Arnaud also had his work cut out. This class was made up entirely of ‘foreigners’, with the Japanese students aided by their own Japanese translator Miki, who herself had moved to France only a year ago, and whose mastery of the French language was incredible, already having mastered Chinese and with a good command of English.

This post is decicated to my sister-in -law Charlie, who years ago asked me for a profiterole recipe. I’ve been making profiteroles for a few years now, but I’ve realised by now that there will always be something Arnaud can teach us, and as with all things, he has that attention to the final detail that turns a 1€  eclair into a 2€ work of art.

Having got the introductions over; and I was amused to see that for once Arnaud was struggling with the names, Japanese is certainly not an easy language for either the French or English tongue; We picked up our pans and scales and set to work.

Arnaud talked us through all the different uses for Choux Pastry; the sugary ones of course encompassing Eclairs and Profiteroles, Chouquettes and Chaussons Napolitan; the savory including Gougères, and with a 50/50 mix of pureed potato, Pommes Dauphines and Gnocci.

Arnaud told us that Choux pastry freezes well both in its raw and its cooked state. Salt is add to all Choux pastry for flavour, and sugar to encourage them to colour golden during cooking. The length of cooking time, and the ability to assess their colour prevents the Choux pastry from collapsing by the oven door being opened too early during the cooking process.

We poured the water, butter salt and sugar into a large casserole pan and placed on the flame to bring to the boil.

We extinguished the flame, added the flour to the pan and with a wooden spoon mixed well. Once mixed, we re-lit the flame and for a minute began the process of stirring the pâte to dry it. Once the pâte fell easily from the upturned wooden spoon, the pâte was ready for the next stage.

We added the lightly beaten eggs bit by bit until the pâte was smooth and came cleanly away from the sides of the bowl.

We took a few minutes to discuss the various sizes of ‘douille’ or nozzles. An eclair took an 18 and  Chouquettes  a 12. We made up a piping bag, remembering to put a ‘bouchon’, literally translated as a cork, made up of scrunching part of the piping bag and pushing it into the douille or nozzle. We filled with the piping back with the pâte.

Holding the piping bag at an angle of 45° we ran the eclairs in 80mm lengths, pressing down at the ends and flicking back.

For the Chouquettes we used the smaller douille and made round balls piping from a vertical position. Now I have attempted to make the Chouquettes before. What always frustrated me was that after having cooked some fairly good profiterole shapes, I never succeeded in getting the sugar crystals to stay on the top of the Choux pastry. As ever with Arnaud , there is of course a secret.

Firstly we glazed with beaten egg the uncooked Choux Eclairs and Chouquettes; The Eclairs with a soft bristle glazing brush, pressing down perpendicularly to the length of the pâte; The Chouquettes by pressing down the tail left during the piping process. We then very liberaly sprinkled the Chouquettes with sugar crystals. Contrary to what one would believe, the majority of sugar crystals survive their stay in the oven.

We continue to use up the last of the pâte in the piping bag to make long thin strips called Mikados.

Once the Choux pastry is in the oven we start to make the Crème Pâtissière. The Choux will cook for 25-30 minutes.

We add the milk to the pan and incorporate a small proportion of sugar. Arnaud explains that that by adding sugar to the milk, the milk is prevented from sticking or burning to the bottom of the pan as we bring it to the boil. The milk boils at 100°, the sugar at 170°, the higher boiling point of the sugar protects the milk.

It is essential to boil the milk if using fresh, unpasturised or raw milk.

By adding the egg yolks to the poudre à flan and the sugar, the egg ‘cooks’ in the mixture. It will not curdle when added to the boiling milk.

The flame of the hob is switched off. Half of the boiling milk is added to the egg mixture which is then stirred and poured back into the remaining milk. The flame is once more ignited and the mixture simultaneously cooked and beaten until it begins to boil. Once boiling, it is beaten for a further 30 seconds until thick and smooth before the butter is added.

The pan is removed from the flame. We divide the Crème Pâtissier into two bowls. We add 30g cocoa powder to one, and strong liquid coffee to the other and mix thoroughly.

We pour the Crème Pâtissier over a wire rack covered with cling-film, and cover with another layer of cling-film to prevent from forming a skin and leave to cool.

