO World<br />
Heritage Site in 1999.
It was from the limestone quarries of this<br />
plateau in and around Saint-Émilion that<br />
stone blocks were excavated to build the<br />
entire village. Under most of the châteaux<br />
surrounding the village, and under the<br />
village itself, 124 miles of massive cave<br />
systems exist from cutting these very<br />
large blocks out of the ground and<br />
bringing them up to the surface for this<br />
construction.<br />
The Monolithic Church’s Bell Tower is the<br />
highest point in Saint Émilion with views<br />
of the charming village and rolling<br />
countryside of vineyards for as far as the<br />
eyes can see. The church itself is dazzling,<br />
entirely carved out of one solid limestone<br />
formation. It’s gigantic proportions and<br />
uniqueness make it Europe’s widest<br />
monolithic church and famous worldwide.<br />
The village is a beautiful place to<br />
explore, day or night. It is safe and<br />
peaceful. Enchanting, actually.<br />
There are numerous great restaurants to<br />
be found. Try Logis de La Candène. Their<br />
atmosphere and creativity earned them a<br />
Michelin star. They also have beautiful<br />
accommodations in historic village<br />
buildings as well. Lard et Bouchon is a<br />
restaurant underground in the caves.<br />
Excellent cuisine, with a wine cavern and<br />
reasonable prices. Wine bars and wine<br />
shops are everywhere.<br />
There are three châteaux in the village. I<br />
don’t mean a retail outlet for their wines.<br />
These are actual wineries making their<br />
wine in the village. They are Château<br />
Guadet (Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé),<br />
Moulin Galhaud (Saint-Émilion Grand<br />
Cru), and Les Cordeliers (sparkling wines<br />
underground). All three wineries are open<br />
to the public and have underground caves<br />
that you can visit.
Châteaux, food and wine<br />
A short walk from the village is Château<br />
Soutard, a Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé,<br />
with a castle you can stay in overnight, and a<br />
winery rebuilt with the latest of technology<br />
and innovations. There are wonderful views<br />
into the valley around. Take one of their<br />
bicycles on a tour around the property,<br />
following the signs and explore many<br />
interesting features this property has to<br />
offer. Learn how Merlot becomes the queen<br />
of wines here. You will see a bygone era<br />
inside the historic castle of an aristocratic<br />
past and witness quality wine making in an<br />
ultra-modern winery. They also have a large<br />
wine shop and boutique.<br />
elegance befitting of a queen. The tasting bar<br />
sits on a cool 360-degree rotating platform.<br />
They have the greatest range of tours,<br />
tastings, workshops, activities and culinary<br />
opportunities of any château in Bordeaux. I<br />
lost count at 22! And they treat every visitor<br />
like a professional. Tours are sommelier-led<br />
and customized to your level of knowledge<br />
and interest. Owned by the Bic Pen family,<br />
the walls of the tasting room depict the four<br />
seasons of the vineyard drawn solely with<br />
eight Bic pens - it took the artist seven<br />
months to render this masterpiece.<br />
Isolated on top of their own elevated plateau<br />
on the Saint-Émilion limestone, with their<br />
own forest, parks and gardens, Château de<br />
Ferrand, a Saint-Émilion Grand Cru Classé,<br />
operate within their own isolated ecosystem<br />
with diversified soil characteristics and no<br />
herbicides. Inside, are fully renovated<br />
buildings filled with high-tech modern
On the northwest edge of this appellation is<br />
the famed Château Cheval Blanc, one of only<br />
four Premier Saint-Émilion Grand Cru<br />
Classé – A. They border Pomerol and share<br />
the blue clay vein that extends into their<br />
property, which produces Merlot of<br />
extraordinary quality. As one of the world’s<br />
best-known wines, their property reflects<br />
the prestige captured in their bottles.<br />
Contrasted by traditional buildings, a<br />
futuristic structure was designed by Pritzker<br />
Architecture Prize winner Christian de<br />
Portzamparc with the latest in winemaking<br />
technology and customized tanks designed<br />
for each and every individual vineyard plot.<br />
Above: Tasting room art created using 8 Bic<br />
