Custom Search
|
Other Posts Links Comments to: yankinparisot@gmail.com |
Welcome to French Food
Focus. The name describes the intent of this blog. I'll focus on food
and because I live in rural I hope you enjoy my ramblings about rural France!
Click
Here to send me a comment |
|
|
This is our village. Our house is the white one at the top right. |
||
|
|
'MY' France
I've been meaning to get around to writing this page for some time, but strokes and whatnot kept getting in the way. Rather than let it linger empty and forlorn on the website I think I'll start the page and write a bit more as often as I have time and inspiration. Bear with me if you will. So, 'my France' a bit presumptuous of me, but its meant in all humbleness to simply mean those things that make France France to me. Its strictly a personal view with no pretensions to grandeur and no assumption that I have great insight denied to others. I unashamededly love France. I have done so since
the first time I visited back in the early 1960's. I still remember my
first visit driving up from Madrid and crossing the border at Hendye. As
we drove (I was with a friend who was also in the Air Force) I found
the villages charming and the girls pretty. In fact my friend was a keen
photographer and wanted pictures of everything which was OK, but I got
tired of driving. When finally I forced him to drive he made me promise to
take pictures. I did; of every pretty girl we passed. It seemed that most
of them were on bicycles and most of them had pretty legs. On yet another occasion a friend and I finally got 4 days off from work. We were determined to see Paris, but we had very little money. In fact we had $35.00 between us. Never fear, we stayed in a left bank student hotel for 10 francs a night (remember these are old Francs). We saw most of the sights. We ate mostly from purchases from the street markets except being desperate for some meat after the first two days we went into a student restaurant and ordered the only meat dish we could afford. Turned out that it was horse meat! Not bad actually. We found a little folk music place called 'L 'Abbey' just behind the Abbey St Germaine where you didn't clap, but snapped your fingers in appreciation. Turned out that the singers, one black, one white, were Americans. Also turned out that they were homosexuals. My first ever knowing contact with that community; their seduction efforts didn't pay off, but we did get a couple of free glasses of wine out of the encounter. We had a wonderful time, magical! And we had $5.00 left over when we left. I married my first wife in France. We were married by the Mayor of Chateauroux. In fact we were two hours late for our own wedding having confused 14:00 hours with 4:00PM. No matter the French coped. The Mayor presented me with our marriage contract in a beautiful little hardbound book. Unenforceable! I has all the rights and she had none. We left France not long after and I didn't return for over 6 years. I learned quite a lot of my French in Chateauroux. I'd taken French in High School, but hadn't paid any more attention than was necessary to pass. After all; who needed to speak French when they lived in California? Using what I did remember I was able to build upon it by conversing with the local grocer's 8 year old daughter. She was taking English in school. We'd go around her parents store taking turns naming items, she in French, me in English then switching off while her proud parents beamed. It was great fun and I did learn a lot. Also, back to Spain. My homecoming to the states was Kennedy's assination. We were literally on a plane to New York when the pilot announced the news. Great homecoming! Anyway for the next four years I started a career in the computer industry, got a degree in Electronics (my first was in English Lit.), taught part time and generally tried to raise my family. In 1967 the company I was working for wanted to set up an office in Europe and asked me to be the technical side of it. (I was the only 'managerial' type who have ever visited Europe!) I jumped at the chance and we were off to Belgium. Neither I not the sales guy had a clue as to how to operate in Europe, but we had some good advisors and learned quickly. I remember my first business dinner in France. Posh restaurant, no menu in English (anyway I wanted to show off my French, such as it was), but I refused menu help. I got slightly confused between starters of Shrimp and marinated brains. (the words are somewhat similar in French) Needless to say I ordered the brains - and ate them! I wasn't about to admit my mistake. (actually, they have very little flavour of their own, the sauce provides most of the taste. Its the consistency that is difficult.) In any case this was only the first of many regular business trips to France. I worked out a routine for quick visits; a plane into Le Bourget in the early morning where my French colleagues would pick me up, a full day's business then they'd drop me at the Gare du Nord where I could catch the fast train back to Brussels and have a very nice dinner in the dining car. It was a great life. We moved to England where I first was Export Sales manager for a UK company then started a company with a friend. I was still visiting France on a regular basis, mainly Paris. This went on for several years with pleasurable visits, but nothing special. Eventually I sold my interest in the company and joined a Silicon Valley start up to set up their European operations. This was great fun and highly successful. My favorite of all the Distributors I set up was the one in France. The owned, Jean-Claude, was quite a character and very rich. He would only take on products where he liked the products and the people; fortunately he liked me. Whenever I came over he'd grab me and say "lets go to my cafeteria for lunch." His 'cafeteria was a Michelin one starred restaurant. His table was always waiting & he had the same lunch every day. Guests got menus to order from. What lunches we had!!
The head salesman for your products was a character
named Gerard Bertomier. A real nice guy, but a maniac behind the wheel of
a car. He was so bad that even the other French wouldn't ride with him.