It is time to check the Eclaires and Chouquettes. Arnaud explains that if the Choux pastry still has areas of white or very pale pastry, it must be left to cook for a while longer until all the surface is golden. If they are removed from the oven too soon they are likely to collapse or be too soft once filled with the Crème Pâtissier.

Our Eclairs and Chouquettes are ready. We place them on a cooling rack and turn the Eclairs upside down to cool.

We melt some chocolate and dip each Mikado into it.

With a very fine douille or nozzle we make three small holes in the base of the choux Eclairs.

We beat the cooled rubbery textured Crème Pâtissiere until smooth and fill a piping bag remembering to make a ‘bouchon’ or cork as before using the very fine douille (3-4mm). Using the holes we have already punctured in the Choux, we fill with the crème.

We mix some icing sugar with syrop de glucose, flavouring one portion with chocolate and the other with coffee. Choosing a flat nosed douille (nozzle) and another piping bag we apply the ‘nappage’ or topping to the finished eclairs.

Yet again Arnaud shows us techniques for decorating the eclairs, turning our 1€ Eclair into a 2€ Eclair.

and shows us a pot of Violet for jazzing up the nappage of a vanilla flavour Eclair.

We fill our cake boxes with our bounty and head home.

Barely have I got through the door than the Eclairs are all gone…..

With lightening speed!

translation: eclair = lightening

When he sees me on Skype bundled up in jumpers he says I am making him feel too hot! So here are some pictures of the snow in Rouen to put things back in perspective.

These are views along Rue Jean d’Arc as I enjoyed a stroll last sunday. The best part is that all the cars have stayed at home so for the first time I can walk right in the middle of the road.

All the ornate tracery stonework of the Palais de Justice is accentuated by the fall of snow ….

….and my favorite shop, ‘Au Nom de la Rose’ which sells only roses – of course. Look how they’ve sprinkled rose petals on the snow- l’esprit français!  If you are really lucky, on non-snowy days they have little bouquets of roses called ‘garden roses’ set out on the table which are ones that they consider past their best, and sell for a snip at 4€. But if you select carefully they last at least a week and never droop.

and so should I….. at minus 5 its far too cold to stay out any longer!

Au revoir!

cèpes, chanterelles, champignons and lychees

endives of course!

les crevettes and les homards to die for!

clams, oursins (urchins), langoustines and whelks

did I tell you the story about when I confused bulots for boulots?

tempted?

only the french could have different varieties of oysters (huitres)

or  big fat chickens – necks and claws included!

so much choice its impossible to decide!

Now remind me – why did I come to France?

Filed under: living in france Tagged: bulot, champignons, crab, crevettes, endives, homard, huitres, Langoustines, lobster, oursins, oyster, prawns, Rouen, sunday market, Vieux Marché ]]> http://frenchimmersion.wordpress.com/2012/02/02/1376/feed/ 6 frenchimmersion specialist shops dec 2011 013 specialist shops dec 2011 019 specialist shops dec 2011 014 specialist shops dec 2011 015 specialist shops dec 2011 016 specialist shops dec 2011 018 specialist shops dec 2011 020 specialist shops dec 2011 017 specialist shops dec 2011 021 http://frenchimmersion.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/just-rewarded/ http://frenchimmersion.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/just-rewarded/#comments Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:42:09 +0000 frenchimmersion http://frenchimmersion.wordpress.com/?p=1363 ]]> This weekend, as we were hurtling towards our first bitter chill of the winter, I found a warming message in my inbox!

Sometimes you can write away for months and months, not really knowing if you are making any kind of coherent sense, and then some kind person, or persons unknown deluge you with encouragement and praise and send you on your way invigorated, enthused and enriched.

And so it was this last weekend, fresh from the encouraging words of my husband, reading ‘me’  in the stifling heat of Nigeria, thousands of miles from the family home, I also discover myself nominated for an Blogging Award.

I’d like to thank Victoria Corby, who nominated me alongside 4 other Blogs for the Leibster Blog Award. Victoria has lived in France since 1993 in South West France and like me finds there are far too many distractions to be bothered with housework. Victoria is in the middle of writing her fourth book, with three others already published.

It is now my opportunity to nominate in turn my selection of excellent blogs, the general aim being to give greater recognition to blogs with a readership of under 200.

