the best craftsmen of France

Now here is something you may not know .....

Each year in France, prestigious prizes are awarded to men and women who excel in their trade or craft.  The winners have to be officially recognised as 'craftsman or craftswoman', and the prize  is the result of a strict competition that can demand years of preparation.

The winner of one of these prizes gets to call him or herself 'meilleur ouvrier de France' [best craftsman of France], and is allowed to use the official logo on their stationery.    They keep their title for life, and can wear the small and distinctive MOF bronze medallion.

The Society of the 'Best Craftsmen of France' has a fine motto:

"Constantly searching for progress and perfection"

So who can take part in these competitions?  This year over 150 crafts and trades are eligible:  competitors have to be aged 23 or over.    The trades include chocolate confectionery, metalwork, clock making, glass engraving; millinery crafts ...... I could continue for a long long time ...

The  exam subjects are published for all to consult:  candidates could be asked to create a remarkable flower arrangement;  a work of art from  mosaic tiles;  an elegant pair of shoes;  the most delicious baguette of fresh bread; the perfect chocolate cake  or intricate stone carving.

Whatever the subject, it is the student who has to cover the cost of the materials, and find the time to prepare him or herself for the competition.  Not always easy or convenient when they are running a small and young business.

So why am I telling you this?  Because I think- in today's fast and furious world - that it says something about a country  when some of its most prestigious prizes are given to artisan workman who can work magic with their hands.  

I love the aura and respect that surrounds this tradition.   I love the pride of a craftsman who displays this recognition of his skill and knowledge.  Personally I have met a couple of 'Meilleur Ouvriers':  one was a tailor, another a baker and even our farrier, who received the title when he started out shoeing horses many years ago, and still displays the logo on his business card.

So today, when technology increasingly dominates our daily life, and children seem to be spend less time creating with their hands,  let us pause for a moment and think about the skills we see around us, and about the patience and dedication required to obtain them.    If young craftsmen weren't willing to train and learn for years, then so many crafts could disappear for ever.

Be thankful for craftsmen today!  :)

authentic tables for a french country kitchen

There is a very traditional piece of French furniture that has found its way from a butchers store to many fashionable kitchens - it is the 'billot de boucher',  (pronounced  bee-o  de booshay)  or the butchers table.

They are prized and expensive pieces to find, generally built from large blocks of oak or hornbeam,  and if they are genuine - and genuinely old  -  their table or counter top will be worn down and rounded away through years of use as a chopping block.

 The photo below has done the rounds on pinterest, so I don't even know where it originated, but it is a reproduction butcher's table, hence the practical and flat counter top.

What is lovely in this copy is that they have gone to the trouble of reproducing the hand carved decorative edge along the body base.

Here in france there are still a couple of places where they make real billots de boucher, like this one made from solid hornbeam in the centre of France.

When we first moved to this village, our butcher used a billot just like this one below, with the steel bar attached to the back splash, a safe and handy way to store knives.   Sadly the health and safety rules were stepped up, and it was no longer considered desirable to have meat cut on a chunk of wood ...... hmmm.

  I'd be hard pushed to find one of these on a country fair, but I should think I could source one or two at the right dealers.  Then I'd just need to find a space for it at home.

all pictures sourced on Google images and pinterest and at Les Billots de Sologne

french garden fairs

Despite the grey skies over Normandy at the moment, it is the season for planting up the garden and enjoying the wonderful garden fairs organised all over France at this time of year.

This weekend we'll be visiting this beautiful 12th century château at La Roche Guyon for their annual Foire aux Plantes.

Local nurseries will bring along their best plants to show and to sell.  This  is an opportunity to find a special rosebush, or to discover new varieties of hydrangea, or choose hybrids of tomatoes for the potager.

So here's hoping that the rain will stay away and the sight of so much colour will finally persuade the Spring to do its stuff!

I hope you have something good planned for the weekend too

Thank you for reading me this week

PS.  I continue to have problems with the blogroll.  I have started a new list, but very often blogs that I list show for a while then disappear.  Please forgive me if your blog is not showing, I am working on it!

musee fragonard - a home to perfume

 In the small town of Grasse in the hills behind Cannes is the  house of Fragonard, creating perfume since 1782.  

The Fragonard museum is open to the public, explaining the history of the company and more.  Fragonard not only tells the story behind the magic of making perfume, they also have a foundation, a charming boutique  and a museum of provencal costume.

Fragonard may have a prestigious name but they have moved with the times and understood the importance of good design and marketing.

Their little soaps are one of my very favourite hostess gifts 

 Another one of my recommended places to stop when you are next on the Cote d'Azur!

the piano in a french kitchen

I must have grown up some because I am beginning to realise how dangerous it can be to assume.  You see I always assumed I would one day play the piano   ...  the musical piano of course, but also the culinary piano.

'Le Piano' the crown to any self respecting kitchen, hub of the homestead, pride of the family  in all its shining glory.

Strangely these assumptions haven't been realised, and of course I have survived.  I can tinkle out a little tune on the musical piano in our dining room, and I have cooked huge meals for years quite happily on a regular hob and separate ovens, but in a dark, seldom revealed, corner of my heart there is still a little hankering going on!

