Rendez-vous with the Festival Polar de Cognac

Cognac Crime Festival

Festival Polar de Cognac

 

Last Thursday evening we went out. We finished work, we dressed up, well I discarded my cosy leggings on the bed and found jeans, a blouse and some jewellery, and we got in the car to drive to Cognac, an hour away. This was already way more excitement than we are used to for a week night.

 

Cognac was holding its 28^th crime festival, Le Festival Polar de Cognac. This brings together novels, comic books, films and television series for a four-day festival of screenings, book sales and meet the author/stars events, that culminates with a prize-giving ceremony on the Sunday.

Rare night out excitement at the Festival Polar de Cognac

 

Our date was with Rendez-Vous avec le Crime 2, “Le mouton noir”, the third of three films selected for the television series prize. This is the French TV adaptation of Date With Malice, book two in Julia Chapman’s Dales Detective series of novels. I’ve been friends with Julia, thanks to this blog, for many years, even lunching with her in York back in 2014. Adrian and I have read all her books in English and watched the first of the TV films last Christmas, on France 3, with English subtitles. We couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to watch this one, on a big screen, so close to home. 

 

We opted for the free tickets but could have bought a Priority Pass that would have given us queue-free VIP access to all events. As we would only be there for one screening, a short queue up the back staircase, that was decorated with delicate stained-glass windows, wasn’t an issue. The theatre had filled up nicely by the time we got in, but we easily found two seats a few rows back from the front, which we sunk into nicely. They were the cosiest, softest cinema seats I’d ever sat in, like a bright red velvety hug, that was great until a hot flush snuck up on me during the film. Looking around, we think we were some of the youngest in the audience and from the chatter we’d overheard on the staircase, probably the only non-locals and likely the only British too. Even before we’d sat down, I’d fallen in love with the venue when I read the fabulous sign warning that no eating is allowed during the film, including sweets or my absolute pet hate, chewing gum.

Some of the cast and crew of Rendez-Vous Avec Le Crime 2

 

The evening began with an introduction and a few words from some of the production team as well as two of the actors, where we learned it was an avant premiere, so the first ever showing and not even the cast had yet seen the finished film, what a privilege for us, even without the priority pass, I felt like a VIP. The lights dimmed, the film started, and the low hubbub that built around us seemed to agree with our confused looks – they were showing the wrong film. It was easy to imagine the furtive fumbling going on in the projection room as we were left staring at a blank screen, before the man with the mic appeared back on stage to apologise. For the first time in 28 years, two films with identical running times were on the schedule, and one of them had been downloaded twice! He promised it would only be a short wait while they ‘found’ the correct film, which it was, and soon we were whisked off to the wilds of Brittany.

 

There was enough of a gasp of shock from the audience when the killer was revealed, to lead me to think that not many of them had read the books, but the enthusiastic clapping at the end was proof they had enjoyed it. With a French cast and location, it has an obvious French feel to it, but while it may lack a bit of Yorkshire heritage, it hasn’t lost any of the wit, humour or chemistry of the original books we both love. 

 

On Sunday night, it was lovely to read that the Grand Prix for the television series category had gone to Rendez-Vous Avec Le Crime 2, a well-deserved win and we will enjoy watching it again when it comes to France 3. I know that there is also a UK based production company who are looking into making a version for British TV, set in Yorkshire, which is fabulous news.

 

I am 100% sure that even though Adrian is known to indulge my many whims that take us to some weird and wonderful places, he wouldn’t have been up for a two-hour round trip, on a dark and biblically wet night after work just to watch a French film, unless it was based on a Julia Chapman book. 

 

Ed is now working for a film festival in Poitiers, so it is rather remiss of us that this was our first taste of a festival, but it won’t be our last.

 

A spring drive through the Cognac vineyards

Mechanical weeding in organic vineyards

Today we took an afternoon drive through the Cognac vineyards as we needed to stock up on the local organic red from our preferred producer, Brard Blanchard. We were also using the drive to plot a cycle route from home to Cognac for a summer adventure. Unfortunately boulangeries and cafés, essential for our refuelling, are thin on the ground so research is required to avoid hungry disappointment.

