20 Nov 2008

Chef Hélène Darroze

Solange 0 Comments

On Gourmandia you get to met some extraordinary chefs. Take Hélène Darroze born in the South-West of France, her parents, grand-parents and great grand-parents were chefs. Therefore it was no surprise to anybody when she decided to embrace the family tradition. What came as a surprise was her phenomenal success in one of the most Read More…

18 Nov 2008

In Season: Butternut Squash and Pumpkin

Solange 1 Comment

Vegetable urban gardens are the new trend, where I live in London, England, allotments as they are called, have a waiting list of 100 years. Make no mistake I will put my name down and in one hundred years you will see me, growing my own vegetables. In the meantime, I have to rely on old Read More…

14 Nov 2008

Party tips

Solange 0 Comments

Parties are upon us so let’s have an orderly mayhem with 10 party planning tips: Choose your recipes from Gourmandia and start listing the ingredients you need. Make sure you have enough food. Allow 10-12 canapes per guest for an evening drinks party. Do what they do in restaurants : Pick up “extras”now. Napkins, cocktail Read More…

11 Nov 2008

In Season: Parsnips with sticky maple glaze

Solange 0 Comments Tags: chefs, lamb, maple syrup, parsnip, Recipes, saddle of lamb

Don’t you love the recipes on Gourmandia. I do, and do so, so much that I broke my one and only cooking rule the other day. My rule: “cook in season”. Though I think food taste better off the field than off the plane, I am not fanatical about applying the rule at all times and among Read More…

06 Nov 2008

So What Is In YOUR Kitchen cupboard?

Solange 0 Comments Tags: chestnut salad, cooking recipe

How many of us have cans of “weird and wonderful”, packets of grains that we bought in a fit of healthy enthusiasm, slowly ageing in the back of the cupboard? Thank heavens some of them things do have a long storage life but the longer you keep them, the longer they will take to cook. Have a Read More…

04 Nov 2008

What’s origami got to do with it?

Solange 2 Comments Tags: napkin folding, origami

Indeed what does origami have to do with gourmet food? The answer is presentation. Long before this season fashion trend which is looking East with its intricate fabric manipulations, the art of dressing …a table had made use of origami patterns and folds with its napkin folding. It is easy to learn, you will only Read More…

30 Oct 2008

Oui, Chef.

Solange 2 Comments Tags: chefs, recipe

When I was a little girl, growing up in Lyon, the French capital of gastronomy, we had 3 chefs. When I say we, I am not referring to my parents’ household, it is the republican we: we as a nation. The TV chef was extremely old and pompous, the other 2: la Mère Brazier, famous Read More…

27 Oct 2008

The Magic of Mushrooms

Solange 1 Comment

No doubt food eaten within natural season and grown locally tastes far better. I care passionately about food and I am keen for you to experience the excitement that cooking fine recipes seasonally offers. I am very lucky to live near a Royal Park though we are not allowed to “pick and go” what ever grows, we can Read More…