pens, Chateau de Ferrand; below left, Chateau<br />
Soutard; below Chateau la Dominique<br />
Next door is Château La Dominique, open to<br />
the public all year with creative ideas in tours<br />
and tastings. My favorite is their<br />
underground blind tasting experience taken<br />
to the extreme. They built an underground<br />
tasting room to neutralize all the senses.<br />
First, the elevator ride down gets you in a<br />
quiet state. Then contrasted by walking on a<br />
noisy floor of loose stones. The room is extra<br />
dark, with minimal mood lighting. By the<br />
time you get to the table and sit down, your<br />
senses are heightened and confused at the<br />
same time. Now it is time to begin. Bottles of<br />
wine, all the exact same shape and size, are<br />
covered with black socks. Wine glasses are<br />
all black and of the same shape and size. Are<br />
you blinded yet? Then they dim the lights<br />
even further, and you hear the sound of wine<br />
being poured. This is truly blind wine tasting.<br />
They have a gourmet rooftop restaurant La<br />
Terrasse Rouge both indoors and outdoors<br />
where you will find a large display of red<br />
glass stones covering most of the roof<br />
beyond the dining area and a view of<br />
magnificent vineyard landscapes.<br />
Their menu oozes with temptations,<br />
including desserts to die for. You will not be<br />
able to go just once! And imagine this: they<br />
have all ten Bordeaux first-growths (crus) on<br />
the wine list.
Along the beautiful Southern Slope of the<br />
plateau, we find Château de Candale a<br />
property once belonging to the Count of<br />
Candale, a descendant of King Edward III of<br />
England.<br />
Today this is the hub of four châteaux, two<br />
Saint Émilion Grand Crus (Château de<br />
Candale and Château Roc de Candale) and<br />
two Grand Cru Classés (Château La<br />
Commanderie and Clos des Jacobins), a<br />
restaurant, and a wine shop where you can<br />
taste and buy from all four of these<br />
properties. They also start and conclude<br />
tours and their tastings here for the other<br />
châteaux. This is a good food and wine<br />
center where you can spend the day and<br />
discover how the Queen of Merlot expresses<br />
itself differently from four different<br />
properties.<br />
It is a beautiful environment dining here at<br />
L’Atelier de Candale. Inside is filled with<br />
window-lined walls allowing natural light to<br />
flow in and for the eyes to take in the views.<br />
Outside is spectacular, overlooking the<br />
vineyards, forest and valley, under a large<br />
designer canopy.<br />
This is the place for the ultimate food and<br />
wine experience even more so because the<br />
owners make gastronomy a key focus of<br />
their business.
Exploring wine regions - Bordeaux,<br />
France<br />
This is just scratching the surface of all there<br />
is to enjoy Saint-Émilion. Michael's book<br />
Exploring Wine Regions – Bordeaux France<br />
covers 100 pages on this region in its 494<br />
pages on Bordeaux. It is not just a guide to<br />
some of the region’s most extraordinary<br />
vineyards. His passion for Bordeaux and<br />
Saint-Émilion goes far beyond the vines.<br />
Queen of grapes, and which wines you love<br />
the most. There are nearly 1,000 color<br />
photographs captured over three years<br />
studying Bordeaux, giving you a spectacular<br />
visual experience of the region and its<br />
wineries. You will discover the inside stories<br />
and information, including names, addresses,<br />
emails, websites, and maps so you can plan<br />
an extraordinary experience for yourself.<br />
Find more information at<br />
ExploringWineRegions.com.<br />
Win<br />
a copy of<br />
Exploring wine Regions<br />
Bordeaux France.<br />
See page 58<br />
Within the pages, you will learn why<br />
Cabernet is the King and Merlot is the<br />
1
My<br />
France<br />
at <strong>Christmas</strong><br />
The Good Life France works closely with<br />
Atout France which promotes France as a<br />
tourist destination to international markets.<br />
We asked their London based UK press<br />
team (from left to right above): Marine,<br />
Fran, Anne, Rachel and Tiphaine to share<br />
what they love about France at <strong>Christmas</strong><br />
time, from a personal perspective.<br />
As this <strong>Christmas</strong> is like no other, spreading<br />
