大象传媒

COOKING UP A STORM

What's cooking? The South West cooks cuisine to match the French

Go behind the scenes as 大象传媒 Inside Out organises the first English food market in France.

This special market was organised following French President Jacques Chirac's comments about British food in July 2005 during the Olympic race.

What he said - that you can not trust a country with such bad food - ignited a fierce debate.

It also prompted the 大象传媒 Inside Out South West programme to set up a culinary first - an English food market in Brittany.

Five food producers from the South West accepted the 大象传媒 invitation to take the ferry from Plymouth to Roscoff and take part in the weekly market of the small town of Plouescat.

The Saturday market started at 9am with the South West producers setting out their stalls alongside the dozen regular French sellers.

Trade was brisk with some shoppers making a one and half hour round trip to taste the English fare.

Food for thought

Soon cream teas from Elaine Ead, of the Chough Bakery in Padstow, were flying off her stand, as were her pasties.

Because of import restrictions on British beef, Elaine had to make them in France itself with Dutch beef - working through the previous night to have them ready on time.

Devon's Black Farmer Wilfred Emmanuel Jones recently scored top marks in the UK Trade and Investment Enterprise Awards.

Jones won the award for developing one of the fastest growing brands in the country - the Black Farmer food label, which sells sausages and sauces under the slogan 'flavours without frontiers'.

He had boasted that his sausages were better than the French Toulouse variety.

Hot stuff - top sausages from the South West

And the locals who turned up to Wilfred's tasting session agreed - admitting they were the best sausages they had ever eaten.

Inside Out also wanted the market to be a cultural exchange and an opportunity for the French to try English food, so all the producers handed out copious samples to the locals.

The English presence even made French TV headlines.

FR3 journalist Tangi Kermarrec said, "It聮s more ignorance from our side when we say English food is bad.

"We say that, but we have not tasted it, so I think it聮s a good idea to show what is made on the other side of the Channel and that it actually tastes good!"

Dave Lee from the West Country Curry Company, certainly had a job on his hands introducing the English national dish to the French.

But he was surprised how much the French appreciated his products, especially the spicy hot ones.

Vive la cuisine South West!

Jason Mitchell聮s Totnes-produced Ashridge Cider also proved a hit. He uses the 'method champenoise' to produce his cider which gives it a very specific taste, different from any French cider.

Taste the difference - French shoppers eat UK-style

And Juliet Eavis with her West Country Worthy Farm Cheddar ended up by selling ten large rounds to the local cheese seller who is now offering this quintessential English taste experience in markets around Brittany.

The Mayor of Plouescat J茅r么me Blonz was so impressed with the whole experience that he has already officially invited Inside Out and the traders back in 2006 for a bigger English Market.

John Sheaves from the food organisation Taste of the West, who also came on the trip, thought it was a tremendous experience and is planning to organise a series of English markets in France next year.

Quality food

Given the response to Inside Out's trip, it is unfortunate that the reputation of English food abroad often rests on unfortunate stereotypes from the 1970s.

Facing facts - South West food is more than a match for French

Local food in Britain, and especially in the South West, has changed tremendously in the last decade.

As Inside Out South West have found, we now have very high quality products.

France has always been seen as the benchmark when it comes to quality ingredients, but this market proves that we now have products that can easily compete with the best in France.