A match made in heaven...

.. Or Maison Guilhot to be exact.

There are many fantastic things about living where we do in France and one of them is living slap bang in the largest vineyard in the world. The Languedoc Roussillon produces more wine than any other region in the world. There are over 50,000 vine growers and nearly 3000 private vineyards in the Region. Plenty of serious good wines to choose from and plenty of good locally grown and produced food to match those delicious wines too.

During the week, I had the honour of being at a food and wine matching soirée hosted by George Guilhot, Maison Guilhot and Bruno Leger of Lycée Hôtelier Léon Blum.

Marie Pierre Piquemal of Domaine PIQUEMAL, d'Espira de l'Agly introduced us to her sumptious selection of wines which Bruno matched to the following menu :

Muscat Sec : Tartine de beurre d'algue

Terres Grillées Blanc : Topinambour de Saint Jacques

Le chant des Frères Rouge : Foie gras poivre

Colline Oubliée Rouge : Hamburger de Canard,et son ketchup de betterave

CRV Galatée : Boeuf carotte en cassolette

Muscat de Rivesaltes : Compote orange amère, riz au lait.

Far from being a stuffy wine matching exercise, Marie Pierre Piquemal regaled us with stories and the banter and chat flowed along with the wines. Bruno and Georges had obviously diligently done their homework and the food and wine married each other perfectly; each mouthful a true taste sensation.. nom nom nom, looking forward to the next one already!!!

Georges independent wine cave is situated in the heart of Perpignan at 13 place des poilus. He regularly holds wine and food tasting soirées and stocks his favourite wines from the Roussillon and all over France.

An address not to be missed on your visit to Perpignan. Georges also speaks perfect English.

Anti Ride Régime

The kids and I headed to the park after school on Friday , the weather was so lovely , we decided to spend an hour enjoying the last rays of sunshine on a fine February day.
I was delighted when another Mom plonked herself down beside me on the bench and started chatting in a friendly manner. Turns out she was a wolf in sheeps clothing and lulled me into a false sense of security, swapping tips and gossip about the neighbourhood, best boulangerie, where to get best fruit and veg, blah blah, comforting Mom talk, she got me nice and relaxed before she went for the jugular
"You are about the same age as me, yes? 40?"
"Ummm" yes, I mutter " Still hanging on to my 30s though, hoho"
"You know you should really be doing an anti wrinkle diet. I am an expert on this. Look at my skin compared to yours. You would not have those crows feet and bags under your eyes if you follow my advice"
"Gulp, really?" I stammer. Well, what does one say?
" Yes, you too could look like me" she brazenly tells me

So here's the diet Isabelle recommended :

Eat lots of :
Fruit and Veg
Water and Green Tea
Nuts, esp almonds
Olive Oil
Oily fish
Dark chocolate

Avoid
Coffee
Red Meat
White bread
Potatoes
Cakes and sugary things
Too much alcohol

Ok , nothing radical there. Then she advises that I use Clarins Anti Ride Lift - that would REALLY help all those lines on my forehead disappear.
If I had balls, I would have felt kicked in them, on ther other hand, if I had balls, I would have told her where to shove it!
My buddies reckon that she was a Clarins undercover agent, sent out to target Moms in parks, preferably those sensitive ones , turning 40 this year!
So, when I pulled myself together and we'd said our farewells ( ravie de vous avoir rencontrée , my arse!), I dragged my sorry butt back home where my delightful daughter drew a lovely picture of me ( awwww) with a deep furrow in the middle of my forehead!!! Argghhh

So, it's the new diet and Clarins anti wrinkle treatment for me for one month. Before and After photos to follow.
And it that doesn't work, I want BOTOX for my birthday....