A couple of months ago, I came across two articles in different issues of Paris Match magazine the photos of which captured me at first sight. Looking at those photos in which the people were glowing within vivid colors of nature especially the dominant tones of green, were like a therapy to me in times of the quarantine.
The first article was about “Auberge La Fenière“, an inn type boutique hotel near the picturesque town of Lourmarin in the Luberon region of Provence, France and its owner Nadia Sammut, who is a professional cook, farmer and an entrepreneur. Nadia Sammut is at the head of “La Fenière” and “Restaurant Auberge la Fenière” – the gluten free one Michelin-starred restaurant of the hotel.
Nadia is the third generation of the Sammut family of chefs. It is stated in the article in Paris Match that “La Fenière” had opened in 1975 in a former hayloft by Nadia Sammut’s grandmother Claudette -also a chef- and run by her parents Guy and Reine. Her mother Reine Sammut was one of the first women in France to earn a Michelin star. After studying medicine, biochemistry and social entrepreneurship, Nadia Sammut continues the family business in Provence where she sources her fresh and seasonal products. She has close links with the farmers in the region. Nadia Sammut also gives cooking courses at La Fenière.
Ten years ago, young chef Nadia had suffered seriously for months due to the celiac disease. Afterwards, she decided to change everything in her life and in gastronomy thus created a cuisine ‘free of gluten, fast sugars and lactose‘. She explains in the article as follows:
“Not being able to eat gluten prompted me to research the flour of rice, chestnut, chickpea, buckwheat, from which I developed my breads and cakes. I sugar them in honey, with dehydrated fruit or black garlic, it’s delicious and it feels good.” (Nadia Sammut, Paris Match, July 2020, no: 3715)
She says in the article that the customers liked their products so much that they launched their Kom & Sal boulangerie and pâtisserie brand which sells their gluten free breads, flour, cookies, cakes and breadsticks throughout France.
I have read in my search that Nadia supports the Slow Food movement and has started the Cuisine Libre (Free Cuisine) movement, campaigning for healthy and environmentally-friendly food, and opened the ‘Cuisine Libre Institute’ to train individuals and professionals. She explains the Free Cuisine concept as a cuisine free of all dictates, free of allergens, and free of thoughts that gives importance to zero waste and organically produced ingredients. She states that the vegetables are picked just before serving and that she tries to be as close to nature as possible. (chefs4impact.org)
The article tells that Nadia Sammut has recently been cooking with Vietnamese chef Ernest Hung Do, her lover, sushi master and sommelier. Their menu is said to offer marine and vegetal flavors. Chef Nadia states that she is happy to have received the green star from the Michelin (‘Distinction which rewards chefs who combine ecology and gastronomy’).
I have been to Côte d’Azur region of France many times but haven’t seen the Provence region thoroughly except for the short time I spent around Marsaille port and in Aix-en-Provence. If I visit Provence, I would definitely drop by La Fenière, to taste its special food and desserts.
The book of Nadia Sammut titled “Construire un mode au goût meilleur (Building a world with better taste)“, with the preface by Carlo Petrini, founder of the ‘Slow Food’ movement, has been published at the end of last year which you can check here (French edition) in Amazon. For the book of Reine Sammut titled “My Cookery Lessons” (English edition) check here. If you like Provençal cuisine, you may also check here for Provence cookbooks.
I also came across the book about Provence region of France published by Assouline, my favorite publisher, titled “Provence Glory” in Amazon which you can check here.
(Photo: francetoday.com)
The second article I read in another Paris Match magazine was about breeders, gardeners, farm or vine owners working and producing fresh products in nature, some of whom I will mention here.
The photo below is from “Domaine du Kheir“, a micro-farm located in Peschadoires in Central France that offers organic vegetables grown with natural methods respecting biodiversity and ecosystems. Its products are sold in local markets, organic stores and in ‘cagette.net’. (francebleu.fr / cagette.net).
