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Showing posts with label Fete. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fete. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 23, 2022
Blue + Yellow fund raiser, Fete de la Coquille St.Jacques à Montmartre
Sunday, January 26, 2014
La Fete de la Coquille
This weekend La Fete de la Coquille is taking place in Montmartre, Place des Abbesses. It's a DON'T MISS if you're in Paris.
As a scallop lover and all things Breton this fete is one of my favorites in Paris. *By the way I got kissed on the Metro by a complete stranger but more about that later.
The fete may look a bit rag tag under l'eglise St. Pierre de Montmartre but never mind.
The first stand offers the typically Breton crunchy cookies in apricot, lemon and bien sur caramel au beurre sale.
The same stand has the Breton buttery, caramelized cake, kouign amann hot straight out of the oven.
I saved mine for later and headed to the oyster table.
I ate these last year at the fete. They were just as good and the same prix/price - 7 euros a half dozen.
The oyster shuckers were having a ball.
You can buy a kilo of scallops/coquille au natural for 6 euros or 20 euros for almost a pound and out of the shell ready for the pan.
Ate the same fish soup as last year, just as good (2.50). A whole bottle is 3.50. I'm returning for this.
Hot from the pot with little croutons and rouille sauce. It's a good idea to arrive at the Fete famished.
Chef Vincent Premorvan of La Cotriade in Paimpol did cooking demos at the degustation/tasting station (3 euros each).
I ate two of his 'Noix de Saint-Jacques a la plancha, embeurrees de choux a la biere et lard/scallops sitting on sauerkraut cooked in beer and bacon.
A good time was had by all.
A lively Breton band.
Les Commandierie du clos Montmartre were singing up a storm with the help of the vin chaud/hot spiced wine. Note the copper pot.
I didn't taste a galette saucisse or Renne hotdog. You can't eat everything. Nor did I taste the Brittany cider, sparkling apple juice, beers or champagne and wines on offer.
The famous mariniere T-shirts from Amor-Lux are always present at these fetes.
There were fish mongers too. Anyone wearing a red shirt is from Brittany.
Later in recovery I downed my kouign amann if one fell swoop and fell instantly asleep so this post is late.
Speaking of late posts, I've had problems with Feedburner. I'm so sorry many of you haven't been getting your PB. Thanks to brilliant genius Jeanne of 365 dresses things are fixed.
As for that kiss on the Metro - here's the gent what done it - 'je ne regret rien' Bon weekend.
Wednesday, October 09, 2013
Melun Fete son Brie
The 1st Saturday in October is the not-to-be-missed Melun Fete son Brie.
Melun is a 26 minute train ride outside of Paris (Gare du Lyon) in the Ile-de-France department. *Please pronounce that Maaaaaaa-la...n like a French cow (not like a Vermont cow). If you say something like melon no one will have a clue what you're talking about by the way. The actual town is a 20 minute walk from the train station. But since some people haven't yet learned to wait on line for the bus or anything else, I suggest you wait. Granted I would have missed out on the scent of Brie cheese wafting over the bridge as I marched into Melun.
The town square was full of white tents offering an international cheese tasting. This fellow was born and bred in the Swiss town of Emmental from a family of cheese makers.
He offered me a taste of wonderful three-year-old Emmental. There are visible salt crystals on the side, the sign of the real thing. I bought his home-made fig/apple mustard but I should have bought some Emmental!
It tasted infinitely better than the stuff in all the supermarkets here. When you order anything cheesey in France like a croque monsieur or a crepe fromage etc. you can bet your bottom euro it's this cheap industrial, shredded stuff you're getting - not nice at all.
Next to the Swiss guy a Polish purveyor from the Madeleine. (Where was the Brie?)
I bought ropes of smoky Kabanosy.
I merely tasted the cassis but was sorely tempted.
And even more tempted by the chestnuts from the Limosine. I just couldn't figure out what I'd do with a big bag of them...? You tell me.
I figured that was it for the fete and started wandering the streets to get back to the train station. Wrong! All the alleyways were full of little rock bands, producteurs from around France and and performers like this pantomime guy doing a 'cooking' demo for kids.
At last I found the town hall/Hotel de Ville where the main shindig was going on.
Plenty of Brie du Melun to taste here.
Honey tasting for the kids.
A lot of confreries (brotherhood/association) of this or that in medieval outfits.
The big cheese got up
To look a lot like a wheel of Brie IMHO.
Nearly everyone at this event was a confrerie of something or other including the guy pouring out tastes of milk. I'm sure this cow has a medal lurking at the end of her chain conferring some sort of honorary association. Geraldine says she's a confrerie du tastevin Clos Vougeot.
Big bird was not wearing a medal. Why ever not?
There is a decidedly medieval feel to this festival - everyone is out in the streets, many in costume, music playing. In general loads of fun and good cheer just a short ride out of Paris. True I did miss the big Brie tasting contest earlier in the day, but I'll try not to miss out on next Saturday's Brie fete in Meaux. Stay tuned.
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