John & Lynne's second day in France - a visit to Cognac

 After a very good French breakfast, with huge cups of good coffee, made by Claudy, our landlady

 we set off into the countryside

 to a small distillery, P.Boussuet, who make good Pineau de Charentes and a cognac

 We were preceded by a large group of French farmers, who were tasting and buying

 attended by the Bossuet family, headed by Grandpère

 The rules for membership of the Charentes Producers' Association

 Delphine, who attended to us and spoke good English

 A good selections of their products including the renowned local salts

 On our way out, having bought an aged Pineau, we met a local farmer and his dog

 Stainless steel tanks outdoors, much like many of our co-ops

 French shutters are painted in beautiful pastels, walls are usually unpainted

 Then off to Cognac, where we visited an outdoor market

 Everything is fresh and very well displayed. These eggs were delicious

 Unusual fish, so fresh you expect it to flap about

 Tomatoes, as we never see them, and in perfect, unflawed condition, with an aroma that hits you from metres away

and beautiful cherries

 Local farming folk - we see very few smokers on this visit

 Wonderful cheeses

 Cockles

 langoustines

 and beautiful fresh strawberries 

We drove into the centre of Cognac

where we found an indoor market, open six days a week

with more wonderful fresh produce

 

Rabbits and ducks

 Patés

and pies 

 and more wonderful vegetables

 We bought this magnificent brie, it was delicious

 A rather enviable house in central Cognac

 and a rather awful lunch at Flunch - the ham was good, the chips too, but the fish uneatable

 Amazing hams at Auchan hypermarket

 and a good cheese display

 Then the highlight of our day, a visit to Cognac producer Henri Mounier - more in the following blog

After which, on our way home, we passed this sign and  

 had to visit

 They were closing, but we had a look at the products

 including this extravagant bottle of Louis XIII XO

which was surpassed only by this Jeroboam - a snip at €30000 

 Then home to Chérac

 where we shared a bottle of Life from Stone with our friends - it was cold and our French purchases luke warm, but it was excellent and they loved it

After which we ate our supper under the gazebo

 and enjoyed the landscape

 and watched the passing traffic

RETURN TO MENU 
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2013

French Odyssey - setting out and Day 1. Cape Town to Bordeaux and Cherac

Our friends Ronnie and Loraine were kind enough to take us to the airport

 Where we killed time with a couple of beers at what we thought was an exorbitant price, R58 - until we bought one beer in Amsterdam for the same money

 Louis Roos, Mooiplaas winemaker, and his wife en route to Brussels 

 were catching the same plane

 Airline dinner - so-so chicken tikka and a Heineken. Two Chilean wines were on offer. The white (sauvignon chardonnay) was horrible. The red was worse

 After a cramped and sleepless night, we had a four hour wait at Schipol and found some comfortable recliners

flew to Bordeaux and picked up our hire car which we thought was going to be a tiny 2 door Aygo but instead turned out to be a rather roomy Renault Kangoo

 and drove about 2 hours to our very comfortable B&B in Cherac, near Cognac

 

 

 with a view over the surrounding countryside

 Our hosts, Claudy and Alain Caillaud, recommended the nearby Auberge de la Fontaine for supper

 The menus, written on boards. We chose the plat du jour at €19.50 for three courses (2 choices each course), ordered all the dishes and then shared them

 With the meal we ordered a local sauvignon at €14, very pleasant and suited the food 

Nice fresh French bread

was delicious

as was

which was fresh and palate cleansing

was a tiny bit dry, but had great flavour and the lemon sauce was a good match

The chicken was quite dry and hard, but, again, the sauce was very good and the accompanying vegetables were fresh and perfectly cooked

Perfectly light with a delicate rum sauce, light chantilly cream, strawberry and sliced, roasted almonds

 
Local cheeses: excellent chevre and a soft white cheese, similar to brie with a delicious earthy flavour

 Then back to our B&B: # 2 Route du Puits des Brousses - 17610 CHERAC (€50 per night with breakfast)

 with cherry trees in the garden- we were told to pick as much as we wanted - a real treat

and off to bed for much needed sleep
RETURN TO MENU

© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2013

7th June 2013 Main Ingredient's MENU - Bordeaux – we’re away for two weeks, Wine Concepts’ Burgundy Festival, Franschhoek Artisan Food Route, Pickled limes

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Egyptian geese enjoy the sunshine after last weekend’s stormy weather 

In this week’s MENU:                                                              

