Passionate chef Raymond Blanc cooks at last in home country
Zut alors! Can it be true? Celebrated Michelin star chef, Raymond Blanc, has never cooked professionally in France. Could it be that one of the planet's greatest French cooks is about as French as cod, chips and mushy peas? Of course not.
Zut alors! Can it be true? Celebrated Michelin star chef, Raymond Blanc, has never cooked professionally in France. Could it be that one of the planet's greatest French cooks is about as French as cod, chips and mushy peas? Of course not.
Monsieur Blanc, famous to us Brits for such programmes as The Restaurant, left his homeland almost 40 years ago. At the time, the 22-year-old waiter could not have imagined the significant role he would later play in bringing his native cookery to the folk of Great Britain.
In this new series, Raymond returns to France, visiting some of the country's most distinct food and drink regions. And where better to start than in his home county of Franche Comte.
"I have never cooked in France, and I am slightly, slightly anxious," Raymond gushes, sounding more excited than anxious if the truth be known.
And why not? To finally feed his country folk with the food he is so passionate about is somewhat vocational.
Always enthusiastic about his trade, rarely has he been this animated, obviously enjoying the prospect of cooking in his native country.
This first episode was to be something of a journey down Memory Lane for Raymond. Yes, the food was obviously a key element of the show, but the friends and family we got to meet on his journey were the real main course.
His elderly parents live in a quiet village in the region, a tiny house they built with help from friends and neighbours, many, many years ago.
Raymond's mother, known affectionately as Maman Blanc, is shown in the produce-baring garden she still tends today. Maman Blanc is in her 90s.
This remarkable, tiny lady, defies her years, helping her son in the kitchen, standing on a chair to reach from a high cupboard, chopping shallots and offering advice – on this evidence, we can expect to have Raymond around for a long time yet.
The mountainous region is well known for its hearty, simple and inexpensive food, traditionally grown and prepared in the summer, sustaining the mountain folk in the winter months. Well, mountain folk have mountain ways and it's not too long before we discover that Ray kept rabbits at home as a boy. Not as family pets though, these were raised purely for the pot, served with a sauce of wine and mustard.
Cue Raymond's brother, Gerard, we were given an impromptu slaughtering of a bunny.
Oh yes, mountain folk...
Getting the programme back on track, Monsieur Blanc takes to his car, naturally a Citroen 2CV, heading for Bistro de Port-Lesney, the base from which he will serve his first true French meal.
Drawing to a stop outside the pretty bistro in his 2CV, all the man needed was a string of onions, beret and a black and white striped top.
The stereotype was sadly incomplete.
Travelling further around the county, we visited the wine-producing Jura countryside, home of the sherry-like vin jaune. Next, a visit to the mountain cows which give milk for the delicious Comte cheese. Aged in an old fort, these great 'wheels' of cheese are lovingly cared for until ripe.
From here, the smoking chimneys that add flavour to the local sausage and hams are visited.
Eventually, Raymond served the meal to friends and family at the bistro. An appetiser of cheese fondue, followed by salad Maman Blanc, cheese souffle tart and a main of rabbit with mustard and vin jaune. Topped off with cherry jubilee, all went down well.
Très bon Monsieur Blanc. Très bon.
Paul Naylor
Watch Raymond Blanc: The Very Hungry Frenchman on BBC iPlayer
