Good afternoon everyone,
To start, a debrief on our Provence themed wine tasting with food, which took place yesterday evening. We kicked off with some punchy tapenade on country loaf, made with olives from Nyons in Provence and Salina capers, both courtesy of the Ham & Cheese company. The olives featured again on Pissaladiere, Hamblin rough puff pastry, topped with white onions that had simmered away for six hours or so, and criss-crossed with fat anchovy fillets. There was a brief respite from the olives with a stand alone vegetable course of ratatouille, the vegetables cooked in stages in plentiful olive oil, and infused with basil. There was aïoli, of course, and then lamb shoulder, cooked until falling apart, with the braising juices amalgamated into a rich sauce comprising white wine, onions, garlic, fresh tomatoes, more anchovies, rosemary and savory, and yes, you guessed it, more olives. We finished with some strawberries macerated with rosé and black pepper.
It was a real treat to drink wines made to be eaten with this style of food (full review of the wines next week), and an even greater pleasure to see how breaking bread and sharing some bottles can create such conviviality, with the conversations continuing until every glass had been drained, upon which farewells were taken with hugs and warm handshakes, phone numbers exchanged, and one group even continuing in the Magdalen Arms until closing time. It was also a fitting farewell for Remy, our stagier from New York, who took care of the cooking with great skill and no little elan. She will soon be returning across the water but we feel very grateful to have made another dear friend, and we look forward to seeing where her culinary journey takes her next.
On the cold plate next week, we're particularly excited by a superb batch of Beaufort which we sampled last week, to a chorus of approval, at the Friday staff lunch. Importers Mons have this to say:
South of Albertville in the Savoie, Claude Mercier’s dairy produces Beaufort from the milk of 2 herds of local breed Abondance and Tarentaise cattle. The son of an alpagiste, although no longer making in a chalet, he preserves various traditions of Beaufort Alpage which sets his cheese apart. These include producing his own starter cultures and rennet. It is a combination of these factors plus the rich local milk which allows his Beauforts to retain such a unique and beautifully soft texture and complex flavour with notes of orange zest, apricot, brioche, hazelnut and warm spices.
That's all for now, tune in next week for wine chat and a report on our upcoming visit to the Kentish cobnut orchards of one of our favourite suppliers, Food and Forest.
Thanks for reading and enjoy the sunshine,
Kate and Hugo