Abbaye de la Bussiere (Gourmet Chick in France)

I’m not sure if the monks who built Abbaye de la Bussiere would recognise it now.  The ancient abbey in the heart of Burgundy, France has been converted over the last few years into a luxury boutique hotel with just 18 rooms.  Huge automatic gates swing open to reveal a sweeping driveway which passes by a lake and extensive gardens patrolled by ducks and the occasional miniature pony.  Then the abbey comes into view with its imposing grey stone gothic building complete with gargoyles and stained glass windows.

Grounds of Abbaye de la Bussiere

Inside, the cloisters remain and the original paintwork but the monks tiny cells are a distant memory, replaced by suites the size of a small house.  The suites are resplendent with antique furniture and also include every modern amenity you could want like flat screen tvs, wifi, and spa style bathrooms complete with Bulgari toiletries and jacuzzi baths.   I think you start to get the picture of why I jumped at an invitation to visit.

The cloisters form an amazing entrance to the Abbey

Abbaye de la Bussiere has been a labour of love for Clive and Tanith Cummings who bought the property from the church in 2005.  Clive calls the Abbey "the beauty and the beast", neatly summing up the joy of creating an amazing hotel tempered with the ongoing trials of such a painstaking renovation.  The Cummings are very hands on owners, living on the property and providing a warm welcome to all guests.

Our room at Abbaye de la Bussiere - super luxurious

Under their direction Abbaye de la Bussiere has already established itself as a gastronomic destination in its own right, even before plans to add a cooking and wine school to the property are finalised.  Head chef Emmanuel Hébrard presides in the Michelin star gastronomic restaurant which is set amongst the cloisters in the heart of the Abbey.  The setting for dinner is one of the most spectacular I haver experienced and the sense of theatre continues with the degustation menu (€89) or la carte menu both of which involve modern and intricate interpretations of French cuisine.

The Michelin star dining room

During our stay at the Abbaye we tried out both the Michelin star "gastronomic" restaurant and the more casual bistro.  Before dinner at the gastronomic restaurant we sipped a apéritifs in the lounge upstairs.  To accompany our drinks we were served hot prawns twisted in won ton wrappers alongside a surprisingly delicious carrot créme brulée.  An amusé of of crayfish foam was velvety and rich while a mushroom starter was elegantly constructed and topped with a prosciutto like sliver of smoked duck.   Charolais beef fillet arrived cut into tender medium rare slices and doused with a glossy sauce made from Irish beer.  Dessert was a positively space age looking peach confection studded with tiny meringues.  It erred on the side of bitterness but was certainly spectacular.

Snacks to accompany our aperitif

Service was fastidious but a little slow.  We had to wait quite a while to order wine but we were impressed by the sommelier's eventual suggestion of a bottle of 2009 La Fortune from Cote Chalonnaise which was very subtle and smooth and provided a great accompaniment for a meal which moved from seafood to beef.

Dessert of a peach confection on a meringue base

For simpler fare at Abbaye de la Bussiere there is also the bistro which serves up a great value €29 three course menu.  The menu features local specialties such as Burgundy snails as a starter alongside dishes with a more international influence like a glossy square of pork belly with a sticky and sweet Asian marinade.  On our visit, desserts included a classic chocolate fondant, oozing hot chocolate sauce and a towering rhum baba cake, delicately spiced and teamed with pineapple and lingonberries.

Pork belly at the cheaper Bistro restaurant

Breakfast is not generally included in the room price which is typical of France although I think for a luxury hotel it should be.  For €22 it involved a selection of pastries alongside yoghurts, stewed fruits, smoked salmon and cheese all presented with silver service.  A cooked breakfast is an additional €10.

The breakfast spread

The care and attention that has gone into every detail of Abbaye de la Bussiere makes it a truly unique place to stay.  It is difficult to find any fault with the hotel although in summer months the planned swimming pool will be a welcome addition and internet addicts be warned the wifi works very intermittently through the thick Abbey walls.  I recommend saving up for a visit for special occasions.