a little <strong>Christmas</strong> cheer is essential. We<br />
hope that their wonderful memories and<br />
sharing of traditions held dear at this time<br />
of the year will make you smile. And maybe<br />
inspire you to make Rachel's favourite<br />
cocktail or some vin chaud, mulled wine (it<br />
seems they all love that) or even start your<br />
own Santon collection.<br />
Here's a recipe for authentic French vin<br />
chaud<br />
We also hope it will inspire you to visit<br />
France next year when hopefully travel will<br />
be allowed and we can all enjoy our<br />
favourite country.<br />
Discover France at: uk.france.fr/en
Marine One of my dearest memories of <strong>Christmas</strong> in France is the nativity scene my<br />
aunt Patricia creates every year in her home, next to the large tree, with terracotta and<br />
clay figurines produced in Provence. These traditional figurines are called ‘santons’<br />
(‘santoun’ in Provencal), each one unique and hand-crafted, and part of the <strong>Christmas</strong><br />
excitement is always to spot which new characters or scenes my aunt has added to the<br />
collection. She makes it a yearly tradition to visit the workshop of well-known local<br />
santonnier Fouque in Aix-en-Provence (also sometimes Escoffier) to create the most<br />
beautiful setting for our family <strong>Christmas</strong> dinners - and a real competition with the local<br />
church! Building the collection has been an ongoing project since I was a little girl… and<br />
next on her list is to find a camel.
Fran My favourite thing to do over the festive period is visit the <strong>Christmas</strong> market<br />
in Strasbourg, officially the largest outside Germany. Every year, Strasbourg spends<br />
thousands of euros on lighting up the entire city centre and puts up a huge <strong>Christmas</strong><br />
tree in Place Kléber, the main square. I lived there for four years and have visited<br />
every year since 2005, to see friends, drink gallons of vin chaud and eat my weight in<br />
tarte flambée (the pizza-esque regional <strong>special</strong>ity), preferably the one drowning in<br />
smelly Munster cheese. I’m sad to not be going there this <strong>Christmas</strong> but plan on<br />
heading over the second it’s safe to travel again!<br />
Love tarte flambée? click here for our utterly scrumptious recipe...
Anne Snow and <strong>Christmas</strong> – is there a better combo? I struggle to find one, so spending<br />
<strong>Christmas</strong> in the mountains is just my idea of heaven. I spent one of my loveliest<br />
<strong>Christmas</strong>es in the French Alps and certainly hope to be able to do it again one day. The<br />
mountains, the small resorts and of course the snow already provides the near-perfect<br />
backdrop. If you then add lovely hotels or cosy chalets and open fires, it gets even more<br />
<strong>special</strong> - and with the best comfort food belonging to the mountains (all that melted cheese<br />
and other French delicacies) you can’t help but indulge! All washed down with wine – hot or<br />
cold, I’m not picky. And the best thing is, you leave your doorstep and the indulgence<br />
becomes almost guilt-free thanks to all the skiing, sledging and mountain walks. Right, I’m<br />
off to book my next <strong>Christmas</strong> holiday...
Tiphaine For <strong>Christmas</strong> in Brittany, it has to be seafood. Eating seafood for <strong>Christmas</strong><br />
might sound odd to most British people, but where I grew up, by the sea in south<br />
Brittany, it’s an established tradition. Every December, my first thought is about what<br />
will appear on <strong>Christmas</strong> Eve’s dinner table. I know for sure that we’ll start with (the<br />
most delicious) smoked salmon on toast that my grandfather catches earlier in the year<br />
in a nearby river, alongside freshly bought langoustines, prawns and oysters from the<br />
local market in Auray. More than just seafood, <strong>Christmas</strong> is also about the greatest<br />
conversations of all, listening to my grandfather's fishing stories as well as his rants<br />
about the prohibitive cost of seafood at the market (while hoping we’ll never have to<br />
buy it ourselves). With the talks over and the seafood eaten, we’re then ready to<br />
continue our family dinner already thinking of next year’s seafood feast.
