Normandy - My day with the man from the Rotary

As an exchange student, I had one task that had to be fulfilled. I had to go to a Rotary meeting and give a talk about Paarl, the town that I am from. It was quite impressive, even if I say so myself. I spent hours driving around taking photos and getting slides made so that they'd be wow-ed by my home-town. (and from their reaction, I think they were impressed).

I was introduced to a lovely older gentleman, Emil and I was told that he would be my guide the next day to take me to the Mont-St-Michel.

We departed early the next morning and I found him very pleasant and easy to talk to. We stopped at the museum of the Mont-St-Michel and I could clearly see that the place was still closed - in fact, the board outside the museum with the opening times on it confirmed that they would not open for at least another 30 minutes, so I could not believe the man's "cheek" when he walked to the door and demanded (in a friendly way) that they open up early for us. The thing that shocked me even more, was that they agreed. Wow - "Quelle Authorite", as the French would say.

The museum was very informative and I thought it was an excellent way of explaining how the sea currents contributed to the "specialness" of the Mont-St-Michel.

Next, we had lunch - the best lunch that I had had up to that point in my life. We had one of those famous 5- or 6-course meals that everyone seemed to have in this magical foodie heaven. Only, this time we had it for lunch. I always thought that nothing could top South African Karoo lamb, but I promise, the lamb in this area is right up there with the best that the Karoo has to offer! And the cheese...oh, the cheese...

After our culinary feast, we continued to the Mont-St-Michel. Unlike the rest of the visitors, who struggled to find parking, we drove right to the front and just stopped right by the entrance. Wow, we were on a lucky streak.

In the little town, people seemed to come out of their shops and restaurants to greet us...what friendly people! (or so I thought). We walked all the way up to the abbey and when we got there, the priest gave us a huge key (one of those keys that you have ever only seen on TV or the movies). Emil and I walked up the spiral staircase with all the other tourists to go see the beautiful view that I had been promised, but instead of going with all the rest of the people, he told me to follow him. He opened this big old door with the super-special key and we continued up the spiral staircase. By this stage, I was pretty tired of all the climbing, since I'm not the fittest/most active person at the best of times, but since my tour guide, who was in his 60's didn't look the slightest bit tired, I continued without a peep.

We got to the top of the tower and the view was everything I expected - and more! Just absolutely breath-taking! It also felt pretty cool to look down at the "plebs" who were all pointing at us. I could see they were wondering the same thing as me...how did we wangle this? I had no idea, but I wasn't complaining. I liked this VIP treatment.

We made our way back down to the car and on our way, we had a quick coffee at a little restaurant. The owner was very interested in us and continued to talk to Emil. When we left, the owner refused payment. This was my lucky day..and what a special day it was.

After Emil took me home, I could not help talking about our great day, and how lucky we were that everything just worked out so great for us. My host family smiled and Frenchie said: "well, that is the way that the mayor of the Mont-St-Michel gets treated". My mouth fell open, I just spent the entire day with this man, and I had no idea that he was the mayor. Apparently they told me the previous night, but I was either too nervous about my talk, or too tired to understand.

Oh well, I had a great day  and the mayor of the area is a lovely lovely man.

An exchange student in Normandie

When I was in University, my friend Fashionista and I decided that we wanted to become exchange students. I went for an interview with the people from the Rotary and was chosen as to be an exchange student. Yay!

I was sent to Avranches, a small town in Normandy, France. I stayed with a lovely family for about 2 months and thanks to them, I fell even deeper in love with France. The family consisted of Papa, Maman, Frenchie (my exchange student - she came to visit me 6 months later) and her 2 brothers.

Every weekend, the family would take me to one of the many fabulous little towns in the area: Granville, St Malo, Dinard, Dinan etc. I enjoyed the area so much - it was beautiful, with so much history and culture. Each little town so similar, yet so different from the other. I can still remember the chilly day that we sampled oysters in Cancale - truly memorable and something special.

The family truly fed my hunger and love for food. They know "how" to eat. The family sat down for dinner each night and had quite the spread. They would start with a small appetizer, then salad, main course, cheese, dessert and finally espresso. A culinary expedition in their own home every evening. One of my fondest memories, is of me and Frenchie, eating an entire Camembert cheese on my last evening - her parents could not believe that we could eat an entire meal and then sit there and shove piece after piece of Camembert down our throats. Believe me...there was no shoving...each bite of Camembert (occasionally accompanied by a piece of baguette) was pure joy!