Essentials
Details: Abbaye de la Bussiere,  La Bussière-sur-Ouche, 21360 Dijon,  France (+33 (0) 3 80 49 02 29)
Damage: A double room at the Abbaye starts from €205 on a room-only basis.
9/10




Gourmet Travel Tips

• With an easy connection in Paris to Dijon, the best travel time to Dijon using Eurostar from St Pancras International is 4h40 mins. Eurostar offers return fares to Dijon from London from £89 return.
• Abbaye de la Bussiere has bicycles available for guests use and we took these and cycled along the canal to the beautiful village of Chateauneuf for a bistro lunch.  Helpfully it is downhill all the way home.
• Guests can also visit the beautiful Hospices in Beaune or organise wine tasting in the region.

Gourmet Chick was invited to review Abbaye de la Bussiere

Gourmet Chick writes for Miss Citty Kitty

Bear with the confusing animal references in the heading and let me impart some exciting news.  I now have a gig writing for Miss Citty Kitty about food.

Skip on over to Miss Citty Kitty and you can find my tips for where to eat for London Fashion Week, assuming you are not the sort of fashionista who subsists on celery sticks alone.  

My seven links

I've always been responsive to peer pressure.  It has lead to more "one last drinks", impulse shoe purchases and random holidays booked after jealously viewing friend's Facebook photos than I care to admit.  "If everyone else jumped off a bridge into the Liffey would you do it as well?" my mother used to say (note her Irish take on the proverb).  Well yes, I probably would.

Passport Delicious, Nordic Nibbler and Misadventures with Andi have all posted on their Seven Links and asked me to do the same.  So here I am bowing to blogging peer pressure and nominating posts in each of seven categories put together by Tripbase and then nominating other bloggers to do the same.  See what I did there? The peer pressure continues, it is a vicious circle people.

1.  My most beautiful post
Hunting for truffles in Provence at Crillon le Brave.  Could there be anything more beautiful?  If only I could add smell to these posts so you could get that earthy, musty truffle smell...

Truffled eggs in Provence.  The best way to eat truffles is the simplest.  

2.  My most popular post 
Logic would suggest that my post on my Top Ten Restaurants in London would be the most popular, but no, the most popular is my post on my Top Ten CHEAP Restaurants in London which I only wrote in response to a reader's email.  It seems that you all want gourmet recommendations, but on a budget.

Banh Mi at City Caphe - great budget eating in London

3.  My most controversial post  

This blog is not particularly controversial.  I write about food and travel, not how to bring peace to the Middle East or anything like that. I still do get occasional readers who like to stir the pot, like one recently who had a bit of a dig at me for accepting a free meal from Mason and Taylor.  Fair point and another reader leapt to my defence while I got to outline my editorial policy.  Sorry folks,  that is as controversial as it gets here at Gourmet Chick.

Menus at Mason and Taylor

4.  My most helpful post
My post on How To Eat Snails should save you from social embarassment if faced with a dilemma on your plate like this:

How to eat those "slippery little suckers" a la Pretty Woman using those implements on the left

5.  The post whose success surprised me
I can tell from my statistics that you love, and continue to love my post on Russell Norman's restaurant/bar Spuntino.  I do echo the communal love in for the truffled toast at Spuntino so the ongoing love is not a complete surprise I suppose.

Ahmed - star waiter at Spuntino

6.  A post I feel didn't get the attention it deserved
My travel posts generally take a lot of time and research to write but don't get as much attention as restaurant reviews or recipes.  My post on Where to eat in Rio was very detailed and should be helpful for any of you who end up in Brazil or who just want to find out about Brazilian food (cheese on a stick - delicious).

Grilled cheese on a stick on the beach in Rio

7.  The post I am most proud of
For all those nights where there is nothing in the cupboard, my recipe for cacio e pepe, or more prosaicly, spaghetti with cheese and black pepper will save you.  It really can be made with just what you have in the house already and is ridiculously delicious.  For that, I am proud.

Cacio e Pepe

And now I intend to carry on the peer pressure and ask the following four blogs to participate:

Greedy Diva;
The London Foodie;
Vintage Macaroon; and
Lite Bite.

As I said, it is a vicious circle.

48 hours in Lyon (Gourmet Chick in France)

I swear Lyon has been calling me back ever since my first visit earlier this year.  One day in Lyon after following the Tour de France only allowed time for a quick rummage in the antique markets and a long lunch at Brasserie Léon de Lyon. This time around I was determined to spend a bit more time getting to know this gastronomic capital on our French road trip.