Rachel After the abundance of fresh fruit and veg in summer and autumn, it can be easy<br />
to overlook the citrus fruit season, which starts to enjoy the limelight from now (no pun<br />
intended). Oranges, satsumas and mandarins are popping up in fruit bowls everywhere –<br />
and if you’re looking for a change from mulled wine, the Sidecar is an elegant citrusy<br />
cocktail that always brings France into our household at <strong>Christmas</strong>. Cointreau has found a<br />
permanent place in our drinks collection since my first visit to the distillery and world<br />
export hub outside Angers, where tours explain the history of the liqueur from 1849 and<br />
end with a tasting at the sleek circular bar. The unique distillation process using a mix of<br />
sweet and bitter peels gives Cointreau the edge over other orange liqueurs. The Sidecar’s<br />
own history is debated, but my favourite story involves an American captain who often<br />
travelled to a Parisian bar in the sidecar of his friend’s motorbike. Simply shake two parts<br />
Cointreau with two parts Cognac and one part lemon juice. To make it really <strong>Christmas</strong>sy, I<br />
like to roll the rim of the glass in cinnamon sugar and drop in a star anise. You’ll be warm in<br />
no time…
The French Republican Calendar<br />
A royal family deposed, the eradication of<br />
royal and religious references, people power,<br />
a Queen who almost escaped to America,<br />
the start of the Napoleonic era – the French<br />
Revolution was a period of terror and of<br />
turmoil, of civil war and neighbour versus<br />
neighbour. It also led to new legal and social<br />
reforms, the unification of France and a<br />
metric system. And, it led to a new calendar<br />
structure. Janine Marsh investigates...<br />
The French Republican Calendar<br />
At the beginning of the year a friend who<br />
lives in the far south of France emailed me a<br />
picture of a calendar left as a gift in his post<br />
box by the mayor who had in fact given one<br />
out to everyone in the very small village.<br />
Nothing odd about that you might think.<br />
But – it was a reproduction of a French<br />
Republican Calendar and it bears little<br />
resemblance to today’s calendars.<br />
The French Republic was established in<br />
1792, three years after the start of the<br />
French Revolution. The members of the new<br />
Republican Government didn’t just deal with<br />
wiping out the royal family and as many<br />
nobles as they could, it was also about<br />
establishing a new order of equality and<br />
unity.<br />
You were no longer Monsieur or Madame,<br />
but Citoyen or Citoyenne. Regional divisions<br />
were reorganised. And the traditional<br />
Gregorian calendar with its seven day week<br />
and Saints Days and Christian festivals was<br />
eliminated.<br />
Instead a secular calendar was established –<br />
and it had a ten day week: primidi (first day),<br />
duodi (second day), tridi (third day), quartidi<br />
(fourth day etc.), quintidi, sextidi, septidi,<br />
octidi, nonidi and décadi.<br />
Months were three weeks long. The end of<br />
the year was Fructidor which had 5<br />
supplementary days to make the total add up<br />
to 365 days (as per the old calendar).