       Bordeaux – we’re away for two weeks
       Wine Concepts’ Burgundy Festival

       Franschhoek Artisan Food Route

       Pickled limes

       This week’s Product menu

       Our market activities - Neighbourgoods, Long Beach

       Wine and Food Events

       Wine courses & cooking classes

To take a look at our Main Ingredient blogs, follow the link: http://adamastorbacchus.blogspot.com/ because to tell our whole story here would take too much space and you can also read earlier blogs. Click on Bold words in the text of this edition to open links to pictures, blogs, pertinent websites or more information. Follow us on Twitter: @mainingmenu

This week’s Product menu: Looking at the stock we have had to replenish this week, truffle oils are selling well as is the hot smoked Spanish paprika and the 8 year old sherry vinegar. Nielsen Massey extracts have also been moving, perhaps in anticipation of the impending price increase. We are receiving warnings from our suppliers of more price increases, mostly because of the decline in the Rand’s value against the Euro.

Buying from us on Line We have a lot of fun putting MENU together each week and, of course, doing the things we write about, but making it possible for you to enjoy rare and wonderful gourmet foods is what drives our business. We stock a good range of ingredients and delicious ready-made gourmet foods which you are unlikely to find elsewhere in South Africa. You can contact us by email or phone, or through our on line shop. We can send your requirements to you anywhere in South Africa. Please do not pay until we have confirmed availability and invoiced you. When you make an eft payment, make sure that it says who you are. Use the form on the website to email us your order and we will send you the final invoice once we’ve made sure stock is available. Click here to see the shop. Please note: we will be away from this weekend to the 24^th June, so we will not be able to process orders during that time.

Our market activities Come and visit us at the Old Biscuit Mill’s wonderfully exciting, atmospheric Neighbourgoods Market, as always, this Saturday and every Saturday between 09h00 and 14h00. We will, however not be there for two weeks after this Saturday, as we will be in France. Tip: Some visitors tell us how they struggle to find parking. It’s quite easy if you know how: Click here for a map which shows where we park. We will be back at the market in Long Beach Mall, Sun Valley, Fish Hoek tomorrow Friday, June 7th.

Bordeaux, here we come     We are finally taking a holiday. It has been six years since we were last able to go abroad and we thought that it was time. Please don’t blame us for the crash of the Rand, it is hurting us a lot, but we will be in France for the next two weeks. We will be visiting Cognac, a small island on the west coast named Dulos D’Orléron and then we will be in Bordeaux for at least a week to attend Vinexpo, one of the largest wine Expositions in the world. We intend to visit Perigord as well and some of the famous Bordeaux wine chateaux. So there will be no MENU until we return on the 24th, but then you will be able to read what we have been up to and, doubtless, there will be some stunning photographs of the trip. Don’t think for a minute that we escaping to the heat; the weather in France has been around 10 to 16 degrees up until today. We will publish a few blogs while we are there. Catch them at www.adamastorbacchus.blogspot.com or follow us on Twitter, @mainingmenu

Tonight we have been at the Taste of the Helderberg Festival, held at the NH Lord Charles Hotel in Somerset West and it was lovely, as always, to meet some of you there.

Wine Concepts’ Burgundy Festival     Burgundy produces two famous wines, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and, once a year, Wine Concepts holds a very special festival at the Vineyard Hotel at which they show the best wines produced in South Africa from these two varieties, plus one or two from France. 38 wineries or brands, 42 Chardonnays and 42 Pinots - it is a fabulous opportunity to taste so many at once and have the opportunity to purchase them all at a 10% discount on the night. If you missed the show, you can still buy them all through Wine Concepts.

We can’t say we loved them all, there were still a couple of over-wooded monsters in the bunch, to suit those of you who like a lot of wood, but we did find some gems and become reacquainted with wines we have loved before. The Dewetshof Chardonnays always impress and have so many variations from the fragrant perfume, limes and lemons of 2011 The Site through to the very French style tight limestone and lime 2012 Bon Vallon. Waterford Reserve Chardonnay really impressed us, as did the Creation with its lovely depth of flavours. Lynne’s’ favourite Chardonnay of the evening was David Finlayson’s Edgebaston with its layers and layers of flavour, fruit and complexity – a wine that keeps on giving. And we have made a new discovery (for us) and a farm we think needs watching and that is Journey’s End in Somerset West, who so impressed us with their two Chardonnays, both very French in style and full of salty minerality and good fruit. And, as usual, Paul Cluver has produced a winner.

Of the Pinot Noirs, Shannon stood out above the rest with their Rockview Ridge - smooth, with delicate sweet fruit and gentle touches of cherry and amaretto. David Finlayson’s Edgebaston 2012 Pinot with salty liquorice on top of raspberries is definitely one to pair with food and we loved it. And our favourite: back with a bang is the Newton Johnson Family Vineyards Pinot Noir 2011, with all characteristics we so love and respect in this wine. Full of soft raspberries, strawberries and gentle wood. An elegant wine to keep and a wine to drink soon. We just wish we had had more time to taste Pinot Noirs. Click here to see the photographs.

