MISS SPELLING

Just to throw this out there, I am sorry for not proof reading my posts and misspelling so many words, creating run on sentences etc. I just read through some and corrected them. I'm a cook, not a journalist. This post is mainly for my sister Leigh, ( the teacher ). Saute, got it, sentence structure?...not so much.

The Final Project:

Ok so my plane was overbooked by 8 people and I was the first in line to get my seat back. Unfortunately, there were none so I got put up in a hotel near the airport. I took the wrong shuttle to the wrong hotel because every hotel has the word Ibis in it. I am here now and will be home tomorrow night thank god. Anyway, here it is the FINAL PROJECT, a compilation of all the decent photos I took throughout my stay here in France. It is about eight and a half minutes, so if you are in a rush, check it out later, otherwise enjoy, I know I did.

Note: The quality isn't too great compared to the original so I can make a copy on a CD for those who want it, for now this will have to do:

On my way home soon...

The past week or so has been pretty low key around the farm which is why there were not as many posts as there were in the first part of my trip. I am about to leave the Ferme Auberge within the next hour or so to return to Kate Hill's house for the night. Tomorrow morning I will take the train from Agen back up to Paris where I will have literally 24 hours in the airport since my train had to be changed. My friend Jonathan, who I spent a week with at Kate's is there but who knows if I will meet up with him to kill some time. I am very ready to come back to the states, I need a burrito or cheesesteak or something. the time I had here was amazing and I met so many  sincerely good, generous and inviting people throughout my time here. To those people who helped me out thank you very much and here's a little note personally for each of you:

Kate: Thank you for giving me the opportunity of experiencing what Gascony is all about the local food, farmers and people. I will never forget this for the rest of my life. The way you live your life is very inspiring, and what a lot of people would consider a fantasy, so thank for letting me experience a small part of it.

Jehanne: I know bringing strangers into your house and home, feeding them etc. is what you do for a living, but you do it so effortlessly ( at least you make it look that way ) I thank you so much for bringing me in to work/play on your farm for these past few weeks. I learned more then you may realize and have a greater appreciation for what you and people like you do. You are responsible for so much, a farm, the restaurant, your kids, the people who stay at the farm and the list goes on, yet you always seem relaxed. It's amazing and I wish you all the best... you know you like ketchup you just don't want to admit it.

Claire: the one who I consider my French big sister. First off, thanks for speaking English, with out that I would have been screwed. More importantly, you were the one who made sure I had everything I needed, was comfortable, and showed me around you're little part of the world. The market was a blast and everything else we did. You were a very big part of my experience here and you made it that much easier/better. Thank you. Oh yeah please translate the letter above to you're mom, thanks.

Symon: Oh Symon, you are certainly a character and I really liked "working" and hanging out with you. I agree it was great to have a guy my own age to hang out and talk to while I stayed on the farm. You are an extremely a hard worker and you know how to have a good time too. I have a massive amount of respect for you and you're sister, the way you help your mom out so much. Thanks for everything and you are OBLIGED to keep in touch. - Clemens - keep him in line!

Veronique: Not sure if I spelled you're name right but thanks for showing me the ropes. You have a good sense of humor and I really like working in the lab with you filling all the "boxes."

Except for the hairnet. Anyway Jehanne is very lucky to have you working there at the farm for so long at it seems like you are just another member of the family, you just don't sleep there.

Thank you.

The Chapolard's: Thanks so much for showing me what you do. Butchering is a lost art and you as a family seem to have it down to a science. I learned so much in the 2 days I worked with you and I am sorry again for missing out the last week. Hopefully one day I will be able to grow a mustache as good as you Dominique and when I do, I send you the photo. Most likely for the rest of my life, whenever I eat pork, I will most likely be thinking of you guys. thanks again and keep in touch.

Jonathan, Camas, Eugenie: I'm coming to Portland so I'll talk to you then...but until then, 

J-keep skating C-keep butchering E-keep shooting

Chef Huber- I will see you in a few weeks, but thanks again for inspiring me to make the move and experience things most people only think happen in movies. I am a better cook and person because of it.

Speaking of movies, I am almost done the movie I have been working on showcasing all the "decent" photos I have taken throughout my time here. stay tuned I will post it hopefully by Tuesday or Wednesday.