I love every place that I've ever visited in France, but this area of Normandy and Brittany holds a special place in my heart - probably thanks to the graciousness of my host family.

Food in Normandie

The Normans can eat...and they do my kind of eating. Cream, butter, cheese, oysters, lamb...everything I love. I honestly don't know how they stay so skinny!

The lamb in the area is absolutely fantastic. Due to overflooding by the sea, salt marsh meadows were created, which are perfect for sheep to graze. So, the lamb in the area is naturally seasoned - do try it if you find it on a menu - truly a treat!

The Normans make lovely cheeses, like Camembert, Pont l'Évêque, Petit Suisse and Boursin. I am a true cheese lover - with bread, crackers or just plain cheese - I can totally overindulge on the creamy yummy-ness that is cheese.

Another highlight in Normandy is anything made from apples: calvados, apple cider, tartes aux pommes, pomme compote etc. Fresh pastries with warm apple inside it...yum...I dream of the smells and tastes of a good patisserie!

The seafood in the area is fabulous! Dishes like coquille Saint Jacques (scallops) and Moules a la Normande (mussels cooked in apples and cream) are just devine. And lets not forget fresh oysters...crave!

The Mont-St-Michel

The Mont-St-Michel is an island about a mile from the coast of Normandy in the Bay of the Mont St Michel (in the English Channel). The original abbey, which was built in the 8th century was later (in the 13th century) replaced by the current impressive structure which forms the famous silhouette of the Mont St Michel. The island is connected to the main land by a narrow causeway.

Depending on the tides, you can either walk to the island from the beach or it is completely surrounded by water and you have to take the bridge. The tide can come in so quickly that it can be dangerous to walk accross on your own - rather do it with one of the many organised tours.

View from the abbey


The island is a World Heritige sight, and it is easy to see why. It is just such a special place. The little town is tiny, and as you walk through the narrow streets on your way to the abbey, you can have a meal at one of the many cute little restaurants or buy some souvenires at the mostly tourist-focussed shops. (with only 41 inhabitants, they need to focus on catering for the tourists)

Narrow streets


Try to go as early in the day as possible, because it can get really crowded quite quickly, but even so, it is well worth the trip!

Beaver Creek Master Chef Classic

When we first moved to Colorado I thought “Oh my word…I’m stuck in the middle nowhere…in pleb-ville…where all restaurants are chains and everyone dresses in jeans and tracksuit tops when they go out for dinner”. This was as far removed from life in London as could be. In London we went to fabulous restaurants and most people dress up to go to restaurants or shops – you won’t catch anyone in nasty sweatpants or gym clothes in Selfridges or Harvey Nichols – or even in Topshop or H&M for that matter. It was a bit of a culture shock.

Luckily the shock subsided when we went to places like downtown Denver, Boulder and Cherry Creek. There were numerous great non-franchise/chain places with exciting menus, well dressed people and great food. This was more up my alley - Hallelujah!

Colorado’s food scene shot up quite a few more notches on my foodie-ometer when we attended the Beaver Creek Master Chef Classic which took place on January 28-30, 2010. It is an annual foodfest presented by Bon Appétit magazine (love!) and hosted by the fabulous ski resort, Beaver Creek. During the 3 day food extravaganza there were numerous events such as Luncheons, snow-shoeing tours, Sushi and Pastry workshops hosted by world-renowned chefs such as Laurent Tourondel, Francois Payard, Cat Cora, Hidekazu Tojo and Michael Psilakis. We attended only 2 events, not because we didn’t want to, but rather because we took too long to book the tickets, so most events were sold out a few weeks before the festival started. The 2 events that we attended were the Master Chef Challenge and the Grand Tasting. Both events were great and worth the big ticket price.