Saucisson for sale at Les Halles

Les Halles 
The first stop in Lyon has to be a pilgrimage to the city’s renowned indoor food market.  Les Halles is packed with around 60 glamorous looking stalls selling everything from stinky cheese to freshly carved jamon.  Every piece of produce on display was perfectly presented but I was happy to see I was the only one carting around a camera while the Lyonnaise shopped and socialised.

Fromage heaven at Les Halles

Essentials
Details: Les Halles De Lyon, 102 Course Lafayette, 3e, Lyon, France.  8pm-7pm Tues - Sat, to noon Sunday.

Merle
The seafood on display is all brilliantly fresh at Les Halles and available to purchase or eat on the spot.  We made like the locals and used our elbows to make room at the counter of Merle and order some white wine and half a dozen De Claire oysters (€6.20).  The oysters were without a doubt the best I have ever tasted.  The glistening molluscs were so fresh and expertly shucked that they clung to their shells with the lightest of gossamer threads.  Even MTV boyfriend was converted to oyster eating.

Oysters at Merle

Essentials
Details: Merle, Les Halles De Lyon, 102 Course Lafayette, 3e, Lyon, France.  8pm-7pm Tues - Sat, to noon Sunday.
Damage: Such a bargain even my mother would approve.  The bill came to £12 total for wine and half a dozen oysters.
9/10

Chez Paul
Lyon is famous for its bouchons, small, friendly family bistros that cook traditional Lyonnaise cusine.  We were unable to get a table at Le Garet or Café des Fédérations so we settled for nearby Chez Paul which proved to be the very model of a traditional bouchon from its red and white checked tablecloths to the communal dining tables.  We started with a communard, a somewhat lethal aperitif of red Beaujolais wine and créme de cassis.  After this came the entrées served in communal bowls that we helped ourselves from before they were passed on to the next table.  I think the breaded fried tripe known as tablier de sapeur must be an acquired taste but I did enjoy the hearty beetroot and potato salads and the chunky terrines.

Poulet at Chez Paul

Of the mains the Poulet a Vinaigre, chicken slathered in a rich, boozy sauce,  was perfect comfort food fare alongside a side serving of cheesy macaroni.   The highlight of the cheese course was an oozing St Marcellin followed by the cervelle de canut (brains of the silk weaver) which originated in Lyon’s Croix Rousse area and comprised fromage blanc mixed with chives and garlic.  Despite the huge quantities of food we managed to finish off the meal with some stewed fruit, a chunk of quivering créme caramel and some new found friends in our table mates.

Essentials
Details: Chez Paul, 11 rue Major Martin, 1er Lyon, France (Ph +33 (0) 78 28 35 83)
Damage: Reasonable. €25 for the menu of entree, main, cheese and dessert.  Our bill including wine came to €75 for two.
7/10

Gourmet Travel Tips

• You can fly with Easyjet to Lyon from £130 return from London or drive like we did.
• We stayed at the utilitarian Hotel St Vincent which was centrally located and had little luxuries like modern bathrooms, wifi and flatscreen tvs in rooms but lacked any real character or atmosphere.  Hotel St Vincent, 9 rue Pareille, 1er, Lyon, France (Ph +33 (0) 4 78 27 2256) €80 per night.    
• In Lyon Les Halles market is not to be missed and also Puces du Canal on a Sunday is brilliant for antiques and bric a brac.  

Brindisa Ham School

School days may be long gone but it is time to become a teachers pet again.  Brindisa has opened a ham school in London.  Held after hours in Brindisa's store at Borough Market, the class includes copious amounts of ham and sherry whilst learning to carve the ham like a professional.  Well, almost.  No-one can carve ham like Mario Hiralod Regaldo, the head teacher at ham school and Brindisa’s "master carver".

My classmates at Brindisa ham school

Our class started with a tasting of the different hams to learn to differentiate between the flavours and breeds.  We discovered that the Jamón de Monroyo Reserva had thicker, whiter strips of fat with a more buttery taste while the Iberico Brindisa Bellota was the sweetest and most creamy.  

Mario explained the importance of all the different environmental factors in making the finished piggy product. “If you take care of the breed and the diet of the pigs you can get the most amazing ham”.

