BREAKFASTS AT LA FORGE

As most of the guests from the Two Bordelais tour stay at here La Forge I have the most interesting breakfast companions you could wish for…so I try to keep my breakfast table up to the level of my guests !

TWO BORDELAIS are back in Bordeaux

Denise and Jean Pierre Moullé, former executive chef at Chez Panisse in Berkeley, have, as I’ve said before, the best culinary tour in France. They’ve been sharing their home, friends and family in the region around Bordeaux with Americans from New York to San Francisco for over 20 years. As most of their guests stay here at La Forge I get to spend the week with some of the most interesting people around my breakfast table. You might want to check out their web site: http://www.twobordelais.com/

This weeks tour was no exception as you can see from the photos.

2010 SEASON WAS JUST TOO BUSY TO POST

I didn’t have too much time to sit and enjoy my super comfortable 1930’s lawn chairs or watch my garden grow but our many new guests certainly did. Despite all the activities I helped them organise they enjoyed coming back home each day to just relax in the garden with a good book…La Forge has a great French/English library and subscribes to several papers and magazines including the Christian Science Monitor.

As usual my guests with the Two Bordelais: Jean Pierre and Denise were all delightful and I hope they’ll come back often.
I’ve been having more and more French guests as well as my usual international ones. This is a bonus for everyone as that what this French American home is all about…the place to meet the French but with a little American touch that the French enjoy as well.
We’re busy refreshing La Forge for next years guests and using the services of my daughter Eloïse as the interior designer…you can see some of the changes on her new web site: http://www.changerdinterieur.com

CHEF’S ROOM now open

Guests from Rotterdam were the first to settle into the new room just off Bruno’s country kitchen in our 12^th century water mill. I think they were a little surprised when Bruno met them at the end of the lane and led them down the steps and across a wooden foot bridge. They walked along cobble stone path (beside the vegetable garden) that leads to the mill’s little red door that open directly into the kitchen.

This is were some of our cooking classes take place and Bruno has had his “table d’hôte” or guest table at lunch every saturday 10 years. Jean Pierre and Denise Moullé always bring their guests from www.twobordelais.com to the mill’s kitchen table.

We have tried to keep the guest room in the same spirit as the rest of the mill…though I’m sure that the miller  never had such a comfortable bed !

The window to the east looks out over the stream that runs under the mill to the fields and woods…. with a few ducks bantering in the water.

The room is full of Bruno’s most interesting cookbooks…in both English  and French !

The full bath was Bruno’s work. And I must admit, the high skylight cieling and great open shower were certainly worth the wait.

The price is 75€/night and, if you stay a while, as our Dutch guest did, you’re welcome to use the kitchen too.

OUR APRONS HAD A GOOD WORKOUT THIS MONTH !

I was delighted to see my classified ad in the new Christian Science Monitor this week. Because I came to France 40 years ago due to a Monitor ad, I hopeful that this one will entice new guests to come to France as well !

I knew when I started this blog that I might not write every day…or even every week, but now it’s almost a month since D day, when I last wrote. Many guests have come and gone to my B&B at La Forge…I have more and more French guests through a wonderful web site http://www.guidesdecharme.com/

We had several cooking classes during the past month, with two wonderful cooks: Xavier Fages, a teacher at the restaurant and hotel lycée in Libourne, and Jean Pierre Moullé from Chez Panise in Berkely, CA and his group from http://www.twobordelais.com/

I’m going to use this blog to keep you up to date with what our cooks are doing as well. Take a look at our new recipe file !

What’s Cooking in France

Bonjour from France !

What’s cooking is my new blog  about:

B&B in Bordeaux and it’s country side and in Paris

House rentals and exchanges

Personalized tours

Cooking classes

Gardens

Artist’s and artisan’s studios

As an American having lived in France for all of my adult life I started http://www.whatscookinginfrnace.com as the  perfect way to get to know the French and France. I’ve established a intimate network of friends with Bed and Breakfasts  “à la Française”  in country houses and Paris apartments. I propose organising winetastings with passionate experts, cooking classes in private home kitchens, lunches with new French friends,  visits to extraordinary gardens,  to artists’ studios and to their collectors’ homes and gallerys . I also want to let you know what’s going on at the moment that you shouldn’t miss. I can help you put together your next trip to France… to those places off the beaten track where you’ll experince France better than you ever imagined.

Carol de Montrichard Dalléas

whatscookinginfrance@gmail.com