Cat Cora on stage with the chefs hard at work


Master Chef Challenge

Think Iron Chef (originally a Japanese cooking competition show that has become a huge hit in America) in an auditorium – that is the best way that I can describe it. Unlike Iron chef which only has 1 round of competition, the Master Chef Challenge has 2 rounds with 2 teams of 2 chefs competing in each round, and the winners of the 2 rounds compete against each other in the final round. Each round had a different secret ingredient (just like Iron Chef) and the 3 judges taste and score the dishes. The winner of the challenge was Ming Tsai – I’m not sure if it was his food or all of his witty comments that won him the title, but he had the crowd in stitches and the smells were incredible.

While all of the live cooking was going on (20 minutes of cooking per round) and during judging, we were entertained by the tiny fireball and great chef, Cat Cora as MC – opa, y’all! She was great - even busted a few moves with some audience members - respect!

Judging


Tip: If you are going to the Master Chef Challenge next year, do yourself a favor and eat something small before you go, because the food smells will drive you bonkers if you don’t and you will end up gobbling up a slab of chocolate like we did. During the breaks and before the competition starts, they do offer some small tastings from different sponsors such as restaurants in the area, wineries, rum makers and Lindt Sea Salt Chocolate (its divine – just try it!), but it is by no means meant to be a meal, and the event ends too late to go to one of the amazing restaurants in the area.

I would definitely attend the competition again – you saw a fun side of the chefs and it was a great evening out. Another great thing is that you could purchase cookery books at the venue and the chefs signed them for you – thanks Michael Psilakis!


Grand Tasting

The Grand tasting was hosted at the Ritz Carlton and it was any foodie’s dream come true – a night of small tasters of some of the most amazing dishes that I can think of! Some of the highlights were Michael “one bite” Psilakis’ dish - Hirimasa Sashimi Studied with Garlic, Olive & Tomato, Laurent Tourondel’s Bacon Dusted Hanger Steak / Apple Cider Slaw and the Red Wine Braised Oxtail with Truffle-Marrow Custard and Potato Mousseline made by David Walford and Brian Ackerman from Splendido in Beaver Creek. Just thinking about these dishes makes my mouth water. We were truly treated to some amazing food!

I also tasted a great Sauvignon Blanc from California made by Schweiger Vineyards. The combination of all the food could get a bit too much at some time, so a taste of this amazingly well balanced wine did wonders for the palate.

The Schweiger Wine "stand"


The great thing about this food festival is its location - Beaver Creek - it is such a different and special place. I definitely recommend this food fest for skiers and non-skiers because there is so much to do in Beaver Creek and if you attend half of the events, you will be too busy to hit the slopes. We stayed at the Westin in Avon and it was a great location. Not only is there a free shuttle every hour to Beaver Creek Village, but they also have a free gondola that takes you to the ski lifts. The hotel has a more modern feel than most of the more traditional log-cabin styled hotels in the area and offers great rates to Colorado locals if you book directly on the Starwood Hotels website. http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1958

Beautiful Beaver Creek


All in all – a fantastic culinary event and I for one will definitely go back year after year. I'm counting down the days...

Champers in Champagne...lost in translation

During one of our visits to Reims, we stayed in Grand Hotel de L'Univers in Reims. We really enjoyed the hotel. The hotel is just around the corner from the main pedestrian walk with many restaurants, cafes and bars, so the location is ideal.

The rooms are a bit small and the bathroom walls are very thin, but the hotel is clean and the staff were just great!

We met the manager of the dining room, Michel, one night as he was serving us in the hotel bar after a particularly hard day of champagne tasting (not!) and when he found out that we were from South Africa and that my husband is half-Dutch, we just couldn't stop chatting - he was very interested in our country and the Dutch were his favourite football country. (I had the difficult duty of translating the men's conversation, since neither understood the other's language). We had not intended on eating in the hotel's restaurant, since there were so many other restaurants in the area and we thought it might be too uptight, but luckily he convinced us and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The food was fantastic and the service excellent.

The only thing that was a bit off was the menu translation. Michel explained that a local lady offered to help with the translations since her English was very good...big mistake. Most of the dish descriptions, were not 100% correct, but at least they were decipherable. The big problem was that one of the dessert "translations" was not only incorrect, it was just plain wrong...on every level and had us in absolute stitches. For some reason, we didn't look at the desserts on the menu until after our main course. As Michel left our table, I burst out laughing, soon followed by my hubby - we just could not stop...off course the champagne that we consumed with our meal gave us that glorious giggly feeling already, so mixed with the gem on our menu, we just couldn't get a grip. Michel came to our table immediately and during our fit of laughter, I could see that Michel became slightly annoyed, so I quickly gathered myself and tried to translate the mistake. His mouth fell open and with a loud "Oh mon dieu!" he grabbed all the menus and some tip-ex (white-out) and started removing the description from all the menus.

