Hi to the 5 ladies that are joining me on the trip to France . Here is the first draft of the Paris itinerary.

PARIS 9-11 September 2010
Jenny Johnson proposed itinerary

As promised I have worked out a rough guide for our trip to Paris in September. It will give you a flavour of the two days but is not definitive as this stage as we will not be able to finalise things until we have been on our recce trip in April. Please do let me know if there is anything else you would like to include or if there are any special interests you would like covered. I assume all of the group are reasonably fit. There will be a fair amount of walking as I find the best way to get around Paris is on foot.

Thursday 9 September
Meet at hotel 11-11.30am to drop bags
http://www.beaubourg-paris-hotel.com/
As this hotel is centrally located we can walk to most of our destinations. Comfy footwear advised!
12 noon after a light lunch locally we will we will cross over the pedestrian bridge for the afternoon to explore the area around the left bank to visit various food shops including Huilerie Leblanc, Epicerie Da Rosa and Fromagerie 31. Head to boulevard St Germain for Patrick Roger chocolatier.
We finish the afternoon at Café Panis for a refreshing cup of tea within view of Notre Dame.
Back to the hotel on foot or by taxi for a rest before meeting up for dinner locally possibly Chez Janou, an atmospheric Parisian bistro serving provencal food.

Friday 10 September
AM
After breakfast we will spend a good morning at one of Paris’s food markets, such as Marche des enfants rouge or Beauveau
Light lunch, possibly at Le Mesturet
PMWe will spend the afternoon in the Montorgueil area exploring the cookshops Dehillerin and A Simon, the traiteur G Tetou and the boulangerie Stohrer. There will be free time at the end of the afternoon for those who would like to walk along the shopping street of Bd Haussman where you will find the original and very beautiful Galerie Lafayette
Dinner at aux Lyonnais, a classic brasserie owned and run by Alain Ducasse

Sat 11 September
Check out of hotel(we may go straight to Montparnasse station by metro to drop our cases), then explore the area around St night cookery course Germain, a haven of food shops including the renowned cheese shop Roland Barthelemy and the wonderful food emporium Bon Marche
Lunch, then set off to catch the train for Angouleme and your 4 days at Les Noisetiers.

Holiday on Garden Route

Graeme and I spent 6 days staying in 3 places on the Garden Route. It was a relaxing time and may i say a pampered time. First stop was The Waves, a small original old house at Victoria Bay. As Bed and Breakfasts go i was very impressed. Beautiful and simple bed room looking out on to a veranda from which you could see the sea. Lovely white cotton bedding and as clean as a pin. The owners who have run it as a BnB for 16 years were pleasant folk, and breakfasts were a point of pride for them. Delicious fruits laid out on to our plates in all their colourful natural glory. This combined with the blue of the sky and the back drop of the crashing waves created a definite photo opportunity!. The rest of the breakfast was delicious, the full monty for Graeme and corn pancakes with crisp bacon and maple syrup for me. Filter coffee not bad either. Definitely a place to stop on your way along the coast.

On the first evening, using Roussouw as a trusty eating out guide we went through to Sedgefield to a place called Trattoria Da Vinci. This little italian eatery is owned by what seems to be an older couple (elderly hippies) who labour long and hard over a hot pizza oven. Most of the patrons including ourselves ate outside (a small mall so the tables are outside shops which are closed after 5) as it was a very warm evening. The inside of the restaurant looked dark and dingy, with an old bubbly looking carpet. But the food was delicious (although we waited for 1 1/4 hours before we received it). I had a aubergine Parmigiana baked in the wood fired oven and a simple pizza (garlic and oil), Graeme had a very good looking pizza (thin and topped with authenic italian ingredients).

The next 2 nights were spent at Phantom Forest Lodge near Knysna. It is a leave -no-footprints- eco friendly sort of place. We parked our car at the gate house and were ferried up into the forest by small green buses. Our Cottage was a delightful wooden one on stilts. The view was amazing, high up above the trees (literally a Tree House) looking out over the lagoon (in the distance). Peaceful is the way we felt while we stayed at Phantom. Gorgeous rooms with a spectacular bath surrounded by glass with the above view. I indulged in two candlelit baths,pre dinner. We were visited by rather prococious Vervet monkeys (and babies) on one occasion. The same monkeys were in the business of snatching toast etc the next day at breakfast. The dinner on the first night was good and bad. The red pepper and lentil soup was tasty. My carpaccio of Venison was inedible, and my pavlova was delicious, topped with gooseberries. Graeme's Fillet of Venison was tasty but tough. We were delighted when we went to pay for the dinner, that the had removed it from the bill. I hadn't even caused a scene. We were most impressed.
The second night at Phantom we ate at Zacharys (one of the few restaurants which Roussouw gives a 3 Star). This is at Pezula Lodge and a very fancy affair it was too. The food was delicious (not sure if i would have given it 3 stars though). We really enjoyed the atmosphere (very pampered) and left to return for our last night in our tree house full and happy.

