Food Features

Markets: Conflans Ste Honorine, France

by Christine Salins on May 19, 2013

Fresh food market at Conflans Ste Honorine on the River Seine

One of the things I love about France is that just about every town or village has a market. It might be big or it might be small – the one at Conflans Ste Honorine pictured here is tiny as – but you can be sure of buying the freshest local produce, in season, usually from the person who grew it.

Conflans Ste Honorine is an old village about 24km from the centre of Paris as the crow flies. Now one of the city’s north-western suburbs, it’s about 70km from the centre if you follow the Seine, such is the way the river twists and turns.

It’s an important point in France’s inland navigation system because it’s here that the Oise River flows from Belgium and northern France into the Seine. It was also here that Ste Honorine saved a ship and its crew – her remains lie in the 11th century Church of St Maclou high on a hill overlooking Conflans.

I visited Conflans Ste Honorine while cruising from Paris to Normandy with Viking River Cruises. I did my own walking tour and found there wasn’t a lot left from the old village, save for the church and the crumbling 11th century Montjoie Tower. But I enjoyed wandering along the steep small paths and visiting this small market by the river.

Fresh food market at Conflans Ste Honorine on the River Seine

Fresh food market at Conflans Ste Honorine on the River Seine

Fresh food market at Conflans Ste Honorine on the River Seine

White asparagus at fresh food market at Conflans Ste Honorine on the Seine River in Paris

Heirloom tomatoes at fresh food market at Conflans Ste Honorine by the Seine River near Paris.

Snails at fresh food market at Conflans Ste Honorine by the Seine River near Paris.

Radishes at fresh food market at Conflans Ste Honorine on the River Seine

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Dining With Victor Hugo

by Christine Salins on May 15, 2013

Cooking class with Victor Hugo on board Viking Pride, Seine River cruise with Viking River Cruises.

With a name like Victor Hugo, no wonder the Spanish-born chef on board Viking Pride feels right at home in France.

I’ve been cruising the Seine River to Normandy, a leisurely week-long journey with Viking River Cruises. The food has been exceptional, with a delightful French touch evident in everything from the sauces to the soufflés and feather-light Hollandaise sauce. Eggs Benedict never tasted so good!

As the ship returns to Paris, gliding gently to its final destination near the Eiffel Tower, its executive chef is entertaining passengers with a cooking class. Together with his Greek pastry chef, Dimitri, Victor Hugo (right) is demonstrating how to make a classic lemon tart.

It’s so simple, so French and so delicious.

TARTE AU CITRON RECIPE

Lemon TartsPastry:
1¾ oz / 50g sugar
3½ oz / 100g butter
5 ¼ oz / 150g flour
1 egg

Filling:
7oz / 200g sugar
2 eggs
3 egg yolks
zest and juice of 2 lemons
5¼ oz / 150g butter in small pieces

Make a dough by kneading together 1¾ oz sugar, 3½ oz butter, 1 egg and 5¼ oz flour, wrap in foil and allow to cook in fridge for at least 20 minutes. Then roll out as thinly as possible, place in a greased tart dish and pierce several times with a fork. Bake for about 25 minutes at 180 degrees C (350 degrees F).

Heat the lemon juice with the lemon zest. Remove from heat. Mix the eggs with the egg yolks and sugar together. Add this mix to the warm lemon juice and stir. Heat once again until the mixture is thick and remove from heat. Add little by little the small pieces of cold butter. Add mixture to the base and let cool completely and chill.

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Narooma Oyster Festival

by Christine Salins on May 14, 2013

Narooma Oysters

Having been to the Galway and Whistler oyster festivals, both fabulous and very different events, we made the trek down to Narooma to see how theirs shapes up.

The Narooma Oyster Festival is now in its sixth year. A community-grown event that is evolving each year, it had a professional event organiser this year for the first time, but still relies on a committee of incredibly hard-working people.

The festival is in a lovely outdoor setting beside the Wagonga Inlet, where a lot of oysters are grown. The day was sunny and would have been perfect had it not been for the wind. It made sitting outside quite unpleasant – such a pity.

Australia's first MasterChef winner, Julie Goodwin

Never mind, we were so caught up with events in the marquee we had little time to be out and about. When we arrived, Julie Goodwin was busy signing cookbooks for a long line of fans. Australia’s first MasterChef winner, she did a very popular cooking demo and appears to wear a permanent smile. She tucked into a plate of oysters with relish.

Despite the weather, there was a great vibe with live music, craft and food stalls, and various bars serving drinks and oysters.

Ultimate Oyster Experience, Narooma Oyster Festival

We loved the Ultimate Oyster Experience which saw us tasting a dozen South Coast oysters, three each from Narooma, Pambula, Merimbula and the Clyde River, as well as one big, flat indigenous Angasi oyster. We were given score cards to rate them for presentation, condition and taste. It was interesting seeing how much they varied in flavour, size and creaminess, despite the close proximity of the growing areas.

We were served a glass of Croser bubbles to start with, followed by a glass of Petaluma Sauvignon Blanc served at perfect temperature and a really beautiful match for the oysters. The one disconcerting thing about the Ultimate Oyster Experience was that most people seemed to treat it as just another opportunity to scoff down oysters and booze. If they’d listened to what the oyster growers had to say they’d have learnt some fascinating stuff.

Oyster Shucking Competition, Narooma Oyster Festival

Afterwards, there was an oyster shucking competition, not in the same league as the Galway or Whistler competitions but it was great fun and has the potential to grow. Former world champion Jim Wild presided over the judging (pictured above). We wondered what was done with all the oysters that were shucked – wistfully, perhaps, as we’d still only eaten 13, nowhere near our consumption at the other festivals.

There was also the launch of an exciting initiative which will see the oyster-growing region from Shoalhaven down to the Victorian border branded as “Australia’s Oyster Coast”. I’ve written about this in a separate post, and you’ll also find a separate post on Saturday night’s dinner at The Whale Restaurant.

It was an outstanding dinner and the perfect end to an oyster-filled day.

Related posts: Welcome to Australia’s Oyster Coast; The Whale Restaurant, Narooma.

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