Maeve OMeara - French Food Safari: A Delicious Journey into Culinary Heaven

CONTENTS

The French have it all oceans of style in every part of their lives from fashion to food. It seems effortless, and in a sense it is. The French grow up knowing the season for scallops and asparagus; how to choose an artichoke; what a roast chicken should really taste like; and that cheese always comes before dessert. The sheer joy, the exquisite pleasure of eating French-style, is simply a part of life.

This book of recipes aims to give you some of the essence of French culture and cuisine a window into the French world. It is based on the television series French Food Safari, which explored the best of French food in France and Australia, spending time with top chefs as well as in warm home kitchens.

The timing of our filming in France was fortuitous as we were in the kitchen of one of the masters the very charming Guy Savoy who has Michelin-starred restaurants around the world when the announcement came through that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) had decreed the French meal one of the intangible cultural treasures of the world, officially honouring the way the French value food, wine, and meal times with family and friends.

Savoy was one of the chefs who joined the French president to push for this acknowledgement, and so we all celebrated with his signature oysters, freshly shucked and served with a marvellous iced oyster aspic that had a hint of sorrel, pepper and tiny shards of lemon. These were served with a glass of champagne, because you must celebrate with food and wine bien sr (of course)! This to many of us is civilisation at its absolute best.

Other countries have similar traditions, but the French have a certain marriage of foods and wines, a succession of dishes, a way of sitting down for a meal and talking about it, that is specifically French those are the words of Jean-Robert Pitte who was head of the group that approached UNESCO. Hes right about the almost forensic focus on food in France youve never heard such high-grade food conversation as the French discussing what theyve just eaten and what theyre planning for tonights dinner.

Here is a whole nation that eagerly awaits the first luscious wild strawberry of the season, the first white asparagus or basket of morels fresh from the forest; who shudder at the thought of a baguette over two hours old; and who will walk miles to the best purveyor of seafood or charcuterie simply because their tastebuds demand it. Here is a nation that treasures its food and wine with an almost religious fervour.

Renowned chef Guillaume Brahimi accompanied us on our travels, our guide to the intricacies of the French world. He trained in France in some of the top kitchens, including that of exacting master Jol Robuchon. Guillaume now has restaurants in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth and is a wonderful ambassador for the place of his birth.

Throughout our travels in France, Guillaume had a favourite word respect. It was used by producers to talk about their work; by chefs to talk about produce; and by providores in referring to how they looked after their customers. Aha! Guillaume said when spending time below the streets of Paris in the fragrant cheese-rooms of Laurent Dubois, top affineur (cheese ripener and seller), and again in the warm kitchen of patissier Fabrice le Bourdat. Theres that word again! Everyone who really knows food talks about respect.

The French have a true respect for food that is seen in the care taken to grow, raise and create food, as well as in the care taken to shop for and select the best food to eat. Its referred to as lart de vivre the art of living, which is taught from an early age according to Guillaume.

From the simple things like shopping for bread three times a day, going to one fromager for your goats cheese and another for your brie because each one has a different speciality we grow up with this, its our way of life, he says.

Many of us know the similar phrase joie de vivre the joy of living, a phrase that captures the French spirit of living in the moment, enjoying everything from conversation to food. This is the spirit we hope inspires you in this book of recipes from so many talented people a guide to some of the best food in the world.

THE VILLAGE

France is renowned for its high-end, modern gastronomy and complex dishes, but there is another side to French life in the countryside, the village and the average home where food is more rustic and traditional. It follows the seasons and generally features what is available in the region. The food is not fussy but nourishing and delicious, and perfected by generations of home cooks. This is where classic French dishes like cassoulet, coq au vin, beef bourguignon and lamb navarin have come from, along with beautifully simple recipes like crique Ardchois.

One home kitchen we were lucky enough to be invited into was that of bestselling cookbook author and chef Stphane Reynaud, who lives with his family in the village of Saint-Agrve in the mountainous area of the Ardche in south-east France. Hes a firm believer that the soul of French cooking is in the home and in the regions of France. He has a restaurant in Paris and commutes each week from the village. Its a place where he finds solace and inspiration, and where he delights in getting back to basics like curing his own jambon sec (air-dried ham) using wild herbs and pine needles, making butter, and spending afternoons with family and friends.

The weekend we visited, Stphane was rallying the troops to make a regional speciality saucisse de couenne. This is a rustic sausage made with coarse pork mince flavoured with smoky pork skin and fat that is roasted over a fire of pinecones. It was a glorious moment joining Stphane as everyone, especially the kids, got into roasting the pork skin and later piping out the delicious sausages. They were baked and savoured with a couple of good bottles of wine from Stphanes extensive underground cellar, plus a cheese board the size of a cart wheel with fifteen different cheeses and some wonderful sourdough. And that was just for starters!

In the warm, open-plan kitchen a huge pot-au-feu was scenting the air, and the atmosphere combined with the tantalising aromas made us feel we had tapped into the essence of French life. It was totally food-centric, but in the most unpretentious way. Stphane was incredibly generous to let a film crew into his home for a day, and it added up to one of the great days of our lives.

Like Stphane curing his own ham, there can be a lot of DIY surrounding life in the country. Some of the joys of being outside a city include the ability to grow some of what you eat, whether fruit, vegetables or herbs; keep chickens and other animals; and, depending on the region, forage for wild food in the forests, along the shoreline, or in the local rivers and streams. The essence of country life is to make the most of whats available, and to waste nothing and why would you when cep or chanterelle mushrooms await you in the forest, plums are blushing on the trees, or there are wild snails to gather for a feast?

Dany Chouet introduced many Australians to French food at her restaurants in Sydney and the Blue Mountains and now lives in Prigord in south-west France. She revels in the different foods of each season, including ripe summer tomatoes, plump prunes from nearby Agen that are a year-round staple, and a more unusual regional delight the lamprey. This unique freshwater fish is often likened to a baby eel and has a short season in spring. When the lamprey come up the Dordogne River to lay their eggs, and the leeks in the