The French do not tolerate food waste

The fact that it is the French setting the precedent and a Frenchman, Arash Derambarsh, a municipal councilor who has persuaded French MP’s to adopt the regulation of forcing French Supermarkets to donate unwanted food to charity, does not surprise us here at ‘le Calabash’

We are witness each and every day to the fact that French have inborn respect for the value of food and do not tolerate food waste at all.

It is a shocking statistic that we waste close to 1.3bn tonnes of food annually, and this in the Western World. It is even more shocking to know that there are people loving on the doorstep of this waste, who do not know where their next meal will arrive from.  In Europe alone we look at the staggering figure of 89mtonnes of food waste a year, 67% of it by consumers, 15% by Restaurants and 11% by Shops.

This is not the case in France, where it is 42% by consumers, 17% by restaurants and 41% by shops; this tells the story in its self.

We have single mothers with several children, pensioners, and public workers on low salaries, refugees and those living on the streets or in shelters who need to be fed and helped as they are in positions not chosen by them.

The French Amendment as part of the wider law will bar supermarkets from throwing away food approaching best-before dates and deliberately poisoning products with bleach to stop them being retrieved by people foraging through bins.

The rest of the world should take note of this; especially those in power who I am sure do not know the meaning of being hungry is. The corporate world has a lot to answer for and should be accountable for their actions in many instances. Price fixing, bulling of farmers and food producers and irresponsible advertising are just a few of the many that come to mind.

Food is the basis of life; it is an elementary factor of our existence. Perhaps it is naïve to be concerned about other human beings, but I know what it is like to be hungry. As a young kid I worked as a kitchen hand and lived in my car as my wages were so low that I could not afford three meals a day.

Check out : Arash Derambarsh http://m.fayard.fr/manifeste-contre-le-gaspillage-darash-derambarsh

We reflect on Ingredients after visiting Lyon and The Bocuse d’Or

As always, Alison and I made our way to Lyon and what we believe to be the pinnacle of culinary competitions on the international stage, The Bocuse d’Or which is held every second year here in France at the Sirha Food Expedition.

This year it was the USA that walked away with this prestigious trophy for the first time in the history of the competition and well deserved it was. France came away with the Gold and are Pastry Champions of the world.

Over the two days we spent in Lyon we made the effort of eating at restaurants around the city and visiting Les Halles Food Market and the Sunday market in the city centre. Les Halles was as always, a fantastic experience and we were in awe at how the locals were enjoying the fresh oysters with a glass of Champagne for breakfast and doing their food shopping taking their time to choose ingredients and chat to the vendors. It was so evident that this was a weekly ritual and that the importance of Fresh, Local and Seasonal Ingredients was paramount to their decision of what to buy.

For many years now, the title of best chefs, cuisine and restaurants, belongs to no country as there are great chefs in every country and judging by the rather dubious awards and

listings that are thrown out at us each year by so many self-serving corporate brands,journals, newspapers and guides it is difficult to keep track of who reigns supreme from year to year.

We both are privileged to being able to travel extensively each year and wherever we visit we try to visit the local food markets or supermarkets where locals buy their ingredients. Labelling is always top of our list at scrutinizing what the ingredients are and where the produce originates.

This is where we believe the world can learn from the French as we have ourselves have learnt and observed over the nearly fourteen years we have spent here. It is all about Seasonal, Fresh and most importantly Local ingredients which the French strive to use in their kitchen.

As a family with young children that had just moved to France from the UK the first thing that struck us was that in the schools that our children attended they had chefs that were following these rules and the fact that our children were enjoying asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce at school when it was Asparagus season was just wonderful.

This is a way of life here in France and it all starts at the infant age that children are educated in the home, at school and are even taken on yearly tours of the local food market where vendors take the time to talk and engage with the children. Three meals a day with very little or no snacking is the norm here.

Great restaurants, wonderful and glossy food magazines, celebrity chefs and star studded Food TV shows are all fine, but not if half our population is denied or unable to afford fresh and healthy ingredients since it is just simply unaffordable for them and they find that the only way they can feed themselves and their families is by buying ingredients and meals from multinational supermarket chains and fast food outlets.

Being able to afford healthy food should be a constitutional right not a privilege and all governments should put this at the top of their agendas.

More finance and effort from all those parties who promote Luxury, Fine Dining and Awards should start surfacing as it is becoming more and more difficult for people around the globe to be able to feed themselves with good and honest food. It is children who are mostly at risk and those in power should ensure that the corporate world is held responsible and that profit does not come before healthy meals and the access of nutritious and affordable ingredients to all!

Farmers Markets have become a fad and it is disheartening to see that ingredients can cost up to if not more, than twice the price as the ingredients sold in Multi National Supermarket.

http://www.lecalabash.fr

Foie Gras, a symbol of French gastronomy

Foie gras is certainly a great symbol of French gastronomy, it is one of the populations favorite luxurious dishes and it belongs to the protected cultural and gastronomical heritage of France. The King of France, Louis XVI, once proclaimed Foie Gras as “The Dish of Kings.” Concretely, Foie gras is the liver of a duck or a goose that has been fattened. As a commodity, it isn’t eaten every day but for special occasions.

Most French people savor Foie gras especially for Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Here at le Calabash we cook with a fair amount of Foie Gras. Sidney has two popular dishes that he enjoys sharing :

• Foie Gras with Edith’s Chutney, Brioche Toast paired with a Sauternes Wine.

• Duck Confit with a Cep Risotto topped with pan seared Foie gras, a Balsamic glaze paired with a Touraine Sauvignon Blanc.

A French Culinary Adventure

On a French Culinary Adventure with le Calabash you will embark on a second to none Culinary Adventure, including hands on cooking classes with Alison and Sidney, two professional award-winning chefs.
You will go behind the scenes, meet the local producers and discover their secrets and stories, including cheese, wine and the local markets. You will also discover many of the Loire Valley’s most renowned sites, such as the Châteaux de la Loire and the historical city of Tours.

Book now on our website www.lecalabash.com