Look at the menu below - "Nems de Banane" (off course we took a copy!!) - please note that it is a swear word, so if you are easily offended by crass language, sit this one out. (Also, please note that the Tourist menu price will more than likely not be the same since this was about 5 years ago.)

To everyone who goes through the trouble of translating their menus so the English speakers can understand it, please note that we really do appreciate it, so don't be upset if it makes us laugh on occasion - it creates some unforgettably worthwhile moments.

Champers in Champagne 3

The big Champagne houses:


Let’s face it – when in Champagne, one does have to visit the big champagne houses and during my 4 trips I visited most of them once or twice. I’ve visited: Moët et Chandon, Mumm, Pommery, Piper Heidsieck, Mercier, Perrier Jouet, Veuve Cliquot, Taittinger and De Castellane. I like all of them but my favorites were:


Moët et Chandon: Yes – you do pronounce the “t” of Moët – it is a grammatical rule. Founded in 1743, the history of the place, currently owned by LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy) is quite impressive. The tour is delightful and truly enjoyable – you learn a lot about the company and its champagnes and the underground tunnels are truly impressive. The top champagne at Moët et Chandon is Dom Perignon, named after the founder of champagne. (some say that is a myth – I’d like to believe it) I would recommend that you go all out and do the Grand Vintages tour, because you taste 2 vintage champagnes and it is so expensive to buy the bottles, that it is well worth the extra €5 to taste it. (Just some useless information – the word Imperial always appears on the Moët et Chandon champagne bottles – that was as a tribute to Napoleon who was friends with Jean-Remy Moët - son of the founder.)

Moet et Chandon

Piper Heidsieck: Probably my favorite tour – you get on this little train/car/thingy and it takes you through parts of the cellar. (Hey, I’m a sucker for a gimmick – if it works! – so what!) At the end of the tour you are on the red carpet and then you enter this over-the-top fabulous red bar (I want one) for the tasting. I highly highly highly recommend that you do the tour that ends with a 3 glass tasting. (You taste the Piper Heidsieck Brut, the Rose Sauvage and a vintage Brut – yumm) After the tour, we were escorted to our tasting table and we had 3 glasses waiting for us – a beautiful sight after a hard tour. All the other people (with their one glass of bubbly) were looking at us and had to then get up one by one, go to the bar and pay for more glasses. (They also make my husband’s favorite champagne: Charles Heidsieck - divine.)

Piper Heidsieck's Fabulous Red Bar

Piper Heidsieck 3-glass tasting



Pommery: I love the fact that it was run by a woman who took it from a small little brand to a hugely successful champagne house. (In 1858!!!!) The estate is very impressive and I love the tour and boutique – they had to drag me out of there because I didn’t know what to buy and what to leave. The chalk pits, art and quirkiness of the place is just refreshing. You can have private group lunches or weddings at Pommery - off course it is very expensive, but how flashy would that be?!?!

Pommery's cellar art

Perrier Jouet: Their boutique is fantastic – in my opinion the best out of all of them! Glasses, ice buckets, key rings…Love it! Oh yes, and the tour is pretty cool too.

Perrier Jouet

Veuve Cliquot: Remember to make an appointment to visit Veuve Cliquot, because they do not take walk-ins. Not only is the place, boutique, tour and tasting fabulous, but this company was also run and made successful by a widow – respect!



The only place that I didn’t enjoy was De Castellane – there is nothing wrong with the place, but the women who worked there were snotty and rude. They didn’t realize that I could understand French and they discussed us openly and their comments were not positive - to put it mildly. If anyone had a fantastic time on their visit to De Castellane, I would love to hear about it so that my opinion of the place can become more favorable too.



One of my favorite stories about the area of champagne is the comet story. In 1811, people in Champagne could clearly see a comet and it is believed that this comet brought good luck to that year’s vintage. Pommery and Veuve Cliquot both mention the comet. This continued after 1811, with some of the best champagne vintages coinciding with a comet appearance.