My first nomination goes to Life Love and Llamas in Limousin because I ‘met’ Stephanie in the very early days when I was just trying to decide whether moving to France was really a good idea, and read avidly the stories of her kids first days in French school, wringing out every drop of information in a desperate attempt to assuage my guilt. Stephanie willingly helped me through the earliest days responding to my ‘help’ emails at the drop of a hat! She probably has a huge readership but deserves the recognition anyway just for being a thoroughly nice person.

 well thats a bit mean!

My second nomination goes to Our House in Quercy , I don’t know who writes this blog but where humour is concerned, this is up there with the best – And what’s more, with 5 children going through the French schooling system, originally with not a word of french between them, this could be a story of my own life.

only I’ve got more than one power point in the kitchen!

View from Dar is the most exceptional blog about travels in Africa, and with my husband firmly out of arms reach in Nigeria this keeps me tuned into the sights, sounds and smells of Africa. Megan’s photography is so good the continent is brought to life and explored with a vivacity, courage and ‘joie de vivre’ extraordinaire.

because i’m not sure I could climb it!

And rounding them up, my daughter with My French Experience, chronicling her tremendous journey from bread-loathing English girl to bread-loving French girl, who swears she can’t return to a baguetteless nation, and anyway, what would she do with Louis!

And finally Victoria, if I could I would but I can’t so I shan’t….. I  leave you with my all-time best four!

Je vous remercie!

Troisième, or year 10 is a year charged with pressure. There are major hurdles to overcome and it is not easy to maintain the calm chic dignity of the average French woman, when you’re a slightly crazed, manic englishwoman running around in circles in a state of partial comprehension.

Some time in September I attempted to pin down our school secretary to make an appointment with the head of  Collège, firmly believing that being slightly ahead of the game, I had a better chance of success if I had the process explained to me by a reliable source. The school secretary smiled sympathetically at me  stating “Mais Madame Axton, C’est vraiment trop tôt”. However by now she is well used to me in a stew, and finally agreed when I announced that my husband was just off to Nigeria again and there was absolutely no way I was going to go through this alone! At very least he needed to know just how much organising I was going to be doing over the next few months so that I could be assured that he would sigh reassuringly and groan sympathetically over the phone at a later date. But vastly more importantly, when it comes to official tasks, two heads are definitely better than one when it comes to total comprehension!

That done, We were informed about the key things; All the marks (or notes) for tests and homework assignments in Troisième counted towards the final grade of the  GCSE equivalent, in France known as the Brevet; that if a student didn’t achieve an average of 10/20 in every subject they wouldn’t be entered for the Brevet at all, and that the final exams were taken in June.

Secondly that all Troisièmes are required by law to undergo a ‘Stage d’Observation’ , a sort of work experience lasting a week in February in their chosen field of career.

Thirdly, immediately after the Christmas holidays all the students of the Troisième sit the Brevet Blanc, the equivalent of mock GCSE’s, only the grades count towards the final Brevet in June. The key subjects tested are Maths, French, History and Geography and last but not least Education Civique.

And finally, and scarily that the time had come to select a suitable Lycée for continuing education on to the Baccalauriat, the French equivalent of the A’level.

I discovered that there was such a thing as a Bac Option Internationale Brittanique, A Bac Mention Européen, and a Normal Bac . These were then all subdivided into three varieties, the Bac L, the Bac S, and the Bac ES.  It was necessary to select the correct Bac, either Literature, Science or Economics and Sociology, then whether to take the standard Bac or the supplementary Bac. The supplementary Bac (IOB, Européen and Anglophone versions) included 3 additional hours of the English Language to that of the standard Bac, with one non linguistic subject (usually history or geography, and occasionally science) studied in the English Language. What it was necessary to understand was that all three Bacs, L, S and ES all follow exactly the same program of 8 core subjects, simply the weighting of hours and marks lean in the direction of the chosen specialism. Therefore, more weighting in the languages, history and arts subjects for Bac L, and more weighting in the science subjects and French for the Bac S, and so on. And did I mention that this was just the choice for the Bac Generale et Technologique!