You will definitely find us at the next Wine Concepts Festival. Watch this space and don’t forget to check out our events calendar.

Franschhoek Artisan Food Route      Franschhoek’s latest innovation to draw you to their wonderful area is to cater for the foodie in you. Now, besides exploring their wonderful wine route, superb accommodation and great restaurants, you can go and explore the other wonderful artisanal products made in the area. Early on Monday, after one of the worst storms ever in Cape Town, we drove through to Franschhoek in the rain to sample some of the route. We parked our cars at Cafe BonBon and then started on the main street at Dutch East restaurant where they have a coffee shop, The World of Coffee, a coffee roaster and a coffee expert by the name of Pasch de Plooy, who took us through the entire coffee growing process and then showed us how he roasts their coffees and the different stages. We sampled several different coffees from Nicaragua, Guatemala and their very good Bistro Blend, ate a wonderful apricot pastry and then, sadly, it was time to move on. Generously, they presented each of us with a bag of their ground Guatemala coffee. Pictures here.

Next was a visit to Sacred Ground for a bread and cake tasting. They laid on an amazing spread of their superb artisanal bread, baked by their professionally trained bakers, all of whom are from Zimbabwe. And what bread it was, absolutely sensational. The most delicious ciabatta, foccacia, olive ciabatta, sour dough, rye, seed loaf, croissants, baguette and cheese baguette. These were served with a huge collection of interesting jams, preserves and chutneys, herb and truffle butters, flavoured balsamics and some olives and tapenades that they sell. Very sweet cakes and pecan pie came next and we left nicely satisfied, bearing an olive ciabatta which cost us only R22.50. They gave us a lovely present of a really good French pastry ,which we had for breakfast the next morning as well as a chocolate brownie. See Photos here.

A few steps up the high street and we came to The Salmon Bar for a trout and salmon tasting. They had arranged for us to see three of the varieties of small fish they are farming and we heard about the different methods of smoking and preparing this luxury fish. We were then given lots of different trout and salmons prepared in all the different ways to taste and these were accompanied by a very nice glass of Morena Brut Rose bubbly which is a very good match. See photos here.

Another few steps up the road to the small but perfectly formed African Chocolate Dreams Chocolatier. Joshua Juries, the owner, is living his dream of being a high class professional Chocolatier and he showed us the entire chocolate making process and let us taste many of the raw chocolates, the melted chocolate which was warming in the conching machine and then some wonderful chocolates he had made for us. This is definitely worth a visit. We were given a present of some of these to take home and they are absolutely delicious, with something for everyone’s taste. See our photos here.

Then it was back on the bus for a visit to La Bourgogne Farm on the road between Franschhoek and Boekenhoutskloof. They produce several wines, vinified by DP Burger of Glenwood, but also do olives, olive oil and some fruit preserves from fruit they grow on the farm. We enjoyed a full wine tasting of the Blanc de Noir, three vintages of Semillon and their soft Syrah, an olive and oil tasting and then it was time for lunch across the road at Café BonBon on La Petite Dauphine Guest Farm. They very generously gave us each three bottles of their Semillon, some olives and a pear preserve. See photos here.

Café BonBon is a lovely venue, very rustic and chic, but not overdone. It would be a really lovely place for a smaller country winelands wedding and, apparently, the accommodation is really special. We had a lovely long table in the centre of the restaurant, surrounded by good art, most of it for sale, and the table was again groaning with restaurant baked breads, preserves, jams, chutney and other delights for us to try. For some of us, lunch was nearly a bridge too far and we were quite relieved to find they were not serving us a starter. We all managed a main course and some had room for a pudding. We met the young chef Tijn (Constantijn) Handek who charmed us all and we drank some wine of the area. Then suddenly it was 5 pm and time to head home. This is just a small selection of the places you could visit when next in Franschhoek. See photos here.

Should you be pressed for time, the Franschhoek Village Market on Saturdays has proven to be extremely popular and showcases many of these fine foods.

For more information on the route contact the Franschhoek Wine Valley office on 021 876 2861 or visit the website on www.franschhoek.org.za.

This week’s recipe

Seeing all these wonderful products gave Lynne an idea for this week’s recipe. If you have the time, do try making this easy preserve. It will reward you and is perfect for serving with curries and tagines. Limes are in season, so now is the time to make it.