The French Republican<br />
Calendar<br />
Poet Philippe François Nazaire Fabre, known<br />
as Fabre d’Eglantine (1750-1794 was given<br />
the honour of naming the months. Inspired<br />
by nature he called them:<br />
Vendémiaire - from the Latin ‘vindemia’,<br />
grape harvest was when the new year<br />
started – in September<br />
Brumaire - from the French ‘brume’, fog<br />
Frimaire - from the French ‘frimas’, hoarfrost<br />
Nivôse - from the Latin ‘nivosus’, snowy<br />
Pluviôse - from the Latin ‘pluviosus’, rainy<br />
Ventôse - from the Latin ‘ventosus’, windy<br />
Germinal - from the Latin ‘germen, germinis’,<br />
bud<br />
Floréal - from the Latin ‘floreus’, flowery<br />
Prairial - from the French ‘prairie’, meadow<br />
Messidor - from the Latin ‘messis’, corn<br />
harvest and the Greek ‘doron’, gift<br />
Thermidor - from the Greek ‘thermon’ heat<br />
and the Greek ‘doron’ gift<br />
Fructidor - from the Latin ‘fructus’, fruit and<br />
the Greek ‘doron’, gift<br />
If you’re thinking that sounds like something<br />
from a Disney film, you’re not alone. In<br />
England, the French months were referred to<br />
as: Snowy, Flowy, Blowy, Showery, Flowery,<br />
Bowery, Hoppy, Croppy, Droppy, Breezy,<br />
Sneezy and Freezy.<br />
Names were given to every day of the year<br />
too, based on trees, flowers, plants, animals<br />
and farm tools. For instance 12 June was<br />
Caille-lait which means bedstraw, and 2 July<br />
was Lavande (Lavender).<br />
Confused? Yes so was your average Citoyen<br />
and Citoyenne. And worse, whereas before<br />
they had one day off in seven, now they only<br />
had one day off in ten.<br />
It was an unwieldy and complicated system.<br />
When Napoleon was elected Emperor he<br />
abolished the calendar from 1 January 1806<br />
and everyone returned to the Gregorian<br />
calendar and knew what day it was again.
Photo: Barb Harmon<br />
The epitome of French<br />
style, the Coco Chanel<br />
Suite at the Ritxz Hotel,<br />
Paris<br />
French<br />
style<br />
The French are famous for their sense of<br />
style in fashion, food and interior decorating.<br />
French interior trends have set the tone for<br />
the rest of the world since the 18th<br />
century – the Chateau of Versailles,<br />
Josephine Bonaparte, Coco Chanel, Philippe<br />
Stark – the list of those who have influenced<br />
French style and had a far reaching effect is<br />
endless.<br />
Defining just what makes French style so<br />
appealing isn’t easy. Rustic? Shabby chic?<br />
(French comedian Marcel Lucont says that to<br />
the French Shabby chic is about as<br />
appropriate as fun-run or soft Brexit!).<br />
Farmhouse, Provencal, Parisian… French<br />
styles abound. But for interiors, on the<br />
whole, (unless you’re really into the whole<br />
gilded chateau glamour look) there are a<br />
couple of things that are consistent –<br />
simplicity and subtlety – but with French<br />
flair.<br />
It’s about balance – not being overly<br />
complicated. It’s about using the best<br />
materials, natural materials like linen and fine<br />
cottons. Sometimes a dash of drama.<br />
Sometimes a smidgeon of glamour. Old<br />
pieces of furniture and textiles are recycled and
Bedroom style<br />
French bedroom styles vary – romantic,<br />
Madame de Pompadour style, sophisticated,<br />
Provencal, country home, Parisian. But the<br />
one thing that French bedrooms have in<br />
common is a love of good bedlinen. It’s only<br />
really quite recently that duvets have<br />
become commonplace and in fact many<br />
hotels and homes still use sheets and covers.<br />
Good quality material and linen are the<br />
preferred choice – after all we spend a third<br />
of our lives in bed!<br />
5 minute chat with bedding style experts<br />
La Chambre Paris<br />
Tell us how La Chambre Paris began<br />
We know that our best days always follow a<br />
great night's sleep, e<strong>special</strong>ly with kids.<br />
Before creating La Chambre, we searched<br />
for high quality but affordable bedding in<br />
France and we just couldn't find any. So the<br />
idea was born - why not create our own<br />
top-of-the-line bed sheets that respect the<br />
environment and focus on the well-being of<br />
those who sleep in them. And it had to be at<br />
a fair price. We visited numerous textile mills<br />
in the search for quality materials and a<br />
partner who shared our values and support<br />
sustainable production. And we sell direct so<br />
that we can keep the price down.<br />
What makes La Chambre unique?<br />
We only sell three styles of bedding:<br />
Washed linen, Sateen collection, Percale<br />
collection. We aim to make the whole<br />
process of choosing the right bed linen less<br />
complicated. Instead of focusing on thread<br />
count, we help customers decide what they<br />
want their bedding to feel like and look like -<br />
with of course fabulous French flair. It also<br />
means less waste as our products are never<br />
outdated.<br />
Sleep is a hot topic more than ever right<br />
now - what’s new for 2021?<br />
Quality sleep is so important, and people are<br />
much more aware that quality products<br />
really do help. A good night’s sleep has a<br />
direct impact on our well-being.
