Bringing you the best in Food, Travel and Design to get the summer started.
by Raphaële Marchal
Every year it’s the same: we tell ourselves, hey, I’ve never been there, we should rent a cabin and explore the area, before we realise we are buried in work and have no time to plan a holiday, or by the time we get round to it, it’s too late and everything’s booked solid, or we have friends inviting us to their place for the summer, or we just feel like going all out this year and end up in Bali (admittedly not the most common outcome). But no excuses this year! Money is tight (and we’re saving the planet) (and flights have all been cancelled), so forget Machu Picchu. As for Paris in August, we love it… but we need to escape it too.
With the return of sunny days and a freshly found freedom, aperitifs with friends are back on the menu! With its new range of premium bottled cocktails, LE BARTELEUR offers you delicious, perfectly balanced cocktails ready to be enjoyed with just a few cubes of ice. For your pleasure, LE BARTELEUR has mixed a Negroni, a Manhattan and a Hanky Panky, with the help of Maison Ferroni, a distillery based in Aubagne, Provence.
Covid-19 has brought many industries to a halt, but Olivier Krug of Krug Champagne House shares with us how they were able to continue operating during the crisis.
After a confined spring, the flip flops are wriggling and we’re all eager to fully experience the summer, settling into a deckchair or savouring the long-awaited pleasure of the apéritif terrasse. This is a time to rest and reflect on the last few months. In France, two out of three people turn to “responsible” products (i.e. local, organic, fair trade and minimal waste). Twenty percent of them have discovered new services to source food locally, such as Pourdebon, La Ruche qui dit oui (The Food Assembly) or Poiscaille.*
On the restaurant side, we value restaurants that are doing their part to uphold eco-friendly values, like Ventrus, a nomadic gourmet restaurant founded by Guillaume Chupeau. The restaurant's wooden structure can be dismantled and reinstalled each season in a unique place. Its menu will feature seasonal products, and Ventrus will even consume 90% less water than a typical restaurant. Opening is scheduled for August in Marseille.
*Survey: Max Havelaar, 04/05/20
Back in 2014, Boffi Paris presented "Taken at the F(l)ood", a short film of a friendly band of contemporary Robinsons gathered on a beach in northern France to prepare and share a meal together.
This is a film (and a meal) to be savoured, at once in nature and part of it, as the tide gently advances and ultimately washes in. Joyful, simple and ephemeral - what more could we hope for as we leave the city behind this summer?
Taken at the F(l)ood was created from an original idea by Marc Bretillot and Laurent Denize d'Estrées, with the collaboration of chef Alexandre Gauthier and photographer Louis Teran.
Production 14 Septembre
In a time of disruption, reinventions and global social responsibility, SIAL Paris – a business generator, catalyst for innovation and the biggest agri-food trade fair in the world – is launching a new podcast series featuring innovators and agents of change in the global food industry.
#OwnTheChange will present the vision and perspectives of emerging entrepreneurs and established industry leaders in a conversational format. The series will highlight themes and topics which will be further explored during the SIAL 2020 fair in Paris, 18-22 October.
Anne Etorre got hooked on cooking at a young age and since then her life has revolved around her passion for food, spending all of her free time cooking when she’s not eating out at a restaurant or organising an event - food-related of course!
After "Le pâté, dix façons de le préparer" (Pâté, Ten Ways to Prepare It) and the incredible success of "Le poulpe, dix façons de le préparer" (Octopus, Ten Ways to Prepare It), she is releasing a brand new book for the summer: "Des recettes qui tranchent. Le Carpaccio" (Carpaccio. Recipes on a Knife Edge), published by Éditions de l'épure. A must-have for your holidays!
Hello Anne! You are passionate about cooking. Where did this come from?
From my childhood and from my father who passed on this passion that has never left me.
Your world is studded with stars 一 not only Michelin stars. What kind of relationship do you have with renowned chefs in the industry?
I admire them! I have worked with many of them and it is always a pleasure to be able to have conversations with them and discover their way of cooking as well as their techniques.
After the success of Octopus, Ten Ways to Prepare It you are publishing Carpaccio. Recipes on a Knife Edge. What is this new fascination?
It’s not so new actually - I was already cooking carpaccio when Octopus was published! I'm pretty obsessive: after the octopus there were the pâtés, then the sausages, and then it's true that I focused for a time on the carpaccio... but writing the book had long been in the back of my mind - I just had to convince my editor and find the right artistic direction.
What’s next?
A book about Brussels sprouts, but most probably in 2021.
What would be your ideal summer menu?
A carpaccio, homemade barbecued sausages, a tian of vegetables, and verbena peaches to finish.
Who are you?
Raphaële: 29 years old, big eater forever, cookbook writer, TV columnist, food festivals animator, journalist at Fou de Cuisine and Elle, and most recently, podcast presenter!
Can you tell us more about your book?
It's funny because I never imagined writing a book on this theme. Having a picnic has always been my parents' favourite form of dining, whether at ski resorts or in the mountains in summer, on a boat or on the train, in the forest or in the garden; we always had a picnic. Sometimes we even stayed at home and they’d say: "Tonight is picnic night", meaning: "We are too lazy to cook a real dish, so everyone, help yourselves from the fridge!".
Picnicking was ever-present, so much so that I wasn't even conscious of it until my editor said to me: “Your outdoor Instagram posts look great; we’re going to make a book out of them!”
So there are 25 recipes by Chicken Bacon Lettuce, a catering company that I love, with beautiful photos by Emilie Franzo; there are also the stories of seven crazy picnickers: Emmanuelle Marie, Fleur Godart, Céline Maguet, Jill Cousin, Déborah Pham, Guillaume Muller and Jean-Antoine Ottavi, as well as tips and tricks for all picnic "contexts", with real-life anecdotes.
What makes a successful picnic ?
I believe it varies a lot from one person to another. The ideal picnic is very laid-back in the middle of a great physical effort: hiking, mountain biking, swimming, skiing... that's the moment when we are exhausted, when our legs hurt, we're hot, we're starving, and we find an incredible spot, with a beautiful view, fragrant smells, wild ponies... and here we go - bums on the ground, eating too much... Nothing makes me happier!
According to you, what are the essential ingredients for successful holidays?
The mountains for hiking, otherwise it's not a holiday; a region with a rich food culture, so that feasts are abundant, local and seasonal; friends, of course; good wine; and from time to time, the beach or a swimming pool.
Where are you going this summer? Has the situation changed your plans?
To Noirmoutier with my boyfriend, including a trip to Alexandre Couillon's restaurant - my little paradise. Then Garance farm, enjoying Guillaume, the farm and the vegetable patch; and finally to stay with my parents in the Basque country. Not at all what was initially planned but I think it will be great!
Follow Raphaële's instagram here.