And then the Olympics were over. After the youth of the world were invited to gather in Los Angeles in four years time to go faster, stronger and higher - together, Paris has taken on a new mission - the city of deconstruction!
It seems to take much less time to deconstruct Olympic infrastructure than the time it took to assemble it. And it also seems to be farewell of sorts. A melancholic one - cos I loved Paris as a host. It was a city of camaraderie and fun.
So, Olympics over, I finally got the chance for a mini break and, after a quick afternoon tea to celebrate the successes of both the Australian and French teams at the games, I headed for Gare St Lazare and jumped on the train to one of my favourite places - you guessed it - Lecaude, Normandy. What followed was a few days of winding down after all the events and a chance to relax a little and take a breath. I was so shattered after my own catering Olympics, I was barely capable of speaking much less cooking, so my lovely friends decided that I should be banned from the kitchen for a few days. It felt like Christmas!
Normandy became a new experience for me. Rather than wondering what I should cook next, I relaxed. That night we ate at a sweet local restaurant in the next village of St Julien le Faucon. What I have learnt over the years of living in France is the importance of the Marie - the Mayor - of the village. A Mayor who cares about those living in the village and who takes a serious interest in the overall future of the village will aid those who are looking for a sea change. Thus Aux Saint Jus restaurant was born two years ago. With the support of the Marie, two friends left Paris to open the restaurant, paying little rent and working and staffing the restaurant by themselves, cooking simple and lovely dishes from food sourced in the area and serving natural wines at a nominal mark up. We sat on the terrace and shared a simple summer soup of tomatoes and basil, a nutty barley salad spiked with mint and mains of roast chicken for two of us and mushroom risotto for the others. The weather behaved itself perfectly.
Thus the Normandy days were spent, eating and gardening, watching long-forgotten Australian movies and hanging with mates. What followed, and not just in Normandy but also in the weeks after, was the realisation that I am surrounded by people who also love to cook. And whilst it has taken me digging deep and telling my inner control freak to let people do things their way in the kitchen (are you sure you want to use butter with that rather than olive oil? Nooooo, don’t use detergent on my frypan!!!!), the rewards were huge.
Lobster pasta with a sauce made from the shells of the homard was a standout, as was an extremely pretty vegetable terrine for dinner. We feasted on artichokes from the market with sharp vinaigrette, green salads, cheese (local camembert of course) and extra crispy baguette. Sitting in the garden, all this reminded me of the reason that I love Normandy so much. I contributed nothing but a healthy appetite - my only responsibility was to clear the dishes.
Then it was time to at last fulfil my promise to take a friend to Le Doyenne for her birthday. Her birthday last year, that is! Unfortunately her beloved had had to have heart surgery when the original meal had been planned and, inexplicably, eating at a restaurant didn’t seem to rate high on the list of priorities at that time. Thankfully everyone is in perfect health now and so the time had come. What followed over a mellow and convivial four hours was plate after plate of expert and clever cooking. I think myself so lucky to be able to go there, it is truly a special restaurant. Highlight was the cured pork sitting on a Reine Claude plum, the pork was from the restaurant’s own pigs that roam the forest nearby; the fruit was from trees that can be found in their potager. And then there were the crispy prawn heads accompanied by rolled nasturtium leaves filled with the meat from the prawns and sharp horseradish cream; there was the rosy pink lamb, its fat rendered until cracklingly crisp, served with crunchy burnt peppers; and a beignet with blackberries for dessert. Bliss for this tired chef.
Back at work the hiatus between one Olympics and the next was spent planning for the next onslaught. But it also allowed me another two day getaway to Avallon to visit my former boss as well as check out a few properties with a friend who is looking to purchase in the area. I cannot begin to tell you how much fun it is to poke around medieval houses with turrets that are full of Burgundian history and relics. Sure, they may not be quite liveable and, yes, you may need to spend a few hundred thousand euros to restore them to even begin to appreciate how fabulous they may have been in their past. Sadly the two properties that we saw were just that too much past fixable, but I spent my time imagining myself running up and down the turrets, being oh so posh and calling on all those that made my life all about me.
I did spy one other property, across the road from the gare at Avallon, an abandoned cafe that just screams “Kath”! A really sweet and typical French cafe with so much potential. Having friends in a small town has meant that in the space of only three days we had discovered the owner, its past history, structural issues and in-depth discussions about whether the French in the area would be open to my more modern ways of cooking. The love for a good gossip is alive and well in Avallon.
I did at some point in all of this catch a cold, and a friend made me the go-to remedy for all colds, chicken soup. It’s herby and lemony and heartwarming. And it’s pretty easy to make.
Receipe :
Persian chicken soup
2 small chicken thighs, diced
2 cups of chicken stock
3 small carrots, sliced
a handful of barley
juice of half a lemon
chopped green herbs: flat parsley, tarragon, chives, dill and chervil
butter and a dash of olive oil
Brown the chicken in the butter and olive oil. Add the carrots and sweat them. Add chicken stock and barley. Simmer until the barley and carrots are cooked. Turn off the heat, add the lemon juice and a large mound of the mixed chopped green herbs. Serve immediately.
Guaranteed to make you feel a whole heap better.
See you all soon.
Kathx
Thank you for sharing the get-away vibes and tasty soup recipe. Can’t wait to try it 💕👏