Having studied all the Lycées in Rouen I Immediately put pen to paper to ask for further details and true to French style – four months on and absolutely not one school has replied! I was later told that whilst French state schools will definitely not reply, Catholic Private ones might possibly. Sometime! If I’m learning one thing from my french life, it  is that the french don’t respond to letters, well not unless they’re love letters anyway (though sadly I don’t have nearly enough experience of this to definitively pass judgement) – And considering the mess engineered by Valmont by his letters in “Dangerous Liaisons”, I’m not actually surprised that responding to letters in France is a big ‘no no’ – I should have known really, if a year of futile  letter writing to our letting agent is anything to go by  - still it was good practice for my written French!

If I haven’t made it clear enough yet how the telephone, the instrument with which I would gossip for hours and hours in the UK, has become an instrument of  semi-torture here on French turf, let me do it now! But taking my role as a sometimes ‘efficient and organised’ mother seriously, I proceeded to phone them all, receiving from one and all a standard reply, “Mais madame Axton, C’est bien trop tôt”. Now where have I heard that before!

I endeavored to re-ring the Lycées in December with vastly more positive results. This time I succeeded to secure interviews with all of our shortlist, and my daughter and I made our way to the first ones before Christmas.

How fantastic to find myself let off the hook, although sitting in the directeur’s office with her,  the Directeur only wanted to speak to my daughter, and other than interjecting the odd comment here and there, I was happy to take the back seat and listen to her answering all the questions with an accent vastly superior to my own, and to smile wryly when she corrected my vocabulary or conjugation  in front of the directeur! I think both he, with all her ‘bulletins’   (school reports) in front of him, and I both realised at the same moment  just how far she’d come since her arrival two and a half years earlier and how far she could go. With  moyen (average) of 14.5/20 it was unsurprising that he offered her a place right there and then. By the end of all three interviews she held three places in her hands. It could have all been so easy if she hadn’t set her sight on the highest target of all.

For biligual or  strong english students the most aspired to Baccalaureat course taught amongst the Lycées of Rouen is the Option International Brittanique. Only one  public (state) school, five minutes from the Rouen city centre offers this option. Students following this class follow essentially the advanced Baccalaureat with the supplementary English, but leave with the added benefit of 3 English A’levels as well as the Bac International. With 500 applicants last year for 37 places, the competition is tough with an additional entry exam to weed out those not strong enough in English to survive the course.

So is there any light at the end of the tunnel, well yes for my daughter anyway, since the entry exam is a test of  English. Lets not rest on our laurels, but this will be the first exam she has sat in her native language since moving to this country. For the first time since our arrival it seems that being English might actually be an advantage! Was it worth braving the french autoroute that very first time – well yes absolutely! Can I see the benefits of  taking up residence in this complicated land and learning the ropes as I go – Without a doubt!

To know that  my children than the opportunity to chose Mediterranean from Mountain, Thames from Tour Eiffel when choosing their futures and the knowledge that against all odds they can succeed? A reward indeed.

(Why the French actually learn to write, in particular with all those lessons dedicated to the beautiful cursif script that epitomises french orthography, whilst having such an antipathy to putting pen to paper by way of responding to correspondence is an entirely different question.)

I shall get to the bottom of it in time!

For information about the Brevet Blanc click here, and for the Stage d’Observation click here. (under construction)

With great anticipation I arrived, true to style rather early, which necessitated another walk around the Quartier St Marc; an experience not diminished through frequency! This time I turned off the main streets and pushed my nose up against the windows of various antique shops and mused over old distressed chairs and gilt mirrors in a nearby ‘brocante’.

The origin of the Mille Feuille is unknown. It is however referred to in 1651 in ‘The Cusinier François. It was later improved by Marie-Antoine Carème, known as the “King of Chefs, and the Chef of Kings” who was an early practitioner and exponent of the elaborate style of cooking known as haute cuisine the “high art” of French cooking: a grandiose style of cookery favored by both international royalty and by the newly rich of Paris. Carême is often considered as one of the first internationally renowned celebrity chefs. She herself referred to the Mille Feuille as of ‘ancient origin’.

Traditionally the Mille Feuille is a patisserie formed from three layers of ‘Pâte Feuilleté (puff pastry) separated by a thick Crème Anglaise and dusted lightly with sucre glacé (icing sugar). Latterly it has been sweetened  with a layer of icing often feathered through with a chocolate pattern.

We begin the class by learning a little about the Pâte Feuilleté, and I wonder if this will be a repeat of the class on Croissants, and prepare myself to be disappointed about learning nothing new. Arnaud of course has other ideas!