It is a lovely time of year to be out as signs of spring and new life are all around, in the hedgerows, the villages and the vineyards. The cowslips and sloe blossom are out in the hedgerows and the villages are ablaze with forsythia, window boxes of pansies, flower beds full of daffodil and hyacinth bulbs and orchards turned white and pink with the first fruit blossoms. There is an air of excitement and gentle busyness. The magpies were nest building in the treetops, the chickens were head down and bottoms up scratching in the gardens, including a mother hen with her tiny speckled chicks and the gardeners were working in their potagers and mowing the verges. In one village we drove past a small road with the sign Rue des Amoureaux (Lovers Road) that made me smile and wonder why it had been so named.

The vines haven’t started sprouting their new leaves yet, but the vineyards were still busy. A pheasant with his showy plumage strutted across the road in front of us into the safety of the vines. Teams of pruners, wrapped in coats and hats were snipping the stumpy vines to two spurs while others were busy tying these in to the supports. The organic producers don’t use weed killers, but opt for mechanical weeding rather like hoeing but with a tractor. The non-organic vineyards are easy to spot with their acres of burned orange lifeless grass surrounding the feet of the vines and looking desolate and very unnatural against the fresh colours of spring around them. One of my favourite sights at this time of year is the huge fields of yellow dandelion flowers that had the weather been better would have been alive with bees. Some may consider them weeds, but I love them.

I hope you have enjoyed a spring trip to the Charente-Maritime with me. This post is linked to All About France, a monthly blog link up run by Phoebe at Lou Messugo. To read what other France lovers have to say about France this month click here.

My patisserie challenge, gland Grand Marnier

My patisserie challenge, gland Grand Marnier

Welcome to my patisserie challenge. This year I have decided to buy something different from our village boulangerie every Sunday and to enjoy the simple pleasure of treating myself each week. My choice today is an odd looking one, that has a strange name and if I’m honest neither the look or the name were instantly appealing.

I give you the rather glowing ‘gland’. I wasn’t too sure I wanted to eat anything called a gland, but when I discovered it is actually named after the gland de chêne, or acorn, I felt a little better about trying it, despite its luminosity. It is an acorn shaped choux bun, filled with a Grand Marnier flavoured crème patissiere and then brightly iced (can be either green or pink), with a half coating of chocolate chips, to represent the acorn cup. Now I know these facts I can see it, but I have to say it wasn’t initially obvious. In some boulangeries the flavour of the crème patissiere, which can be natural, Grand Marnier, Kirsch or Rum flavoured, determines the colour of the icing, but although I had the choice of green or pink, they were all the same flavour here. Despite the vivid looks I did enjoy it, the alcohol flavour wasn’t too strong and I found it helped to cut through the sweetness. It was delicious accompanied by an espresso coffee.

Can you see that it’s an acorn and would you give it a try?

Don’t forget to join me next week to see my next choice from Bernadette at the boulangerie. 

Here are my previous patisserie challenge posts, in case you missed them:

buchette de noel,

éclair au chocolat,

forêt noire,

galette de St Jacqueline,

tartelette aux pommes,

Paris-Brest,

tartelette aux fruits

capitole framboise

choux-vanille

X is for XO Cognac

French food alphabet advent calendar

Welcome to my French Food Alphabet Advent Calendar where I am working my way through a selection of delicious food posts; some are regional specialities, some are my personal favourite foods, some posts include recipes, but all are linked to French food and drink. I hope you are enjoying your virtual tastings.

It’s the 23^rd December and X is for XO Cognac.

Living very close to the Cognac vineyards I felt I had to include this regional delight in my A to Z and as I was a bit short on foods beginning with X today seemed the perfect opportunity.

Cognac aging in oak barrels

Cognac is a brandy produced within a strict geographