It's a real pleasure to have you here tonight at Meritage. 

Let me take you on a journey through Bordeaux's gastronomy, which is as much about the sea as it is about the land.

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# FIRST COURSE - Sea bass tartar with Folle Blanche

The Gironde estuary is a culinary treasure trove, teeming with migratory fish such as sea bass. Since time immemorial, they have been the delight of Bordeaux families, who have turned them into typically regional dishes.

This tartare is seasoned, among other things, with Blanche Armagnac from Domaine Pellehaut. This is a bottled Armagnac that has not been aged in oak barrels.  Like Armagnac, it is distilled from a dry white wine from the Gascony region. Here, the Folle Blanche variety is rich in fruity and floral aromas. Native to south-western France, this variety has been known since the first distilleries in 1630.

 

# SECOND COURSE - Cannelé of foie gras and Landes toast

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*Bordeaux cannelé

A savory version of the famous Bordeaux dessert: a cannelé with duck foie gras. Another Bordeaux specialty.

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Legend has it that the canelé was invented in the 18th century by the nuns of the Annonciades convent in Sainte-Eulalie, Gironde.

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They collected flour from the holds of boats and used it to make canelés. At the time, canelés were small, thin pastry cakes rolled around a cane stalk and fried in lard. They didn't have the shape we know today, which is only achieved by baking them in a fluted mold.

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It's possible that this is the same product that has been sold in Bordeaux since the 17th century under the name “canaulet”. It was consumed in such large quantities that craftsmen specialized in its manufacture alone: they were known as “canauliers”. These craftsmen became powerful enough to organize themselves into a guild and adopt statutes that were registered by the Bordeaux Parliament in 1663. The origin of the shape of the molds remains an enigma. As far as the ingredients are concerned, this cake is a direct product of Bordeaux's port activity. Vanilla and cane sugar arrive by boat from distant islands. The egg yolk is a by-product of wine-making in the Chartrons district: wine was filtered in vats, traditionally using egg whites beaten until stiff. This costly process was used by a number of châteaux, and this stage saw the entire staff breaking eggs and separating the whites from the yolks, which were then given to the Little Sisters of the Poor, who would then make the cake. During the 19th century, canauliers disappeared from the list of Bordeaux artisans. In the first quarter of the 20th century, the canelé reappeared, although it is difficult to date its return with any precision. An unknown pastry chef brought the ancient “canauliers” recipe back into fashion. He improved it by adding a touch of rum to the dough.

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*Landaise-style toast

Salade Landaise is a staple of Landes gastronomy, southwest of Bordeaux. There isn't a restaurant in the Landes (or anywhere else!) that doesn't offer a Landaise salad! But as many restaurants... as many Landaise salads! The versions and revisits are many and varied, and here's mine.

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#THIRD COURSE - Grilled beef with vine shoots

One of the region's most famous dishes is entrecôte bordelaise, which is cooked on vine shoots and basted with wine and shallots. The recipe for entrecôte bordelaise originated in the vineyards. Originally, winegrowers grilled the piece of beef over the wood embers of old barrels. Today, it's cooked on a bed of vine shoot embers. In the village of Bazas, not far from our house, you'll find a unique breed of grass fed cattle, the boeuf Bazadais. In Bordeaux, the meat is served with a shallot sauce cooked in red wine.

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*Bordeaux sauce

"Without wine, there's no Bordeaux cuisine".

Wine always takes pride of place on Bordeaux tables. This sauce, made from a shallot reduction deglazed with red wine, is proof of that.

 

*Bordeaux potato and seasonal vegetables.

Historically, potato production developed considerably in the Bordeaux region during the 19th century.

By attacking the vines, the phylloxera epidemics had freed up land for potato cultivation and new recipes..

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# FORTH COURSE - Puits d'Amour

 

Puits d'Amour is an ancient local specialty.

I love this pastry and even more its name: le puits d'amour!

Here's my version, based on an almond Financier topped with caramelized Chiboust cream (pastry cream and Italian meringue), French meringues, strawberries and a lime and mint cream. A springtime delight!

 

Originally, this dessert was filled not with Chiboust cream but with red fruit jam. We owe this pastry to Vincent La Chapelle, a great 18th-century pastry chef and cook.

The recipe was created for Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV's favorite, when the chef was in the service of this charming lady!

This well of love caused a scandal among pious souls. But this scandalous dessert was a favorite of Louis XV, who was also known as a great lover of fine dinners and... ladies...!

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Later, the jam was replaced by caramelized custard, which removed any erotic charge (we thought!) and made this little cake more acceptable, even with its very evocative name.

Vincent La Chapelle's recipe has its origins in a romantic legend dating back to the Middle Ages (12th century).

In Paris, in the 1st arrondissement, the Rue de la Petite and Rue de la Grande Truanderie met at a crossroads, then called Place Ariane, at the center of which had once been a well well known to Parisians as the Puits-d'Amour.

It was said that Agnès Hellébic, the daughter of a man who held rank at the court of Philippe-Auguste, had rushed there in despair, her lover having betrayed her.

Three hundred years later, the same adventure almost happened again: this time, a young man, also desperate for love, also sought death there, but the fall was of no consequence other than that the woman he loved, touched by the proof of love she had given him, promised him her hand in marriage. It was this young man who, out of gratitude, had the well rebuilt in 1525. The well then became the place where the lovers would promise each other eternal love.