First he slices some pâte feuilleté in half and points to the cross-section where faint stripes can be seen in its consistancy. These he explains are the layers of pâte and butter, essential for excellent raising qualities. The pâte will ultimately be made of 6 tours of three layers. The pâte for Mille Feuille is not the same as the pâte for Croissants. It contains neither yeast nor sugar. The Mille Feuille rises grace to its layers of butter and pâte and keeping the détrempe cold and not overworked is essential. Once butter starts to warm it is absorbed into the pâte, and once absorbed it will not rise.

Arnaud shows us how to correctly roll the pâte. A small downward push and roll being infinitely preferable to a forward push whilst rolling. There are three methods for making Pâte Feuilleté; Simple, Rapide and Inversé. We have already used the Simple method in the preparation of Croissants. The Rapid method involving small knobs of butter dotted over the pâte gives vastly inferior results. Today we learn the Inverse method.

The Inverse method is the opposite to the Simple method. Rather than placing butter on the pâte détrempe, we place the pâte détrempe on the butter, which has been altered to a Beurre Marnie.

First we proceed to make the Pâte. We pour our flour onto the marble worktop and add the butter and salt. Adding half the quantity of water we begin to incorporate the two, gradually adding the remaining water, all the time remembering to keep the mixture cool. We kneed the mixture until smooth, supple and elastic.

We then begin to make the Beurre Marnie. We pour the flour onto the work table and add the butter. We incorporate the flour into the butter until an even consistancy, again remembering to keep the butter cool. If either the Pâte or Beurre marnie feel tepid we refrigerate for five minutes.

Bearing in mind that the finished width of  the “pâton” (prepared but yet unused pâte feuilleté) is 15cm we form the beurre marnie into a basic rectangle by knocking it into shape on the worktop. We then repeat the process with the détrempe. We are ready to make the Pâte feuilleté!

First we place the Beurre marnie on a lightly floured worktop. We roll out the beurre marnie so that it is one third longer than the détrempe.

We place the Pâte Détrempe onto the Beurre Marnie and then fold the free part of the Beurre Marnie over the détrempe and fold again. The first ‘Tour Simple’ is complete.

We pivot the “pâton” by 90° leaving the open side to the right. (Commencing the push down and roll technique at the open edges of the pastry to effectively partially seal and prevent the détrampe from squeezing out under pressure) We roll out our pâton until it achieves the width of 15cm by a length of 3 times our desired finished Mille Feuille size of 20cm. Therefore a length of 60cm. We then make a ‘Tour Double’ turning both ends to the centre and folding in half.

We ensure the pâton is still cold or refrigerate for 5 minutes. Once again, we turn the pâton by 90° with the opening to the right, and make another ‘Tour Double’. We leave it and ourselves to repose for a few meager minutes (or it can at this point be suitably covered and frozen.) We turn the pâton through 90° again and do one final ‘Tour Simple’. At this point we divide the pâton in two in order to make two 15×20 cm Mille feuille, always keeping  the opening to the right hand side and we cut in half from front to back.

We roll out the pâton to a dimension slightly greater than  15x 60 cm allowing for potential shrinkage of pastry on a lightly floured surface.

We leave the pâton, the finished pâte feuilleté, to repose for five minutes.

Using a ‘Pique-Vite’ or alternatively a fork, we prick the pastry all over, turning and repeating the process on the other side. This encourages even rising.

We transfer the Détrempe to the lined baking tray using the rolling-pin and leave it to rest for half an hour. No repose for us though, we have more important things to do!

Whilst we wait for the pâton we begin the Crème Anglaise.

Arnaud gives us a lesson in gelatine. Crème Anglaise can be frozen successfully,  but is usually ruined by the quantity of water in the recipe. It is essential to correctly dissolve the gelatine. The quality of gelatine is referred to by its bloom quantity. Professional gelatine is 200 bloom. Shop-bought gelatine is usually 150 bloom.  For professional gelatine the quantity of water added to the gelatine should be 50g water for every 10g gelatine; For shop-bought gelatine the quantity of water added should be 40g for every 10g gelatine. For a recipe specifying 8g of 200 bloom gelatine, increase the weight of 150 bloom gelatine to 10g. Gelatine prevents the cream in our recipe from flopping after whipping.

We place the milk and sugar into a saucepan and put to heat.

We place the poudre à flan (cornflour or farine d’amidon with vanilla), the sugar and the egg yolks into an inox bowl and mix.

Once the milk is warm we add half  to the inox bowl of  egg mixture, place the pan to the side and mix thoroughly. Once mixed, we pour the contents of the inox bowl back into the pan. We mix again thoroughly. We relight the flame and bring to the boil whisking constantly. Once thick we retrieve it from the flame and add the gelatin and water mixture and mix thoroughly.

We cover a wire rack with clingfilm. We overpour with the Crème Anglaise andd cover it with clingfilm to prevent it crusting and leave it to cool.

After the Pâte Feuilleté has rested for its 30 minutes we place it in an oven at 180°, overlaying it  with a metal grill rack to prevent the pâte feuilleté from rising. (If a grill rack is not available, remove the pâte feuilleté mid cooking, and press down to remove air).

We remove the pâte feuilleté from the oven when it is crisp and golden on both the top and bottom surfaces.

At last comes the really fun bit – we are ready to assemble the Mille Feuille. We remove the Crème Anglaise from the chiller, and place the now jelly like pieces into the Kitchen Aid and beat till light smooth and creamy. We then add 50g of an alcohol such as Kirsch or Marashino and continue beating before folding in first one half and then the remainder of the whipped cream.

Cutting horizontally with a bread knife (serrated) we divide the length of Pâte feuilleté into three parts choosing the most attractive for the top surface. We load generous quantities of Crème Anglaise filling onto the base, firmly pressing down the middle layer and using a palate knife clear the sides of cream before continuing to the top layer.

Once the sides are neat we dust with sucre glacé (icing sugar) and proceed to make a caramel decoration.

In a pan we melt spoonful by spoonful caster sugar continuing to agitate over a flame until a deep golden colour.

Arnaud shows us how to crunch up a sheet of greaseproof paper and restraighten, before pouring the molten caramel over it. Lifting the sheet into the air he turnes the sheet vertically in a rotating motion until the caramel sets in a thin layer over the sheet. The crumpled paper gives a wonderful crackle effect to the caramel pieces.

Once hardened Arnaud peels the caramel off the sheet and breaks into large leaf shaped pieces.

We all laugh alot when Arnaud owns up to not having any cake boxes tall enough to close round our Mille Feuille. Two of us are going home by bus! We might be mobbed! But we shall fight them off …

Safely home and dressed with its caramel leaves the Mille Feuille is ready to eat.

Oh, If only I could describe the taste….

For the recipe please click here.

I confess recently to having succumbed to a new liaison. It started innocently enough a few months before christmas, developing into a full blown affair on christmas eve. The French really are a passionate bunch, dark, brooding and moody at times certainly, vital and energetic at others, but none can question the innermost esprit towards stretching the rules. The French have a phrase for this wanton crossing of the line, which still manages somehow to embrace a certain level of dignity and fundamental  desire to maintain contented family life – it is ‘le jardin secret’.

In truth the ‘jardin secret’ can actually encompass a hidden passion for stamp collecting, as much as the secret cultivation of prize ‘Pivoines’ – or Peonies to you and me. But when it comes to affairs of the heart it is of course the illicit amorous liaison with a third person, and usually takes place between 5 and 7.30 whilst the spouse assumes their partner to be busy in the office, and not  fraternising with another before hastily buying a bouquet of flowers on the mad dash for home.

My first contact with my soon to become ‘significant other’ demonstrated  that we both were passionate about food, and that both were equally affected by the importance of style. Not only that but as well as being absorbed by all things french, the intrigue of travel and the allure of the exotic were vital to keep things interesting.

About a month before Christmas my main oven broke down. It was a pretty critical situation and necessitated a call to our ever unhelpful ‘agence immobilier’. It was of course inevitable that there would be a wall of silence, and after a quick personal visit to the bureau which gained nothing, I decided that there was no point wasting any further time. A letter ‘recommandé’ with ‘avis de reception’ was despatched. The landlord himself is a reasonably amenable guy, and some days later arrived at the apartment to see what all the fuss was about.  Eventually, tucked behind some boxes in the boiler cupboard he revealed a tin from which he produced with all the panache of a magician a ‘resistance circulaire’. In a sort of  confused gratitude I took ownership of this oven element, looked a bit blankly at the oven and wondered exactly what I should do with it as he disappeared out of the door.

