Provence from Fayence outwards

Provencal mas in Mons

We are thrilled with this painting that Vicky Claringbold, our neighbour in London, painted of our holiday home nr. Mons in Provence.

This is the view from under the two large olives at the front of the house.

What to do near Fayence

The folk at "Lost in France" were good to enough to publish an article that I penned - full of good tips about what to do near Fayence on your holidays.

Coleen and Wayne to wed on the Riviera

Coleen and Wayne are coming to town, according to Marie Claire.

Beats the Wirral, I guess, but I wonder where?

France tops "quality of life" index

Incredible. France tops the world 2008 "quality of life" index, according to Living Internation (and here's the commentary). I will retire now.

The rest of you can enjoy a taster of life in Provence in Mons.

Bandol stinks

Fascinating article from San Francisco about Brettanomyces, a fungus that imparts certain odours to certain wines, it appears. The wine cited by the author happens to be a Bandol: " vividly remember the first Château Pradeaux I tasted. This mourvèdre-based red from the region of Bandol in France's Provence had the distinct odour of a horse-filled barn. When I served the wine to a friend, he looked up, smiling, and pronounced his judgement: "This smells like s--t.""

Best Baguette

I am truly encouraged to discover that there is in fact an official best baguette. Apparently there's an annual competition: "Best Baguette in Paris Award 2008". 14 of the entrants 143 14 were automatically eliminated for not complying with the criteria of size and weight peculiar to the “baguette tradition” (70 cm long, between 250 and 300 g) - only in France. Or maybe that's the EU?

Well - the baguette tournament was a cliffhanger, coming down to a nerve-wracking run-in between "two baguettes – numbers 132 and 97 – which were tied. The jury therefore carefully re-examined them, still tasting “blind”, in order to decide between them. Number 132 was unanimously found to be richer in aroma and taste, whilst number 97 appealed perhaps more for its attractively browned appearance and voluptuous, gourmet aspect."

Here's the winner brandishing the victorious baguette: Anis Bouabsa,28. Apart from the glory, he will be supplying the Élysée palace for a year so will have to hire someone to deliver the President’s baguettes every morning.

Browns Fashion

You have to hand it to Browns Fashion (of South Molton Street fame).

Surely, Browns' Jelly Shoes are the ultimate fashion beachwear item? I picture folk all over French Riviera beaches sporting these jelly shoes this summer as they coast the sands in Cannes & Antibes. Of 100% rubber, they must feel gorgeous.

At £80 - surely a steal?

Truffles make the FT

Truffles have become such an important global commodity, up there with oil, gold and pork bellies, that the FT is covering them.

The writer negotiates Richerenches with michelin-starred chef Michel Rostang. His advice about picking them: it's about the dealer (so they don't mix the smart stuff with fakes), the smell and the appearance. And cooking them: "I don't mix truffles with other flavours, it's all about the truffle." He recommends starchy foods that absorb flavour, such as potatoes, pasta or Jerusalem artichokes.

Petanque

Petanque is the native provencal ball game - it a bit like football in the UK.  I read in the Times that the name pétanque comes from the Provençal words ped tanco, or pieds tanqués in French, meaning having your feet stuck to the ground. Because there is no run-up, the pitch is shorter than in other boules games. These days pétanque is played by about 17 million people in France and in more than 50 other countries.

I sound better than the author of the piece, but then I played squash as a teenager and developed the flexibility of wrist much cherished by boulistes.

The article has a brief summary of the rules. First to thirteen, not the fifteen I've been playing.

Four Seasons Provence

Cracking review of the Four Seasons Terre Blanche upmarket resort. We advise friends to nip down for a burger or if you can run to it a 100 euro per head slap up meal.

The Four Seasons now boasts a spa, which our friend Arja who understands and appreciates fine things, has joined and she loves it. Arja has become an Ambassador and offered us a day pass so we could try its delights, but sadly we had to fly back to the grey and cold.

Truffle shortage

Truffles in France might be dying out. Or rather, after a very dry summer, there's a huge shortage that has got everyone talking.

Prices for the best quality large truffles in the bulk market have reached an eye-popping €900 a kilo. And climate change could benefit the Brits: "If it carries on like this, we are all dead," said one truffle producer. "You may find you have truffles in England in 10 years' time...Truffles need moisture in the summer or they die or never develop."

Unfortunately, it's a black art. trufficulteurs may meet, but no one really understands why and how truffles grow. A series of dry summers, and dry winters, especially the blazing summer of 2003, has had a devastating effect on even the cultivated truffles. The legally recorded harvest in France will struggle to reach 15 tonnes this year, compared to 50 tonnes a few years ago (and 1,200 tonnes in the 19th century).

For more, here's a nice piece in the Independent.

St. Tropez soap: Sous le soleil

St. Tropez' very own soap "Sous le Soleil" could be coming to a screen near you. The trailers look very fromageux but we can't wait to get the experience. And I quote: "The part drama, part rom-com has tracked the lives of three lovely ladies in the Cote d’Azur town, where glamour, money, large yachts, expensive villas and celebrities are plentiful. The story lines may be shallow, but sales have been rock-solid, with the series selling to more than 120 countries, including 20 networks in Europe. " Here's a trailer from You Tube...

Bugs in Provence? Surely not.

