Food in Provence (and elsewhere)

Ballymaloe. It’s in Ireland so a little bit further than Gastronomicom in Agde. J. certainly won’t be popping along every other week so, apart from any other considerations, I need to be sure I have everything I need. I think I have and yet the volume of stuff is less than last year. Just as well as I’m offering a couple of fellow students a lift from Cork—although I’ve tried to persuade one that she should really look for another lift as I suspect the car will be a little full with two extras plus their luggage for three months.

The luxury last year was a chamber vacuum sealer—I had a spare as one was delivered damaged but still workable. It got some use but a simple vacuum sealer would have been fine. Still, I hope J. from the wine course now manages to make good use of it. This year’s debatable item is a printer as I will need to have an order of work each day. Despite knowing my handwriting, J. still thinks this is a luxury. We’ll see.

The ferry to Cork from Roscoff is at 11pm which is possibly driveable in a day but I prefer to stop in Le Mans. The drive here was OK, but I probably chose the coldest part of the day to stop for lunch… Unfortunately, the centre of Le Mans seems to be undergoing a drastic facelift and I briefly find myself going the wrong way down a one-way street. Fortunately it’s not only very calm but also pretty wide so I can turn around, park and figure out where I should really be going. The hotel is well placed and after a quick chat with J. I wander out and, after a few enforced detours, find my way to the old town. Not exactly a vibrant, beating heart of an old town, but quite pretty. I eventually find my way to one of the restaurants recommended by the hotel, Maison Gathi. The highlight of the dinner is the starter, mozzarella and courgette strips wrapped in filo pastry and deep fried. But the waiter is friendly: after the not-unusual assumption I’m Belgian, he’s keen to practice his English.