There followed two weeks of ‘back and forth’ conversation about whether the electrician currently rewiring the building could install it; a belief firmly held by the agence immobiliere but negated by the electrician who declared himself not to be a cooker engineer; and a plan to buy a new oven suggested by the electrician and eventually negated by the agence immobiliere. And there I found myself the week before christmas with only the very small grill oven, approximately a hand span in height in which to cook my christmas turkey!

There is nothing like being rescued to fan the early flames of a budding relationship, and this is when Monsieur Picard became  my own ‘jardin secret’. For Monsieur Picard suggested to me the ultimate solution of the ‘Poularde farcie,au foie gras de canard‘.  A winning solution of a deboned chicken stuffed with fois gras, prepared and beautifully presented, and at only a smidgin under a hand-span high it fitted with ease into my tiny remaining oven. Monsieur Picard had saved Christmas day and in the process had marched forward to claim his place close to my heart!

Once crossed for the first time, it is remarkably easy to step over the threshold for a subsequent visit. Picard is France’s answer to frozen food. It is of a quality unknown to the average British person, a kind of ‘very best of Waitrose’ frozen and as I say, you cannot fault Picard for its style and presentation, its sense of the exotic, its elegance and its aura of healthy living. And once you have crossed the invisible barrier, transgressing from fresh to frozen and back again, and have benefited from the pleasures of both, and despite battling to remain true and faithful to all you have held dear -fresh market produce, and the local butcher on the corner –   you realise that whilst Picard remains ‘caché in your ‘jardin secret’, it really is possible to have your cake and eat it too!

I hope my husband doesn’t find out, but I suspect my children already have!

The galette varies from region to region, most commonly a puff pastry filled with Frangipan, though it has many varients, including apricot and Grand Marnier, chocolate, frangipan and red fruits, and crème Anglaise. To the west, the pastry is more usually shortcrust, and to the south a brioche with candied or dried fruits. I’d be inclined to say that here in Normandy we are treated with the best version, the traditional Pâte Feuillettée.

I passed some pleasant moments with my nose pressed up against the counter of my local patisserie wondering which tempted me most!

Inside every Galette is hidden a ‘fève’ , the exact translation of which is a bean. The fève appeared in the 18th century in the form of a porcelain representation of the baby Jesus. Whoever received the hidden figurine in their slice of the gateau became a king for the day irrelevant his or her age or status within the party. Since then the fève has become something of a collectors item, with various themes on offer. ‘La Fornil de la Gare’, another boulangerie in my Quartier lays them all out on display throughout the month of January, and it’s fun to see what’s on offer!

Last year there was a general obsession for Fèves in the shape of shoes!

This year we will just have to wait and see!

The crown is an essential element in the ‘making of the king’. They were all piled up on the counter at ‘Yvonne’s’ Patisserie ready for the event!

During the revolution, the very name ‘Galette des Rois’ put the patisserie in danger. An attempt was made to change the name to the ‘Galette de l’Egalité’ and the ‘Convention National’, the ruling assembly in France at the time of the revolution, attempted to forbid the fabrication of the patisserie itself. At the tribunal, the Galette  triumphed. A short time afterwards the Convention National changed the name of the day from the ‘Jour des Rois’ (the day of Kings) to the ‘Jour des sans-culottes’, translated literally as ‘without short trousers, and referring to the revolutionaries who were defined by their long striped trousers, and the Galette des Rois lost its ‘raison d’être’. Its disappearance was only momentary however, and it quickly reappeared on the tables as soon as the circumstances permitted.

The circumstances are certainly very permitting in France nowadays, and I hurried home to cook my own!

Forty-five minutes later my Galette Frangipane is piping hot from the oven.

We had a little argument on whether to leave it to cool or eat it straight away. Although my boys prefer it cold we found that we really couldn’t wait!

What is probably not appreciated about this patisserie is that the containment of the hidden fève leads to serious competition over who gets which slice. It is not unknown for hitherto calm and rational families to decend into complete anarchy as each individual vies for the opportunity to become king for the day. The french of course have come up with a solution!