I'll just give you two of my many Gerard stories. #1, he had invited
me out to dinner along with Mrs. Bertomier and we were looking for a
parking place up in the Sacre Coeur area of Paris, no easy task. The car
in front of us saw somebody pulling out so he signaled. To get into the
spot he had to go past & back in. Gerard deliberately pulled right behind
him so he couldn't back up. Much gesculating & sign language ensued,
but Gerard would not back up & started blowing his horn! This was too much
& the other driver got out of his car as did Gerard. They were arguing
furiously. I thought they would come to blows. At this point Madam
Bertomier got out of the car & started hitting the other driver with her
handbag. He gave up ^ we got the parking place! And so it went. Many trips to France on both business & pleasure. Eventually, my first marriage broke up and shortly thereafter the company asked me to move back to the states so there I was pretty close where I grew up. About a hundred miles South in Silicon Valley, so called. Its actually the Santa Clara valley and I went to University there. In any case only the occasional business trip to France for the next few years. (lots to the far East, but that's another story.) Finally, in 1988 I moved back to Europe based in England and the frequent trips to France resumed. I remarried and fortunately my new wife, Linda, loved France as much as I do. I can remember taking her to Paris for her birthday. We'd decided to marry and buying her wedding hat as a good excuse for a few days in Paris. I took her to a restaurant called 'Toit de Paris. This place was on the top floor of a very nondescript building in Passey. You went up in a grubby elevator, but walked out into a stunning restaurant. I'd arranged for a table that was positioned just right; as she looked up Linda had the Eiffel Tower framed in the window in front of her. It was a memorable place. The first time I'd been there was with Yves, our French managing director, he'd arrived a bit earlier and already had his aperitif. He asked what I'd have & I said 'What are you having?' He said, 'A glass of port.' So I said I'll have the same. (I do dearly love good port, but normally not as an aperitif.) It came & was absolutely delicious. What vintage is this I asked? 1910 says he. Gulp, I'd never had then or since a port that ancient. Wonderful & so very French. We had many other French adventures during the following years. A time when we introduced our vegetarian Niece to Paris and she tried sooo hard to eat the little bulot sea snail that were served as an amuse. A time when we had a whole vacation planned in Spain centered around wine tasting except that I came home a week before & announced that we were going to Geneva instead. My friend Pierre had called that day announcing that he had reservations for Girondet outside of Lausanne & did we want to come? How could one turn down a chance to eat at what at that time was in my humble opinion the best restaurant in the world. It was a sign of trust and love that Linda didn't kick up a fuss at having to change our plans. She adored it! Another Girondet story concerns when a couple of years later we had introduced a unique new product which for some reason Pierre & his crew were selling way out of proportion to the Swiss market size. Well, by about August they'd oversold all expectations for the year & Pierre teasingly said; well I think we'll quit now. I said how about an incentive? What? Lunch for a salesperson & his partner at Girondet for every two extra units you sell. Done! says he. They sold 22 additional machines at roughly $75,000 each. The lunch for 15 cost just over $1,000. What a deal! Linda was delighted to attend as my partner. Not France, but I consider the French speaking part of Switzerland as one of the best parts of France even though the Swiss wouldn't agree. There are a lot more stories of France, but I'm going to end this with two last ones about eating & restaurants. I hope that thought these reminisces you have gained some insight into why I love France so much.
Both of these happened within a week of each other.
We were on vacation with my brother & sister-in-law and another set of
friends. The deal was that we shared resources except that once each
week one couple would choose a restaurant & pay for it. So, my
sister-in-law had read about a restaurant, Chez Bruno, that sounded
good. I called & made a reservation. We decided to go up to where it
was, make sure we could find it & make sure I#d really called the right
place. We thought that it was a casual place, sort of like eating in a
farmhouse kitchen. Wrong! When we pulled into the parking lot at lunch
time & were greeted by uniformed attendants we started to suspect that
this was no simple place. Linda & I went in to check the reservation &
as we did we passed boxes of truffles on one side & wild mushrooms on
the other. The restaurant was very sophisticated & filled with very well
dressed French. We had to try it, but there was no way the ladies
were going dressed in their casual holiday attire. No problem, we'd go
back to our gite & they could change. Unfortunately the mother of all
thunderstorms hit on our way back. I'm talking torrential rain & wind.
And we had to transverse Toulon at rush hour in this. We made it back
but had to tell the ladies that they had only a 20 minute turnaround
time. Meanwhile my buddy Leo & I were plotting a route through Toulon to
avoid the traffic. It was still bucketing down with rain. Off we went,
Leo driving, me navigating. All was well until two cars ahead of us on a
steep hill with 3 inches of water cascading down the street somebody
stalled their car. Leo immediately pulled up onto the sidewalk & got
past. The rest of the drive was easy & by the time we reached the
restaurant, late but not too late the rain had stopped. The meal was
unique; every course contained either truffles or wild mushrooms or
both. Bruno himself came round to tell us what we would eat. Leo the
philistine asked; 'could you repeat all that in English, please?' Bruno
laughed & was off. A very memorable meal all in all. On that note I'll end this, but if you can't tell why I love France by now you never will. Enjoy the blog as I continue to write about our adventures in France.
|
|
