Craftsmen & Know-How
Orange blossom, intoxicating and adored
Orange blossom, intoxicating and adored
Traditionally prized in North Africa, it is used to flavor gazelle horns; in Lebanon, it is used to make café blanc, a hot water sweetened with honey; and in Provence, it adds a typical southern flavor to brioches, fougasses and cookies. Today, it is gaining ground among French pastry chefs. The proof is in these 5 favorites from the editors.
Black sesame, the little seed that's good for everything
Small in size but big in taste, black sesame seeds are not only astonishing in color. A number of chefs are now taking advantage of its unique flavor to enhance their pastry ranges.
Thomas Besnault, cook, and François Rieant, gardener, at Loire Valley Lodges
Beyond the now classic image of the chef crouching in his vegetable garden, for some there's a real work of vegetable production, which implies a close relationship and complicity with the gardener. The latter is no longer confined to the simple role of supplier, so much so that it's no longer clear which one is at the service of the other. Sixth episode in our series of portraits with Thomas Besnault, chef of L'Ardent at Loire Valley Lodges, and gardener François Rieant.
Valençay, tasting at the Atelier du Goût
Like all pyramid-shaped cheeses, it should be cut vertically, with the cheese upright rather than flattened, from top to bottom, generally by one eighth of the cheese to create a nice, easy-to-define slice (half of a quarter, or a quarter of a half). Of course, it's best tasted with its ashy rind, to appreciate all its aromas, a little more undergrowth and mushroomy near the rind, more dairy and creamy near the heart, with the ideal maturing period somewhere between "too fresh" and "too done", which could give it a pungent taste.
At Easter, the animals go carnival
No longer is everyone looking for a cat, but for a hen, a rooster, a rabbit or even a fox. What if, instead of hunting for eggs, you went pecking in a Colorama barnyard? Gault&Millau made the rounds and found some chocolatiers with a real sense of celebration.
Gault&Millau Tour Centre Val de Loire 2023
To mark the presentation of its latest guide to the Centre Val de Loire region, Gault&Millau honored the region's chefs and food service professionals on Monday March 13.The event took place at the Domaine de la Fouardière in Mulsans (Blois). The previous evening, the winners and their partners had taken part in a dinner created by Christophe Hay in his Fleur de Loire restaurant.
Domaine Belin: gourmet pigs
In 2015, Astrid Barthomeuf created a farm from scratch, the Domaine de Belin, but above all introduced a breed of Hungarian pigs, the Mangalitza, to the land of the Ardèche. A challenge that has won over a number of top chefs, among others.
An artist at refining
Rodolphe Le Meunier's cheese dairy is located 30 km from Tours. It's here, in his maturing cellars - which in this case are more like cold rooms - that hundreds of specialties wait patiently to be shipped. They will be sent to the boutique at Les Halles de Tours, to restaurants, sales outlets and supermarkets in France, and to a multitude of countries, including Saudi Arabia, Korea, Japan, the United States... Rodolphe Le Meunier is a cheesemaker and refiner with a MOF title, and an outspoken businessman who debunks preconceived ideas.