We have a new limited-edition range of<br />
children’s bedding designed in partnership<br />
with the amazing French illustrator Camille de<br />
Cussac. Fabulous and colourful, they feature<br />
animal as well as a beautiful Paris design<br />
showing the classic monuments as well as a<br />
carousel, a café and scene in the park.<br />
We have added a secret dinosaur that is<br />
hidden on the fitted sheet which will help<br />
children feel safe at night and hopefully help<br />
them go to sleep at least 10 minutes earlier<br />
than normal…! As parents of 3 small children<br />
we certainly need every help we can get!<br />
We will also be adding some new French linen<br />
colours to our range in Spring 2021 which is<br />
one of our best selling products.<br />
Win a set of<br />
superb La<br />
Chambre Paris<br />
bed sheets for<br />
kids see page 54
Win a gorgeous<br />
linen tablecloth<br />
see page 55<br />
French table style<br />
A pretty table is part of French culture and<br />
tradition and in the 21st century – it’s still a<br />
strong tradition. And you can definitely be<br />
sure that the French will make a big deal<br />
about their <strong>Christmas</strong> meal. The table will be<br />
set with lots of care.<br />
<strong>Christmas</strong> dishes are carefully planned. This<br />
is a chance for keen cooks to really push the<br />
boat out and spend time preparing<br />
something <strong>special</strong>. But it’s not just about the<br />
food, it’s about presentation. The intention<br />
isn’t to show-off (well, maybe just a little…)<br />
but to please those at your table. Treating<br />
them to a beautifully presented and cooked<br />
meal is a show of love.<br />
5 minute chat with homeware style<br />
expert Carla Van Impe of Pimlico Eu<br />
online shops of fabulous homeware with<br />
French flair<br />
Tell us how Pimlico began...<br />
My grandfather had his own furniture design<br />
business, and as child I spent every day after<br />
school watching him create furniture, I loved<br />
the design process. When I started a family<br />
and moved to Belgium, I decided to use my<br />
experience of consulting in the interiors<br />
sector and began designing my own<br />
collection of household textiles. I chose the<br />
South of France as a test market because it<br />
has a good mix of locals, people from other<br />
parts of France, tourists and expats.<br />
It was the depths of the financial crisis. In<br />
retrospect, it was the best time to start a<br />
new business because when the orders<br />
started to come in from customers across the<br />
Provence and Cote d’Azur, I knew that I was<br />
onto something.<br />
What influences your style?<br />
For me France is about timeless style and<br />
that is the same for Pimlico. Wherever you<br />
travel across France there is a commitment<br />
to refined taste, whether a grand Paris<br />
apartment, a house in the country or an<br />
outdoor terrace at a simple village bistro.<br />
That simple sense of style is my constant<br />
inspiration when I design Pimlico products.
Take a set of French doors, leading into a patio<br />
or garden: pure French elegance. They need a<br />
curtain that matches that elegance, and that’s<br />
what I’ve designed our range of voile curtains<br />
to be.<br />
Many people who have bought Pimlico<br />
products during a trip to France contact us to<br />
buy online. When they get home they find<br />
they want more…<br />
You always choose beautiful muted<br />
colours for your textiles - is this because<br />
they match with all types and colours of<br />
decoration, ornaments etc?<br />
White and muted colours are typically<br />
French when it comes to table style<br />
Yes, the mix and match element to our<br />
collection is important. Each home has a style<br />
that reflects its owner’s taste and style. Pimlico<br />
products are there to complement and<br />
enhance the features that already exist in the<br />
home, be they architectural, wall colours, or<br />
specific pieces of furniture.