The last 2 nights were spent at Hunters Country House. This is near Plettenberg Bay. It is a family owned very English thatched affair. Our little suite was a little dark and in contrast to the first two needing a good overhall, although the bedding was white and crisp cotton of the best quality. They did say they were upgrading each place, what a pity we drew the drab straw!. But the main house is lovely, old english in feel, and the staff very pleasant and professional. The food was amazing on both evenings. I won't bore you with the plate by plate crit, but the Strawberry consome, coconut sorbet and caramelized strawberry was a wonderful combination of flavours.

We visited the Birds of Eden and Monkey Land, both well worth a visit. We saw Ring Tailed Lemurs, Small Cotton tops (tiny monkeys with white fluffy hair on their heads), Rough Lemurs (with slothful ways and thick black and white fur), Vervets in numbers, Capucchins (some with number 1 hair cuts on their heads and some with a Elvis impersonation hair do's). The secretary birds, flamingos, cockateels, Mackaws, parrots etc., were a fantastic display of nature's colour pallette (?) .

Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, and George are devoid to the most part of any good restaurants, except for Ile de Pain (which we couldn't get into ) in Knysna and it's tiny sister Mon petit du Pain (which we went to twice had wonderful coffee, sandwhiches and pastries).

Lovely holiday but back to normality again.

These are the wonderful folk (Mary Mick and Doggy Lily ) who some of us are going to meet when we do the cookery course in France in September. They sent me these pictures of their wonderful place in the snow. There is at least one place still (maybe 2) to be filled for the trip. It will be at the end of September 2010.

All of you have a fantastic Christmas. For the cookery ladies, i will not resume classes until March or later. But if my kitchen hasn't started i may do a couple in January.

Love Jenny

The 3 Christmas cookery classes were a great success, except for the topside which I used for the first class. That was too tough! So by the second class we had learnt that topside needs long slow cooking (braising or stewing) and that sirloin or ribeye are the best cuts for roasting, not to mention the obvious, fillet.
The Christmas party at Nicky Booth was a roaring success. Hopefully Conchessa will let me have the pictures so I can put them on the blog. The weather was not too hot thankfully. We all started off with a class of bubbly and wandered around the delightful garden and sat on her porch. After a chat the nibbles came out. Deep fried mozzarella balls with a sweet chilli dip. Delicious. We then went and sat at her beautifully set (white cloth and starched white napkins) table and ate a delicious 3 course meal.
The starter was double cooked blue cheese souffle with delicious just out of the oven walnut bread. I think this was my favourite. The mains were a selection of salads (Chickpea and butternut not my favourite), fennel dauphinois and an aubergine and tomato and creme fraiche bake. There was also a potato and green bean salad which went down well. The desserts were great. Chocolate tart (rich with a great crust) meringue roulade with a caramel drizzle, hot apricots, home made icecream etc. The coffee was not good ! Pity. There were chocolates to end (but I was too full) Some ended with a glass of Limoncello liquer.
All in all a memorable day. There were 17 of us and those of you who didn't join us you missed a real treat!!. We will go to her again next year for sure.

Hi Cookery gals. Here are some pictures of the Xmas cookery class taken by a wonderful new lady< Susanne from Stellenbosch. Hope you enjoy them

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Hi Ladies from the cookery classes. I just want to let you know, that if you have to take the Yorkshire puddings out of the oven before you need them, place them back in just before you serve them for 5 minutes. They will be crisped up and glorious

This is for the ladies who attended the cookery class on Wednesday the 11th. I went to Woolies and chatted to a fantastic butcher (who has been one for 40 years). He confirmed that Topside is wrong for that way of roasting and that a sirloin roast or a rib eye (this to me looks the best) would be great because it has less connective tissue (which makes meat tough if it is cooked too fast and at too high a temperature)and more fat marbled through the meat (which keeps it tender and moist. SO SORRY that we had to confirm this in your lesson. I do recall I had made the same mistake many years ago, and should not have listened to Jamie's recipe. Meat overseas is in any case different to here both in cut and texture.

Also White chocolate is available in Woolworths. It is their own Organic white, this will be fine and half the price of the Van Gesau at Melissas.

Happy cooking

Jenny

From top to bottom, my room in our appartment in Pais in the Marais area . The second picture is a souffle i ate at Joel Rubouchon's one michelin star restaurant in Paris. The third is one of the most amazing food markets somewhere in Paris. The last picture is the outside door of our appartment. Just a little taste of my amazing experience in Paris.

A few more pictures of my time at the cookery school in France

I am sending you this brief from Mary Cadogan who runs the cookery school, to whet your appetite if you are keen to go for a week (2 days in Paris and 4 nights at the cookery school.