Hard core shopping in Champagne


I know I don’t really mention the champagne much in today’s blog, but that is because I have never tasted a single glass champagne that I didn’t love…what can I say…champagne is love/life/fun in a glass…and the place where it comes from is just magical.

Champers in Champagne 2

Champagne tours and tastings


In Champagne you get the big and famous champagne houses and then you get privately owned family wineries. I’ve done champagne tours on both and loved both. The big houses have all the ambiance, grandeur and wow factor, while the privately owned farms have a lot of personality. Most smaller farms do not do tours, unless you contact them before the time and request a visit and tasting.

Vine covered hills


Spending a day in the area of Champagne is fabulous. You get up and go somewhere for your breakfast (my choice would be a croissant or pain au chocolat), then you can do 2 champagne tours before hunger strikes. Lunch could be a fabulous gastronomic experience in one of the many wonderful restaurants in the area or you can go to a boulangerie and patisserie or the deli section of your local E Leclerc supermarket and buy some picnic things (pates, baguette, cheese, olives, mixed salads, pastries, mmmm). There are so many beautiful places to have a picnic in this area – we did it a few times and I loved it. (and I’m not a big picnic-er) You can sit on a hill covered with vines and just drink in the beauty of the area! Love! Then on you go…perhaps another 2 or 3 tastings in the afternoon (if you have a designated driver) and then spend the last few hours of the sun’s rays on a square, sipping champagne or ratafia before heading into a nearby restaurant and stuffing your face with some lovely French Food, followed by more champagne. Bliss…



(Ratafia is a sweetened aperitif made from the left over Pinot Noir grapes after they are pressed for champagne and then mixed with marc de champagne and put in barrels for at least 2 years.)



I’ve been to many champagne houses and all of them have something special and unique. A lot of the same information gets repeated, but it’s the little extra bits of information that you get from them that makes it interesting – you hear something new about the art of champagne-making or their personal history on each tour, so you are ensured that no tour is ever boring. (and seriously…how can any tour that ends with a champagne tasting ever be considered boring??)



The smaller wineries that we visited were:

Chapuy Champagne

Chapuy: The Chapuy family has lived in the town of Oger for hundreds of years and they started making champagne in 1952. We visited their farm in 2004 during a college field trip and had an amazing time meeting 3 generations of this family. They were such gracious hosts, taking us on a tour of their facilities and giving us a great tasting. It was such a lovely personal experience to meet people who truly loved what they did and who were so excited to share it with us. We each bought a few bottles of their champagne and it was in no way inferior to any of the famous names, in fact, their champagne was truly and spectacularly delicious. They are pretty fortunate with the quality of their terroir – only 17 out of over 300 of the villages in the champagne region can call their grapes Grand Cru and all of Chapuy’s grapes can be classed as Grand Cru – that is quite something. Visit their website for some more information about their champagne. http://www.champagne-chapuy.com



(Terroir is the climate, soil type, topography etc that all play a role in the specific quality of the grapes.)

The Bliard Winery


Jean Bliard: In Hautvillers we had an unplanned visit at an organic champagne maker. During our field trip, our college lecturer slammed on the breaks and our van came to a screeching halt in a tiny street – the rest of us then saw the sign: “Champagne Jean Bliard – culture Biologique”. I was nominated to go knock on the door and ask if we could come in for a tasting (my French is pretty reasonable – which is quite disappointing after spending 3 years and thousands of my mom’s money to learn the language – but like everything else, you loose it if you don’t use it). Shockingly enough, they invited the whole group in, gave us a small tour and a tasting and sold us some champagne. They went all out for us – even doing a sebrage (opening a bottle of champagne with a sword) – what an experience! These people summed up the people of the area – they are so enthusiastic about what they do and when people share their enthusiasm, they are extremely welcoming and friendly.

Monsieur Bliard doing the sebrage

Champers in Champagne!

I only drink champagne when I'm happy, and when I'm sad.
Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone.
When I have company, I consider it obligatory.
I trifle with it if I am not hungry and drink it when I am.
Otherwise I never touch it - unless I'm thirsty.