The owners of Domaine du Kheir are Franck and Kheira Chabert who started organic market gardening in 2018 in Auvergne and moved to Peschadoires in 2019. Three years go, Franck Chabert chaired a sports association in Clermont-Ferrand (Paris Match, November 2020, no:3732). Having read this enabled me to discover the French town of Clermont-Ferrand, the capital of Auvergne region in the centre of France which lays at the bottom of a chain of volcanoes. The city is at half an hour driving distance to Peschadoires where the Chaberts’ micro-farm is located.
It drew my interest to find out that the city hosts ‘Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival’, the second largest film festival in France after ‘Cannes Film Festival’. I also took note that a statue of king Vercingetorix stands on Jaude Square (Place de Jaude) sculpted by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, who also created the famous Statue of Liberty in USA as well as the beautiful fountains in Lyon (Fontaine Batholdi) and in Batholdi Park in Washington D.C (Batholdi Fountain). Note that there is a museum of Batholdi (Musée Bartholdi) in Colmar, a picturesque town in France near the German border, also the artist’s birthplace. (wikipedia.org)
Having discovered the works of Batholdi, I thought how such elegant pieces of art beautify our world like the products or elements of nature do whether in Clermont-Ferrand, Lyon, Colmar or in Washington D.C. on the other side of the world.
Returning to the story of Domaine du Kheir, the farm was born arising from the need of its owner Frank Chabert’s need for freedom and to spend his days outside as he explains in the article in Paris Match. He also clarifies that the name “Domaine du Kheir” comes from the name of his wife Kheira stating that “kheir” means “the good” in Arabic. In the jolly photo above, Franck and Kheira Chabert are seen with their children Assia, 11 years old, and Yamine, 9 years old. Kheira Chabert is said to find her ideal lifestyle in Peschadoires. She states that they work seven days a week as a family and that their children are already advising clients. How sweet!
It is stated in the article that the Chaberts aim to ‘return to taste’ through seasonal products, harvested at the perfect time. The article mentions ‘butternut squash from Provence‘ or ‘pink radish from China’. What about the cabbages which look like flowers fizzled out of the ground the view of which adored me at first sight in the photo of the family above? A photo like a pastoral painting in sweet colors of the nature and earth…
(I like pesto sauce. The photo above on left made me think pesto would be good with any kind of vegetables and it is a good idea to serve slices of radish, a vegetable a bit bitter in essence, with this sauce.).
Chaberts practice certified organic market gardening without chemicals. It is stated in the article that they use methods such as natural watering with rainwater, mulching and manual weeding, raising the planks to warm the soil and planting flowers to attract bees to create and ecosystem.
(You may check here in Amazon for the book about organic gardening and here for the book about canning and preserving which I liked.).
(Paris Match, No: 3732)
In the striking photo above, Raphaël Bouchez, president of the caviar house Kaviari is seen with breeder Frédéric Vidal (left), founder of black caviar producing company Aquadem, with whom he has worked for fifteen years, in Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil (Dordogne) in France. Its Baeri siberian sturgeon is raised without GMOs or antibiotics which is stated to be an assurance of a golden caviar. (Paris Match, no: 3732).
Kaviari is a well-known caviar house in France that offers high quality caviar and seafood. It leads the manufacture of caviar with breeders and matures all his caviars in his laboratories. They explain in their web site that for more than 40 years, they have been sourcing the most beautiful sturgeon grains around the world to make an exceptional caviar and that their products are used by great chefs and starred restaurants. You can find a selection of caviars, smoked salmon, smoked eels and other seafood at its caviar shops (delicatessens) in several places in Paris. In its manufacture place in Paris (13, rue de l’Arsenal, Paris), you can participate in caviar workshops and chef’s meals and enjoy home cooking with caviar. (kaviari.fr)
The story of Kaviari is explained in the article in Paris Match. Raphaël Bouchez had founded Kaviari in 2001 with Jacques Nebot, an expert in Iranian caviar, who taught him the trade. Seven years later when the trade in wild caviar is prohibited, Jacques’ daughter Karin joined the team as general manager and she started the caviar breeding system (farmed caviar). The delicatessens of Kaviari in Paris were launched by Karin and her brother Laurent.
