It was the sound of wet rubber on equally wet tarmac as I stirred yesterday morning that reminded me how the gods had been smiling down on dear old Ribérac last Saturday. The inaugural festival 'Printemps de la Gastronomie' was launched under blue skies and a pleasantly warm sun. Lesley and I took a stroll down to the square shortly after breakfast to see what was going on. The event was the brainchild of 'L'Art de la table en Périgord 'who had organised five chefs from the local area to come along and display their culinary skills. The cooking was helped along with live music, notably the Brazilian rythyms of Rômulu Goncalves who soon got everyone in the mood.
Things are beginning to warm up, Brazilian rythyms flow
Families wandered from stall to stall admiring all the local produce on display. Everybody appeared to be relaxed and happy whilst sharing in the conviviality that such events bring. One of the first displays to catch our eyes was a local potter, Monsieur Doublet. He works at his atelier in the small village of Parcoul a few kilometres from Ribérac. It is here that he produces his distinct bold and colourful designs that would grace any home or garden.
Monsieur Doublet amongst some of his pottery
Besides selling his pottery, Monsieur Doublet was demonstrating the ancient art of 'Le Brûlot Charentais' This is an intriguing method of marrying together the flavours of coffee and cognac which is a speciality of the town of Cognac in the Charente. The method differs slightly from the more usual one of mixing a bit of cold cognac with a 'petit', that is a small, black coffee.
In the method Monsieur Doublet demonstrated he started off with some small cups of cold, black coffee which were placed on their saucers, each containing two sugar lumps. He poured into the saucer (saturating the sugar lumps) of each of these cups a small amount of a special, artisanale brand of his friend and neighbour's 58º cognac. Then he set fire to the cognac in each saucer. The flame was left to burn for several minutes, producing a lovely burned caramel aroma, until it went out of its own accord. Then the cup containing the coffee, both of which had heated up considerably by the flame, was taken off the saucer and placed onto a special disc made specifically for this ritual (and to match the cup and saucer). All the ceramic items, which were available for sale, had been made by Monsieur Doublet at his pottery. The hot ,caramelly cognac in the saucer was then poured into each of the cups of coffee and passed around to those watching the demonstration who imbibed with gusto. Voila, un très bon goût and bonne santé to the eager audience!
M. Doublet reveals the art of making 'Brulot Charentais'
Having had our sharpeners we began turning our thoughts towards the food. For an hors d'oeuvre we sampled the amuse-bouches crafted by one of Ribéracs most talented chefs, Philippe. He and his wife Nédia run Le Commensal restaurant in the rue 26 mars where they produce imaginative dishes. Philip makes it a top priority to source fresh local vegetables wherever he can. The smell of frying steak was too hard to resist so we settled for two cooked 'à point' before settling ourselves at one of the few empty tables. For an accompaniment we had to look no further than the wine stall of Monsieur Henri Crabanac who owns less than a hectare of vineyard just outside the nearby town to the south, Mussidan. The vineyard is a family affair and carries the title 'Le Vignoble de Saint-Front'. Monsieur Crabanac proudly showed us photographs of himself with his wife and young son all looking very contented, working amongst the vines. The wine is predominantley Merlot with a dash of Cabernet Sauvignon. Lovely easy drinking and quite clearly produced with much love and affection. A few glasses of Monsieur Crabanac's wine to accompany our steaks aided the digestion. Thus fortified and relaxed we began to look forward to the afernoon's cheffing demos.
Henri Crabanac and a bottle of his 2009 vintage. A really good local wine.
The Hotel du Perigord is situated in the wonderfully picturesque town of Aubeterre up on the Charente border. The owner and Maître Restaurateur, Fabrice Morel runs the hotel with his wife Rachel. Fabrice had come to Ribérac to give us all a hint of his cooking talents and his idea of what to do with the local produce that abounds in these parts.
Fabrice Morel and his assistant chef working with the local produce
Fabrice produced, along with his very young and able assistant chef, a regional dish, an exquisite sandwich consisting of a slender piece of lightly grilled sea bass placed in between two rounds of a beautifully crafted potato pan cake, this topped with a succulent portion of sautéed foie gras.
Fabrice Morel explains the finer points of his creation
To a round of applause Fabrice and his assistant quickly made their exit, making room for the vivacious Madame Verdier, chef at the very well known nearby Château de Mas de Montet. (One of ex-President François Mitterand's favourite haunts). Madame Verdier was going to serve us up a treat in her inimitable style. Again it was a dish which made full use of the local Périgord speciality, foie gras.
Madame Verdier works her creamy risotto ably assisted by her young assistant chef
Madame V's contribution, perfectly sautéed pieces of foie gras, accompanied by a creamy risotto incorporated orange and its peel to cut through the fattiness of the foie gras. This time we couldn't resist, so, at the climax of the cooking, when Madame V proffered us a plate of her sumptuous, freshly cooked food, the recently eaten bavettes were quickly forgotten. Bravo, Madame V, your dish was a true tour de force!
Madame V conducts her orchestra
It was heartening to see, despite the onslaught of MacDo etc, young people being interested in food and everything that goes with it. There was ample evidence on display of keen, young chefs eager to make the grade and continue the culture for which France is rightly famous.
The sun goes down, people head for home
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