Dear Jenny,
We are delighted to enclose details of your proposed Tasting France week-long adventure. Your holiday starts with a fully guided tour of the best foodie destinations that Paris has to offer including plenty of hidden gems away from the usual tourist trail. During your 2 night stay fabulous food shops, cookshops and markets will all be included in your visit. Memorable evenings will be spent soaking in the atmosphere and savouring the flavours of la vrai Paris in cosy bistros, accompanied by a glass or two of delicious French wine. Then after all the excitement of the city it’s time to head for the tranquillity of Les Noisetiers, our peaceful village house which will be your home from home for 4 nights . During your stay you will be cooking up a storm in our cookschool kitchen, honing your cookery skills and making dishes that you will want to make time and time again when you return home. This is a very hands-on cookery course and the emphasis is very much on locally sourced seasonal ingredients. I’ll be passing on lots of tips and tricks, and we will share the dishes you have made for lunch and supper. The trip also includes visits to local small producers, such as an artisan cheese maker, small Cognac producer, markets and one evening meal at a favourite local restaurant. You will also have time to relax beside the river Charente which flows through our garden, stroll around our pretty village or cosy up in the squashy sofas in our salon. We have an extensive cookery book collection which you are very welcome to browse through.

WHAT IS INCLUDED
2 nights in PARIS including the following:
2 nights hotel accommodation based on 2 sharing a twin room
3 light lunches
2 evening meals with wine, venue chosen and booked by Mary Cadogan
Metro travel around Paris
Itinerary of visits to markets, food shops, cookshops etc organised and accompanied by Mary Cadogan

High speed train travel Paris- Angouleme- Paris


4 nights cookery course at Tasting France with Mary Cadogan including all accommodation, meals, tuition, trips to food producers and travel during your stay. One restaurant meal included during your stay. Take a look at the website http://www.tastingfrance.co.uk/ for more detailed information on the itinerary.

PRICE 1,700 EUROS PER PERSON (1750 for la Riviere en suite room)


Mary Cadogan and Michael Rogers
Les Noisetiers
31 Avenue des Aveneaux
16330
Montignac Charente
France
(0033) 545 37 61 27
mary.cadogan@wanadoo.fr
http://www.tastingfrance.co.uk/

taken a pause

I realize that when one starts a blog you need to be adding to it regularly. I am not sure yet if there is an audience and so i suppose i dont feel i have to keep people enlightened each day. Well anyhow i have to put my food diary on hold as we are in the middle of major renovations. This is a picture of the Hind's Head, a pub owned by Heston Blumenthal. It is a stones throw from his famous Fat Duck in the village of Bray, an hour or so out of London. I was priveleged to have lunch at the pub with my Brother in Law Stuart. Amazing wonderful Chicken Pie and what was referred to as a Quaking Pudding. This is a wonderful free standing wobbly egg custard style dessert, which comes with its own little potted history. Well more later. I will resume my diary in a week or two. Sorry to those potential readers who are hanging on my every word !! (not)

The wonders of Paul My first day

I ordered a coffee and a spinach and salmon quiche. I immediately chatted to the manager (a young italian with braided hair) and told him where i was from and that he should know this was my favourite patisserie. He beamed and after a little chat left me to indulge in my first good meal since leaving home. I bought a few interesting cotton bags and thought (!!!) one of them would be good to bring any excess baggage back home!! Little did I realize what excess baggage I would be accumulating.

Finally after settling myself into the basement room (not quite as nice as the the one upstairs!) and saying farewell to Paul, who rode off on his bicycle, his t shirt and sandles slapping in the breeze, I plotted what i would do for the rest of the day.

Well i was up and down the high street getting to know my surrounds. These were such shops as Waterfords Book shop (bought a new indian cookery book and a novel), Gap (3 long sleeved t shirts), facial products (Molton Brown) and this all within the first 2 or 3 hours of having arrived!!.But what fun I was already having.

I returned to Trellis cottage and had a little rest (actually exhausted after the flight and excitement of being in London). Jean Wild (the resident owner) suddenly burst through the door. she is 70 ish, over tanned with wild grey hair. She is not a small woman. She bustled upstairs, and began squealing and squeaking over a broken lamp. The picture I had in my mind of a demure slim cultured woman was immediately shattered. She actually reminded me of an old bag lady and i couldnt reconcile the amazing art and artifacts in the house with this loud uncouth personality. She was a real character though and we were to have a few laughs while I was there.