I noticed this jolly quote in Kaviari’s web-site:
“If sturgeons knew the price of caviar, they would become pretentious.”
(José ARTUR, Comédien)
(If you are interested in caviar or would like to found out more about this expensive exquisite taste, check here in Amazon for the book titled “Caviar: The Definitive Guide” (a guide to buying, serving and eating caviar) by Natalie Rebeiz-Nielsen and Susle Boeckmann. Natalie Rebeiz-Nielsen, whose father had founded Caviar House company, is the director of worldwide Caviar House & Prunier company in London. You may also check here for the book titled “Caviar: A True Delicacy – 25 recipes to enjoy and impress” by the same authors. The book titled “Champagne & Caviar“, written by a New York Times food columnist here also looks interesting.
If you are a caviar lover, you may like the chic caviar bowl here having a special design.)
(Paris Match, No: 3732)
Above is another photo of being and producing in nature. In the article in Paris Match, it is stated that the ‘fromagers‘ (French word for cheesemakers and/or cheesemongers) Clara Solvit and Lucien Dumond are part of the Y generation who ‘swap the keyboard for the apron’. After a few years in marketing, Clara had took a work-study course in maturing, cutting and tasting at Laurent Dubois, a famous award-winning cheese shop (fromagerie) in Paris, France. (Paris Match no: 3732). I checked it that Laurent Dubois, a fromagerie renowned with its exceptional selection of top-quality cheeses, had been awarded as ‘Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF)‘ and it has shops in several places in Paris. They are said to have the excellent versions of sweet and nutty Comté cheese, one of the most popular cheeses in France, and extraordinary goat’s cheese selection. (cntraveler.com).
It is further told in the article in Paris Match that after taking a course in Laurent Dubois, Clara Solvit had trained her boyfriend Lucien – salt worker and photography student. They had took over one of the oldest fromageries in Paris, ‘Fromagerie La Ferme de Fontaine, 75, rue Jean-de-La Fontaine‘ to start their “Fromagerie La Fontaine“.
I am a cheeselover. I think that cheesemakers producing excellent flavors of cheese out of milk with a distinguished know-how are like artisans. I guess there are so many amazing fine cheeses produced all over the world the names of which we even do not know. Among many cheese varieties, I also like French cheese which go very well with their famous baguettes. I was lucky to discover French goat cheese while I was in France for a French course and had liked so much the warm goat’s cheese salad (‘salade de chèvre chaud‘) they served us at lunch at the course from time to time. I want to finish this post with the recipe of this salad, a wonderful taste fresh from nature!
Click the link below for the recipe of the warm goat’s cheese salad – the version I had tasted in France You may also use pine nuts instead of walnuts in this salad. (recipe from the food section of ‘sbs.com.au’). Bon Appétit!
Goats cheese salad with walnuts (Salade de chèvre chaud aux noix)
Notes: You may check here in Amazon for the book titled “The Book of Cheese: The Essential Guide to Discovering Cheeses You’ll Love“. Check here for the jolly cheese boards, slicers and knife sets that I liked.
For the book of Michelin green starred chef Nadia Sammut (French version) check here, and the book of Reine Sammut titled “My Cookery Lessons” (English edition) here.
If you like Provençal cuisine, you may check here for Provence cookbooks. For a nice book about the Provence region of France by my favorite publisher Assouline titled “Provence Glory” check here.
If you are interested in organic gardening, you may check here in Amazon for a book on this subject. You may also check here for a book about canning and preserving which I liked.
If you like caviar or would like to find more about it, check here in Amazon for a guidebook to buying, serving and eating caviar, one of its authors being Natalie Rebeiz-Nielsen, the director of worldwide Caviar House & Prunier company. For a caviar recipes book by the same authors check here. The book titled “Champagne & Caviar“, written by a New York Times food columnist here also looks interesting.
If you are a caviar lover, you may like the chic caviar bowl here having a special design.
