The opening photograph on this blog is one that I took when we were in France last year. Our tables were exquisite and the roses were perfect. The food that we were served absolutely melted in your mouth. The name of this place was Le Chateau du Domaine St Martin and it was a little bit of heaven!
I have just finished posting my first slide show (which is the next post down) and it was a bit of a challenge. I had no idea what to put in the actual show itself, so I said to myself, "Self, what are your favorite things?" Unlike Mary Poppins, I said to myself "Some of my favorite things are travel, art, family and food." I feel that this entry encompasses almost all of those (except perhaps family) and they have had the pleasure of sharing some of these meals with me, so I guess they are with me in spirit if not in body!
I think of really good food as a work of art since the person who prepares it must have a sense of creativity, good taste (literally) and design in order to make a good presentation of what they have prepared. If food is presented properly, it not only looks better, it tastes better as well!
Speaking of bodies, too much food can take it's tow on the svelte figure I possessed when I was young, but I take pleasure in quoting the late Robert Morely who played the role of Max in the movie, "Who's Killing the Great Chefs of Europe" when he said, in reference to his rather large body, "Each and every fold that you see is a work of art and I have worked very hard through the years to paint a great landscape". He was a gourmand in the film and played his role to the fullest (if you'll pardon the pun ;-)
I have had both the pleasure and the privilege of eating at some of the finest dining rooms in the world. We even have planned trips to Europe around the time that we could get reservations in certain establishments, so I guess you could say my "folds" have been sculpted by some of the finest chefs in the world from Jacques Pepin, Fredy Giardet (who is now retired which is very sad) and Paul Bocuse to name a few. Paul Bocuse took us on a tour of his kitchen after our meal. It was wonderful to see where this culinary delight had been prepared. We were really into food and cooking at the time and loved to sample the things that these wonderful chefs would create. What a treat for the palate!!
Our son, Franklin, is really into serious cooking as well, so now he is trying to have some of the tantalizing experiences that we have had over the years. When he and Beth went to Las Vegas earlier in the year, they ate at Bobby Flay's restaurant, and in New Orleans last week they took their whole family went to Emeril's place for dinner... BAM!!! The Food Network is their favorite channel on TV, so I guess I raised him right.
Here are some very interesting web sites that you can check out if you're interested in great food and top tables. http://www.relaischateaux.com/crayeres
Unfortunately I was not painting at the time that I ate in some of these delightful establishments, so the photographs in my slide show have been taken in the past year anywhere from Villefranche at Le Chateau du Domaine St. Martin http://www.relaischateaux.com/en/search-book/hotel-restaurant/stmartin/to a light breakfast at the Sage Bakery or Huevos Rancheros at the Guadalupe Cafe in Santa Fe, NM.
When we booked a table at Giardet's in Crissier, Switzerland you had to book exactly one year in advance to the day - IN WRITING, so the reservation had to be made in French! It was a small place with limited seating, so since he was considered to be one of the finest chefs in the world at the time, booking was a challenge. We found a friend who spoke French and he helped us with our reservations. I must say that it was well worth all the trouble. After we had our delicious 7 course meal (actually we ordered a degastation), we visited with our chef with the help of an interpreter, were taken on a tour of his garden where he grew all the vegetables that were in the dishes that he prepared. He was fascinated that we asked to change our clothes in their restrooms so we could go on a hike in the nearby hills. Apparently Fredy hadn't had too many Texans in his wonderful establishment, so he was more than accommodating, and seemed fascinated that we were doing so many things on our own ... especially since we didn't speak the language. Frank always got A's in school in French, but now he tells me that it was only because he could operate the movie projector when he was in high school. His teacher gave him A's as a favor in exchange for his mechanical talents ;-)
I've tried to group the foods together according to courses serves as best I can since making a slide show is a little difficult at the moment and the food groups are so different. Some of the food that I have pictured here is from our Mediterranean Cruise last year aboard one of the Crystal Cruise Line ships. The food was not only of excellent quality, it was absolutely exquisite to look at. Once again, presentation is the key word here. I kept saying, "Watch out, hips, here it comes," but my hips wouldn't listen. Consequently, I had a very exciting ride home on the plane. I had NO idea that they would remove all the comfortable seats and replace them with smaller ones! Guess they'll do anything these days to economize!
Speaking of food, it's after 7:00, Papa's at the Ranger game, and I need to go and feed these hips. Lunch was a LONG time ago.
Since I'm almost packed for the trip to China, I think I might bring out my watercolors and paint a few things for our food blog. Being a Type A personality, I just can't seem to sit still. I'll probably post a time or two more before we take that Slow Boat to China :-)
XOXO, Pcasso
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