I travelled down to London on Friday and Saturday to visit "The French Show". This is my third year - and it has become a highlight of mid January. (Last year we had heavy snow - so it wasn't as crowded on the Friday).
Really there are two exhibitions running together in Earls Court. One is for property owners and prospective property owners. Lots of Estate Agents; Lawyers; Removal Companies; Banks etc. A second home in France would be nice - but a little beyond my budget - and anyway, living in Milton Keynes has a lot of attractions which I never had living elsewhere in England. So I had only a cursory look round that part of the show.
Much of my time was spent at the "Flavours of France" Theatre. There were cookery presentations - which have given me lots of ideas for cooking in the months ahead. Christine Vidal of "Made in Provence" made a superb "Risotto de Petit Epeautre de Haute-Provence". I tasted in - and have bought some "Petit Epeautre" to make some at home. Guy Wolley acted as host for the events in the theatre and also gave his own presentation. Chicken with Fennel Chorizo is going on my "to do list".
I enjoyed Clotilde Dusoulier's demonstration - her recipes for vegetarian French meals can be found in her latest book - and I look forward to making some avocado & radish mini tartines. She was one of the first cookery bloggers - at Chocolate & Zucchini. Worth a visit.
Jean-Christophe Novelli gave an inspiring demonstration. He (being of a similar age to me) has become more and more concerned with healthy eating. He gave tips on how to reduce saturated far; salt and sugar - whilst maintaining superb taste.
The cookery demonstrations were just a part of the Show – I will write more about the Show soon!
