gastronomic delights of France: oysters!

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cancale, food, france, oysters, travel

the town of Cancale, just 15kms east of St-Malo, is known for its oysters. apparently the oyster farms produce about 25 000 tons each year. an oyster market (le marché aux huîtres) by the water is open daily.

on the day we arrived in Cancale, we managed to squeeze in a stop to the market 15 mins before the 6pm closing. you can buy oysters (by the half dozen or dozen) at really good prices from the handful of stalls, and pay 0.50€ extra to have them shucked for eating, and another 0.50€ for lemon if you desire.

trying the wild ones (savauges) revealed

gastronomic delights of France: Bordier butter

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butter, food, france, st-malo, travel

the role of butter in French cuisine should never be underestimated. be it for anything simple such as spreading on bread, to including it within recipes for sauces, pastries or other dishes and desserts, using a good quality butter can make all the difference. France may consume the most butter per capita than any other country.  that would not surprise me because i don’t think i’ve tasted a bad one at any point i’ve been in the country.  even the generic no-name brand in the cheapest supermarket was pretty decent. maybe the cows are all just happier in France (and in all seriousness, they probably are – but that is a whole other topic).

when i was exposed to the existence of cultured butter, and its taste compared to the butter i commonly have consumed at home, it was a little bit of a revelation (you can find cultured butter here in the GTA, worth a taste test against ‘regular’ butter if you’ve never tried it!).

despite the fact that i am clearly pro-butter, it wasn’t an objective to specifically look for good butter to try on this trip.  but amongst the various articles and blog posts i looked through while planning, i came upon the name of Jean-Yves Bordier and his reputation of making supposedly the best butter in France.

the infamous butter, made only in Brittany, is of such good quality that Michelin star chefs order it for their 3-star restaurants.  that sort of says it all in a nutshell :)

really, it’s not the association with Michelin starred chefs that appeals, but the fact they would choose the best quality products.  this article describes in lovely detail what made me feel more compelled to try Bordier butter. anytime i read about someone so passionate about food that they have dedicated their life to crafting and perfecting their passion, it is so inspiring, and i want to experience what it is all about! and when i discovered that the town of St-Malo (home to Bordier’s only store, La Maison du Beurre) was already on the trip itinerary, i knew it was meant to be.

gastronomic delights of France: classic crêpes and great galettes

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brittany, crepes, food, france, galettes, travel

while popular across France and beyond, crêpes (made with wheat flour) and their savoury counterparts, galettes (made with buckwheat flour) originated from Brittany and are still extremely common in the region. crêperies (restaurants serving crêpes and galettes) are fairly easy to find, especially in some of the more traditional areas of Brittany.

after departing the Loire valley, we headed westwards towards the coast. that first entrance into Brittany found us down in the baie of Quiberon for our first (but certainly not our last) crêperie meal.

the inside of many crêperies we visited looked similar to

gastronomic delights of France – “king” kouign amann

Tags

butter, douarnenez, food, france, kouign amann

kouign amann stall in St-Malo intramuros (walled city)

in my opinion, it would not be fair to compare Kouign Amann with any other cake or baked good. but still, i think it deserves to be crowned king, or at least, a champion in the world of pastry and baking.

ah, to finally find a good Kouign Amann (pronounced sort of like ‘ke-WEEN AH-mahn’)! in the breton language, the name of this delectable creation translates to “butter cake”. naturally, the star ingredient in this cake is most definitely butter. Brittany, a region with such a different history, culture, and language than the rest of France, is home also to some of the country’s best butter (more on that in a future post!). this butter is put to good use here, added with sugar between layers of puff pastry.  after baking in the oven, it’s got a crunchy caramelized sugar exterior, that gives way to soft layers of puff pastry, where the taste of good quality butter can really shine.

my first exposure to this cake came a few years ago in Paris, one early January a co-worker brought me back a kouign amann when she visited her hometown in Brittany over Christmas. the cake had lost most of the outside crunch by the time it made its way into my hands, but the taste! that amazing flavour has never left me, i almost didn’t care if the outside was supposed to be crunchy. i returned home from Paris (indulge me in a bit of gastronomic melodrama here) a changed person, dreaming fondly of kouign amann when the craving for buttery desserts would strike.

the quest to find one in Toronto proved unsuccessful (some restaurants i’ve learned have offered it as a dessert, but not often and none that i’ve seen recently). the discovery of a bakery in Montreal by the name of Kouign Amann made me so excited, i pre-ordered a whole cake in advance of the journey there. sadly, the result was such a disappointment i resigned myself to stop the search. my other option – trying to make it from scratch – was never appealing enough for me to dedicate time to, it’s no quick and easy task!

fast forward a few years to 2 months ago, i was greatly anticipating the opportunity to taste kouign amann in its traditional setting (can you tell i really like food?!) :)

somehow, i had no doubt it would be AMAZING, even being fully aware that was a pretty high expectation for a cake that i had never even properly tasted! (an aside – you can probably get pretty outstanding versions of kouign amann in some of the best patisseries in Paris like Pierre Hermé, but i wouldn’t know, i wanted my first taste of a fresh kouign amann to be as authentic as possible!)

the promise of a foodgasmic kouign amann experience fueled my online research for suggestions or reviews on the best patisseries to check out…

grandeur

Tags

chambord, chateau, france, travel

one of the highlights of the Loire Valley is certainly the opportunity to see some magnificent castles.  Château de Chambord is the largest one, and impressive in presence.

gastronomic delights of France – fabulous fouées

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food, fouées, france, travel

i know it’s been quite awhile since a proper post here. some of the absence was due to a delightful road trip in France, filled with not only the company of a good friend, but our enjoyment of countless delicious French goodies. over the course of a few posts, i will share some of the highlights of our gastronomic adventure, beginning here with our meal of fouées after a long drive south from Paris to the Loire valley.

now, you may be asking, “what are these fouées you speak of”?

april showers

Tags

japan, shibuya crossing, spring, tokyo

the month of march was a busy one, and time really felt like it flew by. the weather was so mild, it seemed like we barely had winter, and then skipped to the beginnings of summer. it’s dropped back to more seasonally consistent temperatures, but today’s grey, overcast skies and the slight glistening of wet pavement made me put on ‘holocene’ by bon iver, make a cup of tea, and ponder how in each moment of time, we as humans are simultaneously significant and insignificant.  i had a similar thought when i was i travelling in japan during springtime, while sitting having a coffee in tokyo, watching life at the shibuya crossing with each umbrella that passed by.

life is pretty amazing, and spring, with the new beginnings evident in the buds appearing on tree branches, the canada geese roaming about looking to nest…it is no wonder this season can inspire hope and change.

no april fool’s here, just enjoying today, and appreciating the simple things.