Cuisine traditionnelle et gastronomique

Our lesson and subsequent lunch was as follows:

Foie gras de canard poele, mangues et emulsionde patates douces aux 4

epices

(sauteed duck liver foie with a mango emulsion and a sweet potato foam with cinnamon, clove, ginger, and garlic)

Filet d'agneau en croute de pommes de terre, Meli-melo de primeurs et confiture de tomates cerises au balsamique

(lamb fillet with a potato crust, seasonal mixed vegetables over a cherry tomato jam and

a touch of balsamic)

Ananas roti, Creme brulee au lait de coco, Sirop d'epices douces et Sorbet exotique

(coconut creme brulee covered in a cider vinegar, vanilla, star-anis, and cinnamon syrup over a pineapple round along side a passion fruit/banana/raspberry

sorbet)

L'Oree Des Bois

Our first stop of the day brought us to L'Oree des Bois, the home of wonder-chef, Eric Bichon. I love the translation of the restaurant...it means "edge of the woods"

Chef Eric had an unfortunate kitchen fire a little while ago...but he took a crappy situation and turned it around by replacing all his old kitchen equipment with the most insane set of cooking toys around! His new playground includes a paco-jet (sick!), a cryovac machine, and two combi ovens (I can't even begin to explain this thing...it's kind of like Chef Eric is playing an XBOX 360 in 1988 while all his friends are playing the original Nintendo).

After meeting Chef Eric and his apprentice, Matthew, we were immediately prepping for our 5 hr lesson. The next post will get into the actual dishes, but I need to take a moment to give props to Chef Eric for his unbelievable garnishing skills. As you'll see in the picture above, he flawlessly knocked out champignon tournes each one more symmetrical than the next. For those unfamiliar with the delicate touch required for a proper tourne, it's a bitch...here was my effort:

Sleeping quarters

My room was the bomb, yo!

I was kickin it 19th century style in a gorgeous bedroom with a queen-sized bed and lots of antique"y" French furniture and paintings.

Le Petit Dejeuner

Le Moulin Bregeon's le petit dejeuner c'est magnifique!

Every morning we were greeted with fresh crossiants, pain au chocolat, fresh local fruit, blueberry & apricot jam that Bernard prepared, strong coffee, and my new favorite yogurt called la lilette with a lil fresh granola on-top...delish!

Wake-Up Call

You wanna know why those geese and I have such a beef??? Maybe it's because they felt it was their obligation to wake me up at 6AM with their incessant quacking!

I tried to quiet them by opening my window and giving them a death stare...then I told them to shut up (stupid me, I forgot that they're french geese, so they probably didn't even understand me.)

Oh, you silly geese...you're messing with the wrong dude...keep it up and you'll be foie gras!

Chef Pascal & our other mill-mates

Aside from my travel-mates, I also had an incredible supporting cast of local critters that call Le Moulin Bregeon home! For starters, we have Mona, the mommy black lab and her twin 4-month old's Figaro (the brown lab) and Felicy (the white lab). Then we also had a friendly family of ducks, about 8 in total, that treated the stream outside the kitchen like their own personal lazy river. And then we had my arch nemesis's, is it nemisises or nemeni...anyhow... I was no fan of the geese. The five of them strutted around like they were the bees knees...not in my book they weren't!!! Those geese and I had a rocky start, but we learned to eventually respect each other's space and I like to think that I left with 5 new geese friends.

As for Chef Pascal...he's the man! The guy is the epitome of a rustic, French countryside chef. He loves his garden. He has ultimate respect for the local produce and livestock and he genuinely cooks with heart.

Every night Chef Pascal prepared a mutli-course meal for us, along with tasting wines for each dish...seriously...it was unreal.

First night's dinner: Cauliflower soup with chives and edible violets. Followed by a chicken braised in yellow cider wine accompanied by seasonal vegetables from the garden. Then a cheese course with fresh goat, Camembert, and Roquefort along with a fresh garden salad topped with walnut oil vinaigrette. Then finally a delicious fresh strawberry tart.

A brief word about the vegetables...while I was eating my main course, I tasted a carrot. It was no ordinary carrot. I guessed that this carrot was glazed in honey for a week and then roasted in brown sugar before service. I was shocked to learn that Chef Pascal simply pulled the carrot from the earth right before dinner and lightly salted it as it went into the oven. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this carrot single-handily taught me the value of farm-fresh produce and the difference that it can make in a dish.

Between the long flight, the incredible food, and yummy wine, I slept like a lil french baby.

Le Moulin Bregeon: First Impressions

The Moulin Brégeon is an 19th century water mill in the Loire Valley which has been transformed into an authentic, yet incredibly comfortable inn. It is situated outside the bustling village of Linieres Bouton, home to 71 residents.

The formatting for this blog is a bit difficult to showcase a number of pictures in one posting, so I will intermittently post other remarkable shots of the mill, including the beautiful gardens, farm, and the many other occupants at Moulin Bregeon.

For more info about the mill, you should check out: http://www.moulinbregeon.com/Home.html