Thanks again everyone,

~Bill

 

Salsa and Cows...and a few drinks

     Sorry I haven't posted in a few days but I got some interesting stuff for you now. First off, on Friday or was it Saturday night, Simone took me to a huge Party at some village where it was basically thousands of people salsa dancing and drinking. It got to the point where i was lost for 2 hours by myself, speaking very poor french except for, "beer please." I eventually found everyone and continued on with the night. 

     

     Last night Simone took my to a show that is very typical of the southwest of France. His 2 friends who are pictured below are not really "bull fighters" but more like "cow avoiders." Regardless it was pretty interesting to watch and besides the show, they have "games" that the public can participate in. As much as I regret it now, at the time I didn't really feel like playing soccer in a ring with horned animals bigger than me running around freely or try and steal a rose tied between the horns of an angry, reasonably sized cow with not a care about what it would do to me...so here are the photos form outside the ring.

Simone's friends, Julien & Jerome

Jerome doing his job correctly

and Julien doing his job incorrectly, run Julien, run!

America's favorite pastime: Baseball

Southwest France's favorite pastime: Flipping over angry cows

Bill's favorite time last night? When Julien got plowed by a cow...he's fine.

Cochon & Marche'

The past 2 days I was staying with some friends that own and pig farm, the Chapolard's. The Chapolards are a family of butchers who raise, slaughter, butcher and create different products from every part of the pig and sell them at markets. I was invited to stay and work with them in their cutting room where we broke down pig after pig creating sausages, pate, boudin, chorizo and the list goes on. It was a great experience to break down whole pigs since it is rare that restaurants back in the states get whole carcasses. It is amazing that a huge family of 4 brothers and their wives who each have at least 4 children can survive very comfortably off of their land by raising a single animal, cochon (pig). I was also taken the the abattoir which is technically the slaughterhouse if you want to be graphic, but abattoir is a nicer name. I got to see how the the pig are "put down" if you will which is quite interesting. I will not post any photos of the "put down piggies" due to graphicness of it but if you want to see them when I get home just ask me.

      Last night I returned from the Chapolard's to the Ferme Auberge and this morning I went with Claire to work the marche' (open market) to see what it is like working one since I have been to many as a customer already. It was really a good time since she told everyone I was an American, everyone wanted to talk to me, too bad I couldn't understand most of it. The other people working the venders next to us were extremely nice and friendly, and a few a bit crazy. Elliott was selling some of the best raw oyster I have ever had. Next to her was Alex who was selling her homemade confitures (jam) which I will bring home thanks to Alex. All in all the past few days have been really fun and really tiring. 

L to R: Alex, some guy who would not stop singing, Elliott.

Elliott's empty oysters. She sold out of 15 full coolers full.

Silkies and Hamburgers

I think this is really funny because a few months before I came to France, I discovered a species of chicken called the "silky" chicken. They are ridiculous looking with huge white fluff and it just so happens that the farm I am living at bought two small ones, male and female and heres a photo. Also since everyone here makes fun of my accent and says I don't speak English, I speak American so I had to find away to come back at them. All I need to do is ask anyone from France to say...hamburger. It's really funny how they try to say it, even though they really can't. Watch this ( clip ) from the newer version of the Pink Panther with Steve Martin all the way through (2 minutes) and you will see how much fun I have with them.

Farm Life

So like I said in a few previous posts, I am now living on farm cooking, learning and helping anyway I can. Yesterday was my first full day here and first up was picking strawberries for the restaurant:

After that we did some odds and ends and after lunch I usually work with Veronique in the conservatory where we make the prepared food to sell at the markets, like cured magret or canard hearts stuffed with foie gras, rillettes, pate' etc. There is also a full canning system where we can a lot of food hence "conservatory." Here is a photo of magret stuffed with foie gras that has been cured then soaked in Armagnac and peppered then hung to drywhich we did yesterday.

This is also a pretty cool feature to the farm as well...a pool, I took a dip the first day but yesterday was too cold and today looks like it will be too.

If you look on the very right inside that overhang is a giant wood-burning stove where some of their friends/local farmers come to bake organic bread twice a week and in return we get fresh bread twice a week to sell in the restaurant for free. 

Short and sweet...and ridiculous

I took quite a bit of new photos here now that I'm here at my new French home at the farm, but it's late and this should hold you over until me next post which should be tomorrow anyway. Enjoy because I know I am going to here about it when I get home...French Star Wars?

Hey, sanitation is everything! Just be glad I took the hair net off.