Pickled Limes (or lemons)

500g limes or thin skinned unblemished lemons – ½ a t turmeric – 2 cups (500 ml) of water - ½ t fenugreek seeds – 1 t yellow mustard seeds – ½ a t grated fresh ginger – 1 t cayenne pepper – 2 T salt – 2 T canola oil

Scrub the whole fruit well under running warm water and then place in a pot with the turmeric. Add the water and bring to a boil. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, removing any scum that forms on the surface. Remove from the heat and drain off the limes. Leave to cool, then cut into eights and remove any pips.

Toast the other spices gently in a dry frying pan until aromatic and the mustard seeds begin to pop. Grind into a powder in a pestle and mortar or in a spice grinder. Layer the lime wedges in a sterilized jar with the salt and spices, cover with the oil and seal with a sterilized lid. Leave for one month before using. Refrigerate after opening. Keeps for up to six months.

Tip. To sterilize your jars and lids: wash them well in soapy water and rinse well. Then put some boiling water in the jars and keep them in a warm oven until you are ready to use them, pouring out the water at the last minute. Keep the lids in boiling water and then when you bottle in the hot jars they should seal.

Elgin Vintners and Black Dog     A small mention of the wonderful wine tasting we had with Paul and Marilyn Wallace last night at our wine club where we tasted though a huge selection of their good wines. Of special mention is their superb spicy and sweet Shiraz, which was the universal favourite wine of the evening and their faultless minty Cabernet with lots of ripe cassis fruit - with not a hint of green stalkiness. Paul has also produced his own wine, Black Dog Malbec, and this is sure to wine some prizes in the future. It is dark inky black with superb flavours of rich black cherries, spicy rhubarb, and chocolate and liquorice. The meaty umami flavours make this the perfect wine to serve with meat or game. Contact them through their website: www.elginvintners.co.za

Food and wine (and a few other) events for you to enjoy

There is a huge and rapidly growing variety of interesting things to occupy your leisure time here in the Western Cape. There are so many interesting things to do in our world of food and wine that we have made separate list for each month for which we have information. To see what’s happening in our world of food and wine (and a few other cultural events), visit our Events Calendar. All the events are listed in date order and we already have a large number of exciting events to entertain you right through the year.

Learn about wine and cooking We receive a lot of enquiries from people who want to learn more about wine. Cathy Marston and The Cape Wine Academy both run wine education courses, some very serious and others more geared to fun. You can see details of Cathy’s WSET and other courses here and here and the CWA courses here.

Chez Gourmet in Claremont has a programme of cooking classes. A calendar of their classes can be seen here. Pete Ayub, who makes our very popular Prego sauce, runs evening cooking classes at Sense of Taste, his catering company in Maitland. We can recommend them very highly, having enjoyed his seafood course. Check his programme here. Nadège Lepoittevin-Dasse has cooking classes in Fish Hoek and conducts cooking tours to Normandy. You can see more details here. Emma Freddi runs the Enrica Rocca cooking courses at her home in Constantia. Brett Nussey’s Stir Crazy courses are now being run from Dish Food and Social’s premises in Main Road Observatory (opposite Groote Schuur hospital). Lynn Angel runs the Kitchen Angel cooking school and does private dinners at her home.  She holds hands-on cooking classes for small groups on Monday and Wednesday evenings. She trained with Raymond Blanc, and has been a professional chef for 25 years. More info here 

7^th June 2013

Remember - if you can’t find something, we’ll do our best to get it for you, and, if you’re in Cape Town or elsewhere in the country, we can send it to you! Check our product list for details and prices.

PS If a word or name is in bold type and underlined, click on it for more information

Phones: +27 21 439 3169 / 083 229 1172 / 083 656 4169

Postal address: 60 Arthurs Rd, Sea Point 8005

Our Adamastor & Bacchus© tailor-made Wine, Food and Photo tours take small groups (up to 6) to specialist wine producers who make the best of South Africa’s wines. Have fun while you learn more about wine and how it is made! Tours can be conducted in English, German, Norwegian or Dutch flavoured Afrikaans.

Recommendations of products and outside events are not solicited or charged for, and are made at the authors’ pleasure. All photographs, recipes and text used in these newsletters and our blogs are © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus. Our restaurant reviews are usually unsolicited. We prefer to pay for our meals and not be paid in any way by anyone. Whether we are invited or go independently, we don’t feel bad if we say we didn’t like it. Honesty is indeed our best policy. While every effort is made to avoid mistakes, we are human and they do creep in occasionally, for which we apologise. Our Avast! ^® Anti-Virus software is updated at least daily and our system is scanned continually for viruses.

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