Comparing the different hams

As we ruminated on the importance of acorn consumption in pigs we discovered how to pair the hams with Spanish wines from Laithwaites before the main event, the carving.  Unbelievably, after a demonstration from Mario, each person was let loose on their own leg of ham.  Yes Brindisa entrusted us, a group of complete amateurs with this most expensive and highly prized of products.

Mario instructed us to carve from the punta towards the hoof of the ham and to aim for slices so thin and translucent that the brand of the knife could be read through them.  My confidence grew with practice but I don’t think Brindisa will be employing me to carve their ham anytime soon after witnessing my pile of tiny shreds rather than the long, wide ribbons of ham deployed so gracefully by Mario.

Sherry and olives help the ham carving along

I loved the ham class and would highly recommend it to all lovers of the pig and aficiondos of Spanish food and drink.  If you don’t have the cash or time to invest in a class the easy thing to do is to visit one of Brindisa’s restaurants instead.

Essentials
Details: Brindisa Shop at Borough Market, The Floral Hall, Stoney Street, Southwark SE1 9AF (Ph 0207 407 1036) Tube: London Bridge
Damage: £75 for the class which includes tuition, ham, wine and a goody bag.
10/10

Tapas Brindisa Soho
I am a fairly regular visitor to the Borough Market Brindisa but recently tried out the Soho Brindisa for the first time which has just been revamped.  There is a bar and seating area at the front of the restaurant while the back opens up into a more traditional looking standing-room-only kind of tapas place.

Summer tomato salad

The jamon is, of course, unparalleled while tapas plates of a summer tomato salad (£4.75) and monte enebro (£7.60) also impressed.  The sweet tomatoes were teamed with crisp, fried red onions and slathered in a cabernet dressing while goats cheese known as monte enebro was deep fried and drizzled with orange blossom honey and flakes of dried beetroot.

Presa Iberica

The patatas bravas (£4) could have been crisper but the Presa Iberica, a thick slice of the top shoulder of Iberian pork, was tender perfection itself.

Essentials
Details:  Tapas Soho, 46 Broadwick street, Soho W1F 7AF (Ph 020 7534 1690) Tube: Oxford Circus
Damage: Reasonable
8/10

Gourmet Chick was a guest of Brindisa.

48 hours in the Loire Valley (Gourmet Chick in France)

French road trip? Bien sur.  I am kicking off the journey from London back to Australia with a road trip through France with MTV boyfriend.  We have piled the car high with things we each think may be useful (me - high heels, a bottle of gin, him - a tent, multiple pairs of football socks), stuck a GB sticker next to the number plate and merrily set off driving on the right/wrong side of the road in our left hand drive car.

Chateau Villandry in the Loire Valley

First stop was Normandy where we ate apples in various guises and explored the old town of Bayeux.  Next we headed to the Loire Valley for some chateaux hopping and serious food consumption.  We struggled a little with restaurants as we visited on a Sunday and Monday, prime time in France for restaurants to shut up shop, but we did have some success which I have detailed below.


Chez Bruno
Think of the tiny, crammed French wine bar of your dreams and you may just conjure up Chez Bruno.  Opposite the main chateau in Amboise, Chez Bruno packs in the punters for a quick apertif or a meal of simple, local food alongside a lengthy selection of wines by the glass or by the bottle.  

Andouillette at Chez Bruno

The menu changes regularly and is chalked up on a blackboard.  It features French classics like snails (€8),  shelled and dripping with delicious garlic butter, and regional specialties like the Andouillette (€12).   Andouillette is a sausage made from offal which can be found around the Loire Valley and in Lyon as well.  I found the flavour a little too barnyardy for me but if you are a big offal fan you would be in heaven. All the mains were teamed with ratatouille and a serve of creamy, scalloped potatoes.

Desserts were worth sticking around for, particularly the "chocolate pot" (€5) a terracotta pot filled with a rich, decadent chocolate mousse and topped with a cigar of pastry.  Since Chez Bruno is a wine bar, there was lots of choice where wine was concerned and Chez Bruno also has its own label wines, the highlight of which was the Felix a light, breezy red.

