DianaB

Fascinating to read this post, I had no idea you were in England Jenni! It's over a year since the last post and having just read the thread I would be fascinated to know how you've got on. I have friends who do home catering successfully, having run restaurants all their lives this business allows them to keep trading in semi-retirement without the obligations arising from keeping a professional kitchen up to standard. They do a successful sideline in preserves but sold only by word of mouth as without the regulated kitchen they can't advertise. I look forward to reading how your projects have progressed since the last post.

The only thing I preserve myself are Williams peaches from the garden which all ripen at the same time and don't store well save in jars with sugar solution. I am spoiled by my friends in France however, who supply me with home made terrine, rillettes and foie gras in huge quantities. Really practical as our house is small and we have very little freezer space. The cost of jars in both England and France is considerable, in England we have Kilner and in France Le Parfait (I live between the two countries). What do you pay for the Mason jars? While the meat based preserves Jacques makes are wonderful he tried doing flageolets last year and they were a disaster. I'll pass on the info on beans from this thread in the hope that perhaps he'll have more success with that. I do have his terrine recipe if anyone would be interested. I haven't made it in England as sadly the village Butcher retired without finding a buyer for his business and the butchers in town don't want to supply the low value cuts that are needed for the recipe. Really enjoyed all the photos and descriptions of your colourful produce. Here we've given up on hoping for a summer 2011 so it's good to see so much ripe fruit and veg somewhere in the world!

There's an extract from this book in this weekend's Financial Times magazine, also available via their website (www.ft.com). Including recipes which look interesting and not too difficult. The cover price for the book in the UK is £30 but Amazon has it at £15.00.

Many thanks for the encouragement in respect of beef tongue. Perhaps next time I'm offered it I won't make an excuse to eat elsewhere - the opportunity is most likely to arise when I'm with friends in France. My most recent visit was shared with the couple's 2 1/2 year old grandson and the four days were a series of food epiphanies for him and a joy to observe for his grandparents and I. At home both Paul's parents have very demanding jobs and so family meals are by necessity brief and based on convenience foods. We were warned that Paul would perhaps not like 'adult' food but in fact he relished curry, pot au feu, beef and carrots, a beautiful cream of courgette soup that is served as an entrée most evenings and veal liver lightly sautéed with a great deal of garlic. At every meal he adored eating grandad's homemade bread. Paul's parents couldn't believe the enthusiasm he had found for his food! We took stacks of photos and film clips to allow his parents to share in these epiphanies, albeit somewhat after the event. Sharing these experiences vicariously was pure joy. Perhaps Paul will follow in his grandfathers footsteps and become a restauranteur in time. He certainly shows promise!

Claims about fat content can be bizarre, products often boast that they are 'low in fat' as well as salt and whatever else is non grata at the time. I've seen packs of frozen peas labelled 'low in fat', I wasn't aware that peas were generally considered a fatty food.... Perhaps manufacturers might soon add claims such as 'arsenic free'. This would be accurate (I hope) and just as useful to the consumer! Apologies for the cynicism!

Like Simon S I recall clearly the moment I first ate and adored blue cheese. For me it was Roquefort, I was in my mid 20s and had been invited as a visiting Academic to act as external examiner at a university on the outskirts of Paris. The hospitality could not have been more different to that afforded to visitors at the establishment where I was employed in England; at best we might have served cheese at the end of the meal with a few grapes and some flexible celery. I now learnt that lunch is an important part of the French routine (hence the need for at least a two hour break) cheese came before dessert and there was no dubious greenery in view, just fresh crusty bread. Proud of the tradition of cheese making in France my hosts were anxious that I should try many, especially those to which they sensed a personal link. I wouldn't say that I was phobic of cheese riddled with mould but my attempts to appreciate such delicacies had, in the past, resulted in me quickly eating anything to hand to rid the taste from my mouth. This time the experience was quite different, I adored both flavour and texture of this cheese and from then on it became my absolute favourite. I've shared this experience with various friends over the years and have been assured that others have been through a similar taste evolution. Perhaps it comes from changes to our taste buds as we grow older? As to some of the other epiphanies detailed here, there are some I understand fully (eg avocados) and others where to date I've tried and failed (oysters - I really have tried and all I can achieve is not vomiting - I've given up now as oysters are expensive here and I'd rather leave the pleasure to those who can appreciate them). My closest friends were restauranteurs in France for 35 years and as a guest at their home I've had the good fortune to experience many excellent meals that I might not have found closer to home. Despite my faith in the excellence of the cuisine I have so far avoided tête de veau, tripes de caen and langue de boeuf. Perhaps these are food epiphanies to come and I need to set aside my irrational thoughts. I'm assured these were all dishes that would sell out at the restaurant. Which would you try first? Diana

Having recently returned to live in England I notice things about restaurants/bars that are perhaps less evident to those who have lived through the gradual change brought about by the passing of time. In particular I've found it alarming that the meat course (or equivalent) is now simply referred to as the 'main' in many establishments, from McDonalds and on. I am perhaps old fashioned but for me 'mains' implies not a list of dishes but rather a key part of a sewerage system. The aroma that greets one on entry to the restaurant area of a cross channel ferry these days is perhaps indicative of problems with the plumbing disguising what might, in other circumstances, have been something more enticing. Best practice in my experience with regards restaurants is demonstrated through waiting staff who are attentive but entirely unobtrusive, glasses are never empty but their replenishment is achieved without intrusion. Serving staff understand and can explain the food in clear and concise terms. Service is team work between kitchen and dining room. The diner is central to an orchestrated performance. Such experiences can be had in modest establishments as well as those marked out by awards. There are numerous adjectives now applied to food and drink in England that seem to have become embedded in the language during my absence. I guess this is a demonstration of English as an ever evolving language, whether American or English in origin. I've only recently joined this forum and already I sense that I have learnt enormously from those who progress the various discussions. Wonderful to have come across an intelligent and informed community. Many Thanks, Diana