La visite gourmande de la fromagerie Beillevaire.

 After my post on fromager Beillevaire (pronounced BAY-vaire) I inquired if I could visit the fromagerie. Perfect timing. There was a visite on Thursday. I was their guest to a tasting/degustation lunch.

I took the 7:23 TGV to Nantes in Loire-Atlantique Then a Transilian local train to Machecoul. voila 🧀 

We did not don gowns and masks like at Kaviari or do a walk-about. But we could look into the various processing areas from an upper floor. Our guide, Nathalie also gave us a slide show. Then detailed explanations of all the procedures.This is the yogurt area.

 The beurre  de barette is churned inside a rolling wooden barrel the old way on the left. A

The best tasting butter you can find in France in my brief experience👌

 Striations on the cheese are from turning it on metal racks (like Champagne bottles are turned). There is no set number of times a day. It depends on the look and feel of the cheese I was told.

Nathalie explains the types of cheese 🧀 found throughout France.

We had a mini tasting of 4 different lait cru (unpasteurized) cheeses from Beillevaire -Brun de Noix (with a walnut outer 'skin', a creamy chèvre 'Pont d'Yeu', Rocher Nantais,and a 'Secret de Couvent'.

Then off to lunch at the home of the parents of Pascal Beillevaire. My first cow sighting.

It's set in the marais or marches.

there were 15 of us so we ate family-style and good thing or I would have been "lost in translation". I sat next to Emanuelle, my own personal translator.

Our first plateau of cheeses were for 'Apero' time - no bread or butter is served with these. A Cantal, the Brun de Noix and the orange cheese is an aged Mimolette extra-vielle with hazelnuts and piped cream. Served with a Rose.

Second plateau was Somport Fermier, a 'Maki' de Chevre frais aux legumes croquants/crunchy vegetables, very unusual and tasty wrapped in seaweed, and a Rouleau de Beaulieu et olives confiturees(a Provencal olive jam to die for and a new product with Beillevaire hopefully coming out soon.

This is Emanuelle's plate who knows how to serve herself cheese beautifully. A pad of beurre a baratte is on the side in case you were wondering.

Oh la la.. Third plateau: Pitchounet, Fumaison et jambon de Vendee et Crème de Roquefort et figue cake (which will be available in December). The touch of Roquefort cream on top was the perfect contrast. Served with a red from Corbieres Domaine de La Roche Vive.

We got a little breather of fresh vegetables from the farm. I got up and went out to look at the marshes and get some oxygen. I was getting coma-'fro'maged.

Last course served with a different red - Cotes de Tongues Cepage Merlot, Grenache et Syrah. Saint-Felicien et viande de grison ( a special Swiss way of air-drying beef) and a Gruyere d'Alapage et pate de coing(a squiggle of quince cream on top).

You know I don't/can't drink much but I woke up immediately for the ris au lait au CARAMEL a toute a suite!

Maim!

Sadly I could not stay to visit the cows/vacheresse post-dejeuner. I had to catch a train back to Nantes and then back to Paris.

But the same cow as above is embossed on the Beurre de Baratte lait cru from Beillevaire and I can not tell you how many times I have visited that cow while writing this post or their wonderful chevre Pont d'Yeu. A tres Grand Merci to Beillevaire for giving me an unforgettable experience/une experience inoubliable vraiment! The degustation dejeuners is worth the traveling.  But there are 12-13 Beillevaire shops in Paris so do not miss out.

Parc de Bagatelle

Parc de Bagatelle

Is part of the Bois de Bologne in Neuilly.Take the #43 bus from Gare St. Lazare. Then walk tout droit/straight ahead. 

Do not wander into the boulangerie on the corner for an ice cream as I did. The woman gave me the wrong directions. The Bagatelle is down on your left once you've entered the gardens. Really you can't miss it.

There are gardens within gardens. I missed seeing the roses in full bloom and should have come earlier in June. They have many events throughout the summer. Check www.paris.fr

Empress Eugenie's kiosk set up on the hill overlooking the Roseraie.

Stop in the small boutique to the right of the entrance and buy a map for . And 20 centimes 

In English too.

*A reader was having nothing to do with the peacock and kept shooing it away. I should be so lucky as to have a peacock hanging about when I draw ✍️ 

My favorite spot was a small rectangular garden off to the left of the Roseraie, called les jardins des Presentateurs with seasonal changing blooms and vegetation, even corn.

A series of pergolas.

Each one different in design and shape.

A pure visual delight

Breathtaking

At 5 pm I had it to myself. The gardens are open 9:30 till 6:30

Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier (1861-1930) is the landscape architect of this garden as well as the Champs de Mar near the Eiffel Tower. He was influenced by both the Impressionists and the Neoclassical.

Dahlias..

An exhibition on of historic landscape drawings of all the gardens of Paris at the chateau within the park. I haven't even shown you the lily pond and so many other areas but I'll be returning. I'm enjoying all the nature Paris has to offer. Something I rarely did in New York.

Can I send 💌 you a map 🗺️ of Paris parks 📮

Marie-Antoinette had a hand in designing the gardens but that's another story. Are these white flowers pom-poms?

A woman on the 43 bus had a huge bouquet of these white flowers. I'm off to visit goats and cows producing cheese 🧀 near Nantes tomorrow at the ferme of fromager Pascale Beillevaire. More adventures to come!

La Roseraie de Provins

La Roseraie de Provins

Saturday's outing was 1 hour train ride from Paris on the Transilian line at Gare de l'Est.

Provins (in Ile-de-France in case you were wondering) is the center for France's rose products. Confit, syrups, candies and of course all things scented, soaps, lotions etc.

La Roseraie has over 300 rose varieties spread over 3 acres, many you can buy on the spot from them.

It's a devinely serene place to go, relax and just breathe.

The various beds of roses are referred to as 'rooms' as in the gardens of Versailles.

'Conceived exactly as open-air drawing rooms, the groves in the garden contain superb examples of 17th & 18th century decorative arts.'.

Apple trees too. One can see why Eve was tempted. I found one on the ground, not wishing to tempt fate.

There's a lovely café outdoors and a full garden shop inside La Roseraie with vintage and current essentials for gardening.

I barely left any time to see the quite famous medieval town of Provins.

I'll have to return next Sunday for their bang-up annual fete Moissan with everyone dressed in full costume. I'm looking forward to the gastronomic part of the fete bien sur.

I did buy a small jar of the famous confit de petals de roses - a delicate-tasting gelee that goes perfectly with Beillevaire's creamy, slightly salty Rocamadour chevre. It's not too sweet.

I think you have to taste some things before buying like a rosey mustard - a good reason to return next weekend.

What I ate in Provins - A rose 🌹 confit ice cream cone 🍦 with Chantilly whipped cream.

Paris Floral Boutique Letter.

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And what I ate this morning...YUM