Chocolate pot at Chez Bruno

Essentials
Details: Chez Bruno, 40 Place Michel Debre, Amboise, France (Ph (+33) 2 47 57 73 49
Damage: Reasonable.  Our bill came to €60.
7/10

La Reserve
There was almost a little tantrum in Chez Gourmet Chick after discovering the highly recommended Le Pavillion De Lys was closed for the two days of our stay in the Loire Valley.  We were forced to go with “pick the restaurant with the most diners” method and ended up at  La Reserve which was positively jam packed for a Monday night.

Steak on the La Reserve 'menu'

It was likely everyone was attracted by the €16.90 menu which was a little patchy, but good value.  To start a huge bowl of salad, dripping with mustard vinigarette, then a flavoursome if shabby looking piece of steak complete with some slightly soggy fries.  We finished off our meal with a créme brulée which did not quite meet MTV boyfriend’s exacting standards but was decent enough with a thin, caramel crust and smooth texture.  As is typical in France a pichet or two of the house red was excellent.

Créme Brulée at La Reserve

Essentials
Details: 28 Place Michel Debré, 37400 Amboise, France (Ph  02 47 57 97 96)
Damage: Reasonable. Our bill came to €48 for two with wine.
5/10

Belleroche

Gourmet Travel Tips

• We stayed at Belleroche which is one of the swankiest B and B's I have ever come across.  The grand 18th century house overlooks the Loire river and is about 10 minutes walk into Amboise.  Rooms were hotel standard and filled with beautiful linens and antique furniture.  Wifi was also included. €100.  Belleroche, 1 rue de Clos de Belleroche 37400 Amboise, Indre-et-Loire, France (Ph +33 (0) 2 47304703).

• We spent our time exploring the nearby chateaus and also enjoyed cycling around the area (there is a bike hire place in Amboise near the train station which charges €15 a day).  

How to make scallops with chorizo and black garlic

Have you tried black garlic?  The key is in the name as the garlic bulbs are jet black thanks to  a process of heating the garlic over several weeks.  The result is garlic that does not just look different it also tastes different as well.  It is a lot sweeter than regular garlic with a more mellow flavour and softer texture.  The people behind the black garlic also claim that it does not give you smelly breath.

Scallops with chorizo and black garlic

I got sent some sample bulbs and so decided to team them with some chorizo and scallops to make a summery salad.  The whole salad takes about 10 minutes to throw together and is perfect as an impressive starter or a light meal in itself although you might want to throw in a few more scallops.  The black garlic looked spectacular and added an unexpected twist. There was also a certain amount of entertainment value in spending the evening trying to work out if I had garlic breath or not.  (The verdict was no).

The black garlic

Ingredients
6 scallops
100g chorizo, finely diced
5 cloves of black garlic, finely diced
1 lemon
1 tbsp sherry
100g rocket

Pan frying the scallops, chorizo and black garlic

1.  Pat the scallops dry with a kitchen towel.

2.  Heat a frying pan without oil and fry the chorizo on low heat for 1-2 minutes.

3.  Add the scallops and black garlic and stir fry for about 4 mins or until the scallops are cooked.

4.  Squeeze half the lemon into juice and cut the remaining half into wedges.

5.  Add the lemon juice and sherry and cook over a high heat for 1 min.

6.  Serve the scallops on the rocket and scatter the chorizo, garlic and pan juices over the top.

Serves two.   Recipe adapted from Black Garlic UK.

The finished dish 

48 hours in Dubrovnik (Gourmet Chick in Croatia)

Like most people who live in Notting Hill, when the Notting Hill Carnival is on I get as far away as possible.  I have been to the Carnival once and had a great time but living in the middle of it for three days with a sound stage outside your bedroom window is not particularly fun.  This year MTV boyfriend and I made it as far away as Croatia and Montenegro for a jam packed long weekend.  Tips on Montenegro coming up in a later post.

Dubrovnik old town walls

We flew into Dubrovnik, with its perfectly preserved walled old town perched on the edge of the dazzling azure Adriatic sea.  The old town is crawling with tourists but is still undeniably beautiful and when the heat and crowds get too much there is always the sea to escape to.

