One of the world’s most expensive foods is the truffle. Truffle hunting – called le cavage - was always one part of our week’s program at la Combe en Périgord. Nearby to our village of Les Eyzies, is a tiny village called Pechalifour, where Edouard Aynaud, the trufficulteur, lives on his truffle farm, Truffe en [...]
Rillettes are always very rich and these are for sure. I also love the pork rillettes which I now make with duck fat added to the pork stock. Interestingly, when we make and serve these smoked salmon rillettes, my guests and cooking school attendees love them and do not question past the smoked salmon and [...]
Over January, at On the Ridge, in Queensland, I enjoy working and planning menus for the year’s classes. I love to cook a variety of dishes, playing around with ingredients, just for fun. Soufflés are not new on the menu at Cooking on the Bay; there is usually a goat’s cheese soufflé in our French [...]
January is always a precious time for me. The cooking school is in recess and I spend the month at Kureelpa, Sunshine Coast, where On the Ridge Cooking School was created. It this idyllic place with wonderful valley views and further out to the Coral Sea, surrounded by peace and tranquillity, warmth and blue skies. [...]
I love travelling in France; I love the food, wine, people, countryside, history and language, everything about it really. However, our last trip in June…was a test of my devotion. I constantly said to myself – I love France, I love being here! And I really do and did think that. But do not envy [...]
Tartiflette is my current favourite winter potato dish. It is made with potato, onion, bacon and cheese gratin, perfect for wintry Sunday lunches. According to Julia Child there are hundreds of French potato recipes and Larousse Gastronomique lists 9 pages of potato dishes! This one is very special. I found this recipe, below, on the [...]
We enjoyed wonderful French classes last week - a perfect time for French cooking with the exciting Tour de France travelling around the beautiful French countryside and Bastille Day, the French national day on the 14th August. Here are a few photos showing how we enjoyed the days cooking together .
'MFK Fisher among the pots and pans: celebrating her kitchens’, by Joan Reardon. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008. It was Mary Francis who said ‘...all one needs to cook is a mortar and pestle and the full awareness of all your five senses...' This book was sent to me by my dear chef friend Cathy, [...]
Whilst visiting France in 2007, I attended the La Varenne Cooking School in Burgundy. The local 2 star Michelin chef, Patrick Gautier, spent a day cooking with us. Figs were in season and so he presented a regional favourite, this simple fig tart; it is light and delicious. I added the frangipane to the pastry [...]
A clafoutis is a dessert hailing from the Limousin region of France, in the north western part of the Massif central. The capital is Limoges. It is traditionally made with cherries, but may also be made with plums, pears, figs, apples or blackberries. It is simply a pancake batter poured over fruit in a fireproof [...]