Still representing Jersey in France!

Finally...a post

Ok, sorry I haven't put anything up in a few days but I have been somewhat busy and moving into my new home at the Ferme du Boue so here we go. Since the last time I posted on here a lot has happened, unfortunately I do not have a lot of great photos to show for it since my camera has been dead but anyway I'll see what I got...well, I spent Bastille Day in Sainte Colombe which is the village I was staying in with Kate but we went to the top of the village (population 89) where her friends Alvin and Renee live. We hung outside and BBQed, you know same stuff as 4th of July. these are some photos of the little village and the church. I will have new photos of the farm I am staying at hopefully tomorrow, until then...

Local Brewers

One of Henry the IV's little places...

Yesterday morning all us including Kate's 2 new guests Liz and Roberta went to the Estillac market which is by far the best open market I have been to yet, although I didnt take any real photos of the market I did take some really cool photos of the architecture around the village.

I also found my first local brewer, Manfred who was from Bavaria with Austrian roots and moved to France for what reason I do not know. He was very nice and spoke great english, unfortunately his 2 different beers were nothing special and rather watery. Later on we got some information form Christian Chapolard about another brewer out in the country so we decided to go stop in. The brewers name was Sebastian and lived in a small house that he built by himself along with his wife Stephanie and his too daughters. He has a very modest farm where he produces only what he needs for his beer. The thing is, he makes his beer out of hemp...which I have never heard of  but apparently has been going on for a long time and makes sense since hops, hemp and cannabis is all in the same family, why not hemp. His beer is called natural mystick and a very well rounded solid beer. here are some photos of the day:

Sebastian being very generous and inviting us into his home

don't worry I have some to bring home guys...

Sebastian, Stephanie, and his 2 daughters

Sebastian's home that he built by himself with mostly green materials

raw hemp that Sebastian strips all by himself, by hand, absolutely insane, but very nice to see a local brewer that is creative and hard working, especially how hard it is to be a one man brewery in one of the biggest wine regions in the world. 

Bunch of stuff

This is my "artsy" photo of the day...

OK this post i am pretty much just going to post photos and then tell you guys what happened since its been about 2 days since i posted, a lot has happened.

We had the Chapolards over for dinner where Kate, Jonathan and myself cooked dinner. Everyone had wine...I had beer.

After breaking down the pig earlier in the week we used different parts for different applications and this is a crap load of pate' that we jarred up and preserved for Kate's hibernation in the winter.

ROAD TRIP!

Eugenie, Camas, Jonathan and myself took a little road trip to the lake to take a dip.

We were to only one there.

After the lake we drove out to the Chapolards village for the local producers market...it was a good time.

So much food and wine, the duck confit was great, but America still has the fries thing down but keep trying France.

Im not a huge wine drinker, but if I was going to make a fool of myself dancing in front of all these people...

Angry Camas in the middle there and the Chapolard kids Jonathon and Matilda after the market, and when I say "market" I mean town party.

Vampires Beware!

First of all, I had to show this photo I took from a garlic farm we saw on the way to the Chapolards. It was amazing, just a whole barn filled with garlic drying out, it looks so cool...anyway. So yesterday we went to the Chapolards farm who are friends of ours and own a very well organized pig farm and make their own charcuterie. On the way home we stopped at the Wednesday market where Dominique and his wife Christian (2 of the many Chapolards) were selling their charcuterie. After the market we ran home and broke the little piggie down and started cooking.

Dominique in the back with Christian helping out

After a long day of too much pork Jonathan, Eugenie and I traveled out to the little town of Sos where they had their night market where again the Chapolards were there feeding us too much sausage and boudin.

some strange band, but I am glad someone is trying to bring back the washboard.

food and wine at the market

Escargot

I smell bacon!

So yesterday Kate took us to some little towns around this area, the names of which I forget and cannot pronounce anyway so... Our first stop was at a local artisan Butcher by the name of Boucher Demarc who has a beautiful little traditional butchery where we bought our lunch at and was kind enough to give us a few things for free since we were so interested in what he was doing.

The next stop we made was about 2 and half hours away to a local pig farm where a single woman took care of the entire farm, Marie Helen. she was very hospitable and took us in where we had an hour and a half conversation with her about what she does and how she was a fifth generation pig farmer. Here are the photos to prove.

An amazing artisanal butcher

where all the magic happens

LUNCH! from the butcher

do you smell something?