It's not only the allure of the sleek steel, and shiny enamel, nor even the brass knobs and buttons.  It's also the huge oven space and the challenge of learning how to tame the beast!  

So to console myself and to inspire you to hanker too, here are a few of my favourite piano pics....and a question - please tell me .....

what did you always assume you would achieve or possess one day that simply hasn't come to pass?

le chandeleur - this week we are eating crêpes suzette

If you would like to be very 'French' today, then make your family some crêpes for tea.  Today is le chandeleur, the catholic holiday of candlemas, and today we make crêpes or pancakes like there were no tomorrow!

My children love to make crêpes for themselves and for their friends, they are so easy to rustle up from scratch, and delicious with sugar, jam or nutella, although my favourite is sugar and lemon juice.

If you want a more grown up version you could try the delicious traditional French dessert crepes suzette, cooked in orange juice and flambéd au cointreau.

 Here is my favourite recipe,  I find it makes enough for 6 people.

ingredients

4oz  or just under 1 cup flour

pinch of salt

2 eggs

275ml/10fl oz milk 

50g/2oz butter

1 medium orange, grated zest only

1 tbsp caster sugar

150ml/5fl oz orange juice (from 3-4 medium oranges)

1 medium orange, grated zest only

1  small lemon, grated rind and juice

1 tbsp caster sugar

3 tbsp Grand Marnier, Cointreau or brandy

50g/2oz unsalted butter

a little extra Grand Marnier, for the fun bit

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl, make a hollow in the centre and break the eggs into it.   Whisk the eggs well until all the flour is moistened.  Gradually add the milk, whisking all the time, until the batter is smooth and there is no more flour left around the edge of the bowl.  Now you can add the orange zest and sugar.

Melt the butter in the pan, and pour most of it into the batter mix.  Using a piece of kitchen paper, smear the remainding butter over the pan, you'll find it best to do this before each pancake.

To start cooking the pancakes, you'll need the pan to be very hot.  I always start with a mini pancake, one for the pan as my children say.  

Now ladle a small amount of batter into the pan, cook the first crêpe for less than a minute on each side.  You want them slightly tinged with golden brown, but not overcooked so they are too dry.  If you want to pick up speed it's easy to cook the crêpes in two pans simultaneously.  The crêpes should be very thin.  You should be able to make between 12 - 16 crepes.

It's better to keep the crêpes warm, I keep a plate on top of a saucepan of hot water and slide the pancakes onto the plate as each one is finished.  If you are making the crepes for a dinner, you can do this stage ahead of time, then just make the sauce at the last minute.

To make the sauce, mix the orange juice, lemon and orange zest, sugar and Grand Marnier.  Melt butter in the pan, then pour in the orange sauce to warm through.  Place the first crêpe into the butter and fold it in half then into quarters so it is a nice neat triangular shape.  You need a large pan for this step because you aim to end up with all the crepes folded in the sauce.

This is the moment to flambé the crêpes .  The easiest way is to pour some of the Grand Marnier or Cointreau into a metal ladle, and hold it for a short moment over a gas flame, when its really warm put a match to ignite it.  Pour the contents of the ladle over the crêpes and take the pan to the table to share between individual plates. 

Spectacular!!  - if this one doesn't earn you a round of applause, nothing will!

PS  Don't forget , last day for the Diane James Home giveaway!!

thanks to Delia for the recipe

French laundry day

 When I have large quantities of sheets and linens to wash and dry, I always think of what it must have been like for the women who first cared for these fabrics without the help of washing machines.

I wash all our old linens in the machine then simply hang them out to dry behind the barn.  100 years ago the women  would have been down on their knees at the village lavoir, before carrying the heavy sheets out to dry flat on the grass in a meadow.   Today these lavoirs or wash houses are carefully preserved, but thank goodness nobody needs to take their laundry any more!

I actually quite enjoy caring for the linens, they smell good after blowing dry in the garden and of course they look so beautiful once freshly pressed.  Time I am happy to invest!  Right now I am preparing new sheets for the store.

Tomorrow I start my new series about my stylish French girlfriends!  Don't miss the first episode, how they dress; where they live, how do they cook and of course why they look so great!

A demain!

French wedding globes

 Les globes de mariés

the French love them, they always have done.

Originally designed as a 19th century wedding souvenir

today they are displayed empty, with nature mortes,

or the base is simply used to present a pretty object

gold letters available here

gris-bleu

sometimes, when the glass dome has been broken, 

the shape is reproduced with wire to great effect.

inmyvolvocar

bord de scene

esprit champetre

Wedding souvenirs, containing important symbols:

orange blossom to represent virginity;

ivy symbolising the attachment between husband and wife;

lime tree for faithfulness;

oak leaves for wisdom and long life;

a dove for peace, symbol of the holy spirit;

grapes and vine leaf to represent abundance and wealth;

in the case of a remarriage a crown of pearls ...

don't forget!
only two more days till the end of the dress giveaway