~Madame Bollinger


Truer words I have yet to hear. Imagine owning a Champagne house and being able to drink as much Champagne as you want…one word…fabulous! Not only because of the drink, but because the area is such a great place too. I’ve been to Champagne 4 times. The first time was on a day trip with my mom and brother while on holiday in Paris , the second time was with college (I did a wine course while living in London ), the third time was with my boyfriend (now husband) and the 4th time was on another college field trip. It’s a small area without all the grandeur of Paris , but the champagne houses, beautiful towns, churches, great food, hills and vineyards make such a magical place, so naturally beautiful and SO worth going back for again and again and again.


Beautiful vineyards on the hill


Just a bit of a lesson on champagne and its history:

Dom Perignon, a Benedictine monk, discovered the method to make champagne while serving as cellar master at the Abbey in Hautvilliers. Due to the shorter and colder growing season in Champagne, the grapes get picked later in the year so they have less time for fermentation. (Fermentation is when the yeast in the wine converts the sugars in the grape juice into alcohol). The monks of the Abbey, discovered that they could make wine with bubbles, by using a second fermentation process which occurs inside the bottle. Wine with bubbles is made according to this natural method in other areas of France and other countries (for instance Cava in Spain, Cap Classiques in South Africa and Prosecco in Italy) , but because of the AOC (appellation d’origine controlee) system that strictly defines winemaking laws, only sparkling wine that is made in Champagne, can be called champagne. (To specify that their wine is made according to this method, other areas can mention that their wine is Methode Traditionnelle.)

Reims Cathedral

When going to Champagne for a few days, I would recommend that you stay in Reims near the main tourist area. Reims is a beautiful city with a lot of history – for instance, unlike most people would think, the kings of France were not crowned in Paris , but instead all the coronations took place in the Cathedral of Reims. Unfortunately the church was almost destroyed by the Germans during the First World War, but it has been beautifully restored. Many of the big champagne houses like Pommery, Piper Heidsick, Taittinger and Veuve Clicqout are in Reims.

Place Drouet d'Erlon in Reims

When in Reims I like to stay in the area of the Place Drouet d’Erlon, a square/pedestrian walk full of bars, restaurants and cafés. There are many hotels and great shops near the square and it is also a quick walk from the Cathedral of Reims. The vibe on the square is lively with people sitting at the outside cafes and bars till the sun set and then streaming into the many restaurants nearby. The food at most of the restaurants is very traditionally French and delicious – every meal that I’ve ever had on the square, has been fantastic. Traditional foods in the area are stuffed trout, Andouillette (spicy pork sausages), Ardenne ham, Reims ham and Chaource Cheese. Off course it would be ridiculous not to pair your amazing food with a glass of champagne. Contrary to what you might think, champagne is not just an aperitif, but it is also a perfect accompaniment to almost any and all foods – in fact, I’ve never tasted anything that didn’t go well with champagne.

Sediment is removed from the bottle with a technique called riddling.

The other must-visit town in champagne is the capital, Epernay, home of Perrier Jouet, Moet et Chandon and Mercier (all on Avenue de Champagne). What goes on above ground is beautiful and interesting, but it is the 120 kilometers of chalky tunnels underground that fascinate me. Below the ground in Epernay , you can find approximately 200 million bottles of champagne ageing. What an incredible sight to see!

Rue Dom Perignon in Hautvilliers

Hautvilliers, a short drive from Epernay , is the third must-visit town in Champagne on my list of suggestions. It is after all the birthplace of this wondrous drink that made the area of Champagne a rock star in the wine industry! The town is tiny and quaint, but in my opinion, a must-see. You can visit the Abbey made famous by Dom Perignon. (There is no charge to visit, but you are encouraged to make a small donation to the church.) If you drive up the road of the church (with the church on your left – I believe it is Rue Dom Perignon) and you get to the top of the hill (till you can’t drive straight anymore), turn left and follow this road. (excuse the dodgy directions, but I never thought that I would have to remember the street names.) It leads to a great picnic location with beautiful views of the champagne valley – just gorgeous – a perfect spot to drink a bottle of champagne as you are watching the sunset. For more information when you are in Hautvilliers, you can visit their tourism office on Place de la Republique.

Love in an aisle

There are so many more towns that I need to visit in Champagne, but the above three, really made an impression on me and I've gone back to all 3 of them again and again and again...

Champagne tours and Houses...next time...