Road trip

We visited a beautiful spa in Eugenie that is a creation of the well known chef Michel Guerard.  The grounds were beautiful and the interiors very posh.

The kitchen in the main restaurant was out in the open and very traditional.

This would be a wonderful place to come back to for an extended visit.

Once back in town, we also spent some time in the french version of RSI in Agen.

It was very interesting to see the similarities, as well as the differences, between us.  They use different suppliers for all their appliances, except for Meile (and a few others I'm sure that I am not remembering), for the simple reason that most appliances are much smaller in the European kitchen.  They do not do 'jumbo' here.

tiny microwave

The interior drawers are also different in that they are all plastic and metal.

This is actually a good thing since they can be taken out and washed. 

According to the salesperson at this showroom, the average french person only remodels their kitchen about once every 20 years.  Most fitted kitchens are done in a clean modern style that will not become outdated quickly.  Very interesting!

Handmade

The Lot-et-Garonne region is the agricultural heart of france.  As you drive from ville to ville, your eyes feast upon the patchwork of fields, one after another, of the different crops that are grown here.  Unlike in the U.S., where we tend to grow one or two types of food in a region, here there are many diferrent crops grown side by side.  I have seen fields of apples, kiwis, corn, grapes, walnuts, tobacco, pears, tomatoes, squash, sorghum, onions, sugar beets, plums, sunflower seeds and I could go on.  It is an amazing sight everytime we get into the car.  They also strategically grow poplar trees next to the food crops, as this is the wood that is used for the crates that the food is packed and shipped in.  So smart!

poplar trees

kiwi field

Of course, the payoff is in the markets, as you walk through the aisles.  The abundance of all that hard work is in each  stall.  I am overwhelmed by a sense of gratitude.  How lucky we are to have so many fabulous things to eat.  To enjoy a fat plum, with the juice dripping down your arm! 

So many treasures to put in your bag, to take home and make into a beautiful meal!

Kate and I have also been able to hit some of the brocantes (like our antique malls). 

We picked up a set of antique cupping glasses (as used in chinese medicine) and I turned it into a candle lit chandelier before our company arrived for Sunday lunch.  This is the custom here to have a large meal on Sundays, where you invite friends and sit for a few hours to catch up.  It was a beautiful meal and I met some very nice friends of Kates.

chandelier on Kate's terrace

 Tomorrow we are visiting some of the commercial kitchen shops around Agen.  Can't wait to see how they compare to ours!

Kitchens in Southern France

I am beginning to get a feel for the way kitchens are put together here.  For the most part, in older kitchens, things are patched together as best as you can.  A cupboard in put against a wall.  A sink in set on top of a cabinet.  A cooktop is inserted into a table.  A table is set up in the room as a work surface.  We visited a medival monastry called Chateau de Cassaigne today so that I may really understand the beginnings of kitchens in France.  It was all very basic and utilitarian.

Imagine having to cook over this stove every night!  I left feeling very grateful that I was not born in the 16th century.  They also produce a very nice Armangac here, which is very prevalent throughout the region.  This is a type of brandy made from the grapes in the region.  Very good and also, very lethal!  There is a reason they serve it in tiny little glasses.

From there, we went to visit a friend of Kate's who is renovating a modern apartment within an old stone farmhouse.  Very, very cool.  This kitchen is far more telling about how rural french people live today within their kitchens.  They are put together much differently than American kitchens with a focus on accessibility.

There are very few upper cabinets. As this kitchen is not finished yet, you cannot see the shelves that soon will be hanging on the walls instead.  For lower cabinets, there are walls made out of plaster that will soon support shelves.  Curtains will be hung on the fronts to cover up the shelving.  There is little money invested in this kitchen outside of appliances and yet it is all very functional and looks great besides!  I left here feeling quite inspired!

Back on the ferme auberge tonite, we are greeted by Kate's dog, Bacon, and her cat, Terra:

They get along very well with the chickens, ducks and sheep.  It is fun to hear the chorus of all the animals saying hello as we come up the drive.

And then, at the end of the day, we ate our appertifs on Kate's boat parked on the canal behind her stone  house, just as the sun was going down.

Life is good at Camont.

Agen At Last

I have been thinking about coming to Agen for so long that it seems hard to believe that I am really here!  It is everything I had imagined and then some!  Kate has been a most gracious and welcoming hostess and has made me feel so at home.  We are very much alike, and in many ways I feel as if I am talking to my twin or perhaps a long lost sister.  We talk as if we have known each other for years.  It is rather surreal. 

Camont's Front door

As for this place, it is so french (biensur) which to me is the best compliment I can give it! 

open shelving has always been de regulier here

There are villages dotted throughout the countryside and Kate and I have been busy visiting them each day.  Yesterday, we went inside the winery of a close friend of hers, where I was able to peek at their kitchen, as shown above.

We also visited an outdoor market which open in differet villages throughout the week. This is where Kate buys most of her food that she doesn't get from her own garden.  Fresh from farm to table within a day or less!

Mama hen

We have been cooking each day.  We made veal scallopini, zucchini in cream sauce, and a pear tarte the first night.  Last night we roasted a chicken a truffe, which means we made an herb paste to put under the skin.  It was all tres delicieuse!  We ate them so fast we forgot to take pictures.  I will do better next time!  The chicken above provided the eggs for my omlette this morning.  Thanks, Mama hen!

A demain (til tomorrow), dear ones.

My Kitchen

It is the early morning before I leave for France.  I have been up since 5:00am so that I will be able to fall asleep on the plane this evening at 5:00pm!  When I land in Paris it will be 6am there, but only 11pm here.  I have been trying to reset my 'clock' for the past few days by going to bed very early.  My husband thinks I'm nuts but what's new??? :-)

I guess I should officially tell everyone what this blog is about.  I am on my way to Agen, France to study french kitchens for two weeks.  My lovely hostess, Kate Hill, has a beautiful setup on a farm in southwest france (her website: kitchen-at-camont.com).  She has agreed to admit me into her program and take me around to as many french kitchens as is possible in two weeks.  I will also be studying the french way of life as it pertains to the kitchen.  Why?, you might be asking, am I doing this??  Because I can't imagine not doing it.  I love the french way of looking at food, the family, connecting to the people who produce their food, the rituals surrounding all of it.  I want to see how they function in their kitchens and how it is different from us.  As a kitchen designer, I want to bring this knowledge into my designs.  As a person, I want to see how we, as Americans, can learn from these practices.  We have drifted far from the art of the kitchen in our hectic lives!

 This blog is my way to record what I am learning, but also, a way to share it with my dear family and friends while I am gone.   I hope you will find it interesting and learn something new along the way!

My kitchen

So, farewell to my kitchen for now.  I am sure I will see it in a different light when I get home. 

A bientot!