The smallest and youngest member of the party finds himself placed under the table with the responsibility for calling out the name of each family member in no particular order to receive their slice. Since the small person cannot see the patisserie there is no chance of cheating, unless of course one of the other family members has seen a glimpse of the fève and gives him a sharp kick under the table. But I imagine the squawk would probably give the game away!

and the king for the day is…

But thankfully he’s forgotten to order us about, and is right now clearing the plates from the table still wearing his crown!

It isn’t possible to visit the shop without ending up in a queue. But the queue is a window to french life. The women who run the shop are popular and efficient and know many of their customers by their christian names. Stories are swapped, with the entire crowd of customers often contributing to the topic of conversation of the day!

We have demonstrated on the shop floor to the women that a Bay-Blade stadium is not a dog bowl, but a boys toy, we have paid hundreds in order to savour the delicious vine cherry-tomatoes, we have laughed ourselves to tears over my appalling pronunciation, and discussed methods for cooking humble vegetables with absorbed interest.

Imagine the shock of the neighbourhood and myself on Thursday morning on  noticing stacks of empty baskets in the window. At first everyone assumed a general spring clean was taking place. It was early January and the Christmas rush had just finished. Gradually it filtered through the the waiting customers that the Patron, or owner of the shop had disappeared. The closure of the shop was sudden and ‘definitive’. Customers lingered in the shop quietly listening to the two women who had overnight lost their livelihood. The dismay was tangible. The quartier is in mourning and the loss of the shop will be sorely felt, not only by the individual customers, but also by the large Hotel Dieppe on the corner who sourced their supplies there daily and not further afield.

What has become of the Patron, nobody knows. A little seed of hope lingers that the shop still may re-open, but everybody knows deep-down that the credit crunch has taken yet another victim.

May he rest in peace.

This morning, at 4am my husband left for Nigeria again.

Barely had his plane taken off from the tarmac – if indeed it had, than I experienced my first set-back of the year.

At 8.30 my son arrived at my bedroom door declaring that a man was at the front door. Not quite ready for visitors I sent him back to tell the man to go away! The man, however was very persistant. Reluctantly I went to investigate to find the ‘homme de ramonage” at the door – the chimney sweep. Fortunately I was ‘up’ on the word having received the day before from the lettings agent a demand for the ‘certificate de ramonage’ along with the ‘attestation d’assurance’ with  January’s rent.

The ‘sweep’ declared that he had been sent by the lettings agent, and since the chimney in question was the boiler flue, and it was under a ‘entretien’ or maintenance contract, and he had already gained access to the building which is securised by a locked access door he seemed to be legitimate. I asked if it was absolutely necessary and he assured me it was obligatory under a legal statute.

Accordingly he set to work. On completion he then suddenly demanded 80 euros to which I replied that as it was covered under the maintenance schedule he must direct the bill to the agent. This he persuaded me he was unable to do as in order to have my name on the certificate I would have to pay myself and deduct the sum from the rental charges.

He must have thought Christmas had come again when I first came to the door with my english accent. Of course it was only after I had parted with my cheque, and completely woken up that it occurred to me that something was not right. Immediately I drafted off an email to my excellent neighbour downstairs to ask her opinion regarding the need to pay for the maintenance. Her reply stopped me in my tracks: fundamentally i’d been ‘had’.

The ‘sweep’ had of course called on her before me, having been let into the building by someone else and she had refused to let him in to her apartment. She will be amused at my attempts for damage limitation – first a call to the bank to see if it was possible to stop the cheque – not so; and then a visit to the local gendarmerie to see if I could lodge a complaint.

I take my hat off to the gendarmerie who were excellent, contacting first the lettings agent to see if they had indeed organised the maintenance call and then checking the maintenance company was ‘bona fide’. The answers came out unfortunately in the wrong order, a ‘NO’ and then a ‘YES’, and reluctantly I had to return home knowing that a weasel of a man had just twisted his tale to relieve me of 80 euros and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it!

So the moral of this tale is – never believe anyone who hasn’t booked in advance with a specific service call, check and double check before you agree to any service, remember that in France, unlike the UK you cannot cancel cheques and finally if I never have my cheque returned, I shall reveal the name of the enterprise so others can avoid the same scam.

The outlook for the rest of the month –   if it ‘s started off this badly, its time to turn my back on our gorgeous local patisserie, tighten our belts and bake my way out of a very meagre January.

watch this space!