Hungry I ventured out again to a place which Jean recommended (?) called Cage Imaginaire. It seemed to be a delightful little French Restaurant (soft candlelight,french music, white table ware) down a cobbled road near to my cottage. I seemed to be the only person eating there, which seemed very strange especially as I was alone. The manager was a very pleasant young man. However he seemed to think I wanted company and hung around chatting. Eventually I was left to write in my diary and contemplate my surrounds. I was hoping my dover sole meunier was going to be fresh and tasty. But it wasn't. It was not fresh and was drowned in butter and large chunks of parsley. I did mention that it wasn't fresh but was assured it was!! I wasnt in the mood to argue. The dessert, caramelized bananas in crepes, was pleasant if not a marvel of tastes. Coffee o.k.
I concluded that this little place was really a tourist trap. 1 other table was occupied!

I walked back to the cottage (feeling quite safe to walk about alone at night) and retired for the night.

Still my first day

The lady of the house is not there, but fellow called Paul, is there to help me through the front door of what appears to be a gorgeous, quaint cottage. Loads of wonderful art,books, antiques fill me with awe. I cannot wait to meet the owner of all this magic. She must surely be a cultured older excentric personality!!. She will be back from France the next day I am told.

I discover I am in limbo for a couple of hours as the designated room has been given in error to two other people and they are busy moving. Paul hands me a cup of tea and a slice of toast. He is a small effeminate man with the look of a rabbit caught in the headlights about him. He is terribly sweet and after a small meaningless chat I go off for a well earned bath, change into some fresh clothes and hit Hamstead While i wait for me room under the stairs to be vacated.

I remember reading in travel guide that there is one of my favourite patisseries in Hamstead called Paul (no relation to the aforementioned). Well as you guessed from that comment, yes I hurried past various shops and leafy streets until I found it. Yes there it was so styish. Black outside and inside all the wonders of the pastry world, were laid out just as i had remembered. Croissants, pain de chocolate, apple pastries (sorry run out of french), fruit tarts of all kinds. Long baguettes filled with all manner of delicious savoury treats. Small quiches with delectable fillings. Breads of all looks and descriptions. This was to be my breakfast room for the next 7 days, give or take one or two.

My food adventures in Europe 2009 . My first day

Where to begin? Do I say how I wasn't feeling well and was very apprehensive before I left. Do I mention that I was on the verge of cancelling the whole holiday through fear of tummy trouble while on the plane? Or do I just say how wonderful the whole holiday was and how I felt well, my tummy behaved (bless it)and get on with the fun interesting news.

Well there was a 18 month baby next to me, and the flight was not great. The Babe behaved quite well (he slept across me and his mum)and i felt like a saint because I told the lovely British Mum that I had been in her position and that she mustn't stress. She loved me for that, the baby was happier and we all flew merrily into the blue yonder!!!.

After grabbing my one bag (on wheels!!) and my little blue ruck sack (no handbags for me) with it little blue monkey (secretly that's what made me buy it) I was out of customs and into the main hall at Heathrow. A few queries later and I had purhased my oyster card for a week, which would enable me to take trains and buses within a certain radius of London central. I was helped again with the information I needed to board the correct train to Hamstead, and with my underground map tucked firmly into my little blue rucksack (l.b.r) I sallied forth to Trellis Cottage (my home for 7 days ).

As i got out of the underground station i realized i had hit gold. Wonderful upmarket high street, loads of leafy streets, beautiful homes and a village like air about the place. I trundled my case down some lovely little cobbled lanes and finally found Trellis cottage. There it was right opposite Ye Olde White Bear Pub. All extremly picturesque and quaint in a English Villagy kind of way!!

Sun 31st May

The above picture is the table at which you could sit if you attend my Cookery classes on a Wednesday once a month. It is also the table you could sit at if you wanted to organize a lunch for your friends (8-10 no less).

Well Last night we took Stuart to the Food Barn. Who is Stuart ? He is my husband Graeme's younger brother who lives in London and comes for a week or so to visit the family. He treated us which was i felt a very nice gesture and a nice way to round the week off.

I haven't been to the food barn for about a year, and I felt it was time to make a return visit. The reason i havent been is 1. I dont like the blue colour they have painted it 2. and the fine dining atmosphere (white faux leather seats and a slightly hushed atmosphere). I preferred the more rustic Barn (??) feel with the slightly farmyard feel of vegetables and smells of baked bread, along with the rest of the deli products. It is as I have stated a Barn not a Cape Cod House!!

BUT and a big But the food is the reason Igo and this is still superb. We sat upstairs (Stuart, Graeme my son Ben and I) where there were full tables of happy, hungry folk! . It was a cold night but we were bathed in the warmth that comes from Belly filling and a common love of great eating. Champagne was drunk and damn fine food was devoured. Great bread, succulent belly of pork with mash and apple (me), Sirloin and Kabeljou (them) . All the dishes were the better for the delicious pools of sauce surrounding the meat or fish (Francks Signature sauces!!)The dessert i ate was Caramelized Pear tart on a pond of custard and caramel. It was sticky, crisp and simply heavenly. The chocolate slice was pronounced wonderful. We did not have coffee. I feel on this they could improve.