Malvern Living Jul - Aug 2022
Summer is here – we’ve got an issue filled with sunshine! We’ve interviewed French chef Raymond Blanc, got some delicious recipes and are looking at all the ways to transform the home and garden in a few easy steps.
Summer is here – we’ve got an issue filled with sunshine! We’ve interviewed French chef Raymond Blanc, got some delicious recipes and are looking at all the ways to transform the home and garden in a few easy steps.
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aymond blanc<br />
Bon appetit<br />
Editor Katie Thomson caught up with acclaimed<br />
French chef Raymond Blanc following his appearance<br />
at this year’s Blenheim Palace Food Festival – we<br />
talked all things sustainability, the British food scene<br />
and his love of teaching…<br />
Food and produce are at the centre of<br />
your life – you exude such a passion for<br />
it – where did this passion begin?<br />
It began in my childhood, in Franche-<br />
Comté. My mother was the greatest<br />
inspiration of my life. Through her I learnt<br />
about the importance of seasonality and<br />
the purity of ingredients. I was very much<br />
her kitchen helper and it wasn’t until<br />
the age of 14 that I made my first dish –<br />
crêpes Suzette, thin pancakes in a sweet<br />
sauce of caramel and Grand Marnier.<br />
I made about 30 pancakes, as light as<br />
feathers, and I was an extremely proud<br />
teenager. I folded them and arranged them<br />
on a big Pyrex dish. Then I made a light<br />
brown caramel, adding the juice of orange<br />
and lemon, and then the Grand Marnier. I<br />
poured the sauce over the pancakes and<br />
then decided to reheat the whole thing on<br />
a gas ring. Perfect! Or so I thought. At that<br />
moment catastrophe struck. The Pyrex<br />
dish exploded into millions of tiny pieces.<br />
Of course it was a blow to my ego but, as<br />
you know, I am delighted to say it didn’t<br />
put me off cooking.<br />
How important is the garden at Le<br />
Manoir aux Quat’Saisons?<br />
There is not just one garden in the<br />
grounds – there are many, from the<br />
potager to the orchards and herb<br />
gardens, and the valley of mushrooms<br />
and the Japanese garden with its little<br />
tea-house. For me, it is a daily ritual<br />
to wander through these enchanting<br />
gardens with their unusual herbs and<br />
the sweet, exotic scents of near and<br />
faraway places. Every little part of Le<br />
Manoir helps to make it a place with<br />
soul, a big heart and an appetite for<br />
humanity. My childhood in postwar<br />
France might seem ancient and<br />
simplistic, and we may have lacked<br />
today’s science or high-tech values,<br />
but we had one great asset: common<br />
sense. Information was passed on<br />
from one generation to another. We<br />
understood and appreciated that<br />
food connected with everything – the<br />
table, the family, environment, society,<br />
health. We respected what came from<br />
the soil.<br />
You’ve always been passionate about<br />
putting vegetables in the spotlight – do<br />
you think we are reconnecting with<br />
our understanding of produce and<br />
how it links to both our health and the<br />
environment?<br />
It begins with the young. We have to<br />
teach our children about the value of<br />
a meal, and instil in them that sense<br />
of place, of region. We need to show<br />
our children what flourishes near their<br />
homes and how to grow our own<br />
vegetables in the garden. If that’s not<br />
possible we can use window boxes and<br />
teach our children the miracle of the little<br />
seeds that contain the life force. If you<br />
grow and cook your own vegetables,<br />
life will feel better and you and your<br />
family will feel better. You will be part of<br />
gastronomy, too!<br />
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