Pain d’épices is a Burgundian classic; it is a lovely unusual ‘bread’ or ‘cake’ made with rye flour, spices and honey, without yeast, using baking powder and bicarbonate soda instead. It tastes something like gingerbread, although ginger is not one of the spices I use. In France, it is sold in loaves, sometimes, in [...]
Way back in 1957, Bresse chickens were the first food and the first chickens to be awarded the AOC, Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée and more recently, they received the AOP, Appellation d'Origine Protégée, accreditation. This AOP label is the European Union version of France's AOC, Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée. It basically means the products with these labels [...]
The Burgundian Coq au Vin and Boeuf Bourguignon share many similarities. They are both regional Burgundian specialities, they both showcase the famous Burgundian wines, Bresse chickens, pork and Charolais beef. Their method of cookery is very similar as well. When this dish is cooked with one of these Burgundian wines it takes the name of [...]
In France, on our Betty B barge, I frequently cooked a simple coq au vin as it was easy to manage in my small barge galley kitchen, the ingredients readily available and it can be made ahead the day before and reheated. I always tried to cook it in one pot! In France they have [...]
We are having a sensational trip along this glorious canal. Every-day is blue skies and sunshine and something new to see. For the past two days we climbed a staircase of 36 locks, each about 500m apart so it was busy and tiring getting up and down to do the ropes to secure the barge [...]
On the recommendation of some recent cooking school clients, we were looking forward to going to this lovely restaurant for dinner. Neville had said it was in the Realis et Châteaux group but did not mention it had a Michelin star. He did say it was just a short walk from the Canal de Bourgogne, [...]
We arrived back at our winter base, always with sadness to finish the barging. Now it is the packing, cleaning, organising for the winterisation of the barge and our departures. We moored next to a lovely barge, Rysland, and met the delightful English, French, Swiss owner Sophie, who is the Captain and sometimes her own [...]
It is a challenge finding a ‘perfect’ restaurant when you are barging along the canals. For me, this means a charming, pretty restaurant with a pleasant ambience and décor, with good quality, flavoursome, well-presented food, with a focus on the region; a small, quality wine list with a variety of price ranges; if you are [...]
This season of May and August 2016, we started our journey from Auxerre, Burgundy where we intend to be for the next few years. We barged north up the Yonne River and then we turned towards the east, at Migennes, to the Canal de Bourgogne. We travelled along the Canal be Bourgogne for 74 kilometres [...]
Burgundy is château country and we are fortunate to have two within easy walking distance of our canal. Yesterday, we visited Le Château d’Ancy-le-Franc, in the little village of Ancy-le-Franc is an amazing Renaissance ‘palace’, built by the Italian architect Serlio who was the architect of Francois I. It was built for Count Antione III [...]
