lunch

It is now lunch time; three vast covered eating areas had been set up and ten large cast iron wood fired boilers had been preparing the meal all morning. Each person had half a front leg of pork with carrots potatoes and a quarter of savoy cabbage – that is if you could eat that much. This was preceded by melon and ham and followed by an apple tart and coffee. All for 10 euro. The only extra to pay for was the wine. The link between hunting dog and food is very strong. Those who attended the 'foreigners welcome dinner' on Thursday night spoke of boundless food and wine of very high quality. Having heard so much about that particular meal I was disappointed by the evening meal on Friday, overcooked curried chicken was not my idea of French cuisine which coupled with an unimpressive red wine and a carafe of water straight from the tap tasting strongly of chlorine made a memorable experience. Saturday nights gala dinner was however spectacular. The 40 euro ticket (about £25) brought with it an array of hot and cold canapés all as delightful to look at as eat; served with champagne. The first course a lightly poached scallop with asparagus and a piece of Rouget served on fine diced tomato. Main course was a boned guinea fowl thigh served with a slice of foie gras marinated in Calvados and then pan fried plus seasonal vegetables. The guinea fowl was flavoursome and the foie gras smooth and rich. The cheese course was a set plate of two fermier cheeses with young salad leaves and dressing. Pudding was an individual strawberry tart held together with an almond flavoured set custard. Coffee and chocolate to end. All helped down with two different reds, a white and a Sauternes with the pudding. Whilst we did not stay for lunch on the show day it is sufficient to say there was as much space allocated to tables and eating as there was for the dog cages.