Konoba Ekvinocijo
You almost have to be lost to find this small, family run eatery in the Old Town.  It serves up Croatian fare which means lots of seafood and local sausages.  Seating is at an outside terrace and the grilled squid (85kn) was dazzlingly fresh.  Deep fried octopus (80kn) was also a highlight with a great crisp crunch to it.
Details: Ilije Sarake 10, Stari Grad, Dubrovnik, Croatia (Ph 020/323-633)
Damage: Reasonable
7/10

Grilled squid at Konoba

Storia
Despite Storia's beautiful setting overlooking the harbour in Dubrovnik and friendly service it is one to avoid as the food was disappointing.  The menu is Italian but features lots of seafood.  Our table of ten shared plates of Caprese salad and ceviche which were both inoffensive but not memorable.  However, I left most of my seafood risotto (79kn) uneaten as it had a claggy texture and was over salted.
Details: Kneza Damjana Jude 4, Stari Grad, Dubrovnik, Croatia
Damage: Reasonable
5/10

Seafood risotto at Storia

Buza
You can't actually eat at Buza but I have included it here as it is such a great place.  A little bit magical, a lot of fun you enter through a hole in the old town walls to find a bar spread over terraces down the cliff.  You can swim or just soak up the sun with a drink.
Details: Follow the old town walls until you find an unmarked door, Stari Grad, Dubrovnik, Croatia
Damage: Pricey.  They sting you on the drinks, but it is worth it.
9/10

Pop out the hole in the wall and you are at bar Buza

Gourmet Travel Tips

• We flew to Dubrovnik return from London with Wizzair (£190).  You can catch a bus from the airport to the old town which is just as convenient and cheaper than a cab as no cars are allowed in the old town.
• We stayed at Old Town Apartments (€100) which were, as the name suggests, right in the old town (rare in Dubrovnik), simple and clean and included wifi.  Worth it for the location alone.
• Highlights included walking around the old town walls in Dubrovnik, drinking at Buza and exploring the old town.  

Our room at Old Town Apartments in Dubrovnik - basic but clean and central

Le Relais de Venise L'Entrecôte

As I write this our Notting Hill flat is the cleanest it has ever been following the descent by a team of Polish cleaners to get things ready for handing over the keys to the landlord.  This is the last day for MTV boyfriend and me as residents of London before we set off for three months of traveling through France, Greece, Nepal, India and Hong Kong.  Travel tips welcome.

Crème Brûlée by Le Relais hand modeling by Amy

The last few weeks have been pretty manic packing up everything to relocate continents but I have also managed to visit some new London restaurants along with old favourites so there are a few more London posts still to come.  One of the old favourites I could not resist visiting with my lovely girlfriends Anna, Amy, Alex, Adina, Alina and Chantal (we call them "The A's" for obvious reasons) was Le Relais de Venise L'Entrecôte in Marylebone.  I was excited when the famous Parisian chain first opened its doors in London and have gone back regularly since to get my taste of steak frites.

The token salad

Le Relais looks exactly like its Parisian brethren with a classic French bistro fit out right down to the wooden panelling, brass railings, mirrors and waitresses in French maid style outfits.  There are no bookings so there is inevitably a queue but once you are seated things move pretty fast with the only choice being how you want your steak cooked (and even then I am not sure they would tolerate someone asking for well done) and whether you want wine.

The main deal - steak, frites and red wine

A token green salad with lashings of  mustard vinaigrette and walnuts is served first then comes the steak and frites.  The steak is served slice and slathered in Le Relais secret sauce which is a slight twist on a Hollondaise.  It's not Hawksmoor or Goodman quality steak but it is pretty good particularly for the price of £21 for the two courses.  There are two servings of the steak per person ensuring that everyone gets their protein hit for the day.

The amazing Vacherin

If you have room, and lets face it, most people won't, the desserts trolley is excellent at Le Relais and worth investing in.  Particularly Le Vacherin (£4.95) an amazing confection of chocolate, meringue and cream or of course the classic crème brûlée (£4.55).

Le Relais has mastered the fast food approach to fine dining and while  I am generally not a fan of fast food or chain restaurants, but I have to admit I am prepared to make an exception for Le Relais steak frites.  I look forward to indulging more in France.

Essentials
Details: Le Relais de Venise L'Entrecôte, 120 Marylebone Lane, London W1U 2QG (+44 (0)20 7486 0878) Tube: Baker Street
Damage: Reasonable
7/10