I was shocked to read in Telegraph that pockets of Provence are over-run by giant scorpions, beetles, squabbling hornets, stinging centipedes, allergy caterpillars and the like. Piffle I say, it's a land of lavender, olive oil and figs.

"Twice we've been woken by scorpions crawling over our legs under the covers. The trouble is that, like most countryside dwellings alongside the Mediterranean, it's not just the scorpions you have to watch, it's a whole host of supersized arachnids and unpleasantly shaped bugs that can sting, bite, grip, plague and scare you until you agree that it's their house, too.... At one point last summer we had scolopendra in the roof terrace, wasps stinging people beside the pool, hornets fighting in the fig tree, a giant wasp spider shaking his web in the lavender, a foot-long green lizard hiding behind the back door and a snake hissing from the bay tree, as well as the squadrons of scorpions and black indescribables in the garage. Still want to move to Provence?"

Maybe the writer was an insect-gaoler in a previous life? OK, I confess, there are one or two bugs but they're terribly pleasant, especially the crickets who are soooo playful the children catch them bare-handed.

Canadairs over Lac St. Cassien

Canadairs flying low over Provence in groups of three and four is a regular sight in the summer. Unfortunate as well, as its a sure sign of forest fire. See smoke and the Canadairs will follow - and vice versa.
In the Fayence/Montauroux region, its the Lac St. Cassien that feeds the airplanes: they dive in low over the bridge and scoop up water.

Rose de Provence rows

Cotes de Provence appellation controlee is so upset that Rose de Provence is being used by PGA to describe its new wine that the case is now with the French fraud office.

"Provence’s largest AOC union, Côtes de Provence, has accused local firm PGA Domaines of “stealing” the region’s name for its new Rosé de Provence wine. Rules prevent wine brands in France from using any part of an existing AOC name."

Experts believe the rose row is part of a broader debate about the creation of one regional AOC to cover the whole of Provence.

A uniquely french debate.

Lobsters and prawns feel pain

Well, it's official. Lobsters ("homard") and prawns ("crevette) feel pain. Scientists poured vinegar on their antennae and they tried to rub it off anxiously. No surprises there, then. If somebody poured vinegar on my tender extremities, I am not sure I would like it.

Funny how we chastise ourselves horribly for cooking these gorgeous creatures, especially when they are known to practise cannibalism. Bet that doesn't trouble them as much as it does us. Boil them, I say.

Nothing quite like a "plat de fruits de mer", washed down by an exceptionally dry Sancerre.

How to survive the French

We love to hate the French - and vice versa. I read an amusing article in the Sunday Times entitled "why can’t the English be more like the French?" and the sub-heading "with the high-speed link to London about to open at last, Hortense de Monplaisir warns her fellow Parisians of the horreurs anglais that await them". I read to find an amusing satire of English mores from a Parisienne's perspective, covering London houses, Boden catalogues, an Englishman's sex life and our love of Marks and Spencer, house price conversation and "me time." Here's a few nuggets:

* It is well known that Englishmen are no good at sex. They go at it in a medieval fashion, blind drunk, ignorant and with no respect for la séduction.

* THE best shortcut to the English Look can be found in the “jolly hockey sticks” Boden mail-order catalogue. Large pale Englishmen are photographed in the country, cavorting with “good sport” girlfriends, with captions that assume the reader has no knowledge or feeling for clothes. He favours large beige trousers to house thighs like tree trunks, while she downs a pint of bitter in a lurid floral cardigan and a camisole “cut to conceal, not to reveal”.

* Documentaries show Londoners happily fleeing their homeland to hide away in some godforsaken corner of la France profonde. Can you imagine a Parisian family abandoning their apartment to begin a new life in a cottage in Wales?

And then I discovered you could buy a whole book on the subject Le Dossier: How to Survive the English!by Sarah Long. I shall buy one.

French Riviera in Milwaukee - yeah, right.

So here we are in the west side of Milwaukee (beer country). And two cooks start a restaurant which combines a New York deli with French Riviera nuances. What a bizarre concept, especially when it's based on romaine lettuce which one rarely sees in Provence.

"The French Rivera influence comes from the time Schultz spent traveling in France and is primarily represented at Laissez Faire in salad form....the goat cheese with bacon is spring mix with bacon, sunflower seeds and goat cheese with a sherry vinaigrette. The lunch salad starts with romaine and adds blue cheese, cucumber, scallions and hard-boiled egg with a cobb dressing. The Duck Confit tops them all with duck, romaine, spring mix, walnuts and dried apricots with a balsamic reduction."

Food marketing!

Grasse perfumed by Hermes

Interesting profile of Claude Ellena, Hermes' head perfumer, in the LA Times, "finally where he wants to be: hidden away in a Provençal pine forest where he can explore his inspiration."

"I have no interest in trying to reproduce nature," he says, explaining his philosophy. From a big wooden desk in the living room, Ellena mulls over his formulas while taking in a view of the forest and the Mediterranean in the distance. "I want to transform it, create olfactory illusions. Perfume isn't only about the scent of flowers. I can add molecules to make a fragrance harsh, soft, dry, fresh, bubbly, light, cool and warm." Sounds like a nice life.

Japanese French

Chez Keisuke Matsushima is not an immediately obvious French restaurant. In fact, I am wondering how French people would get by. Chez is straightforward, the rest would challenge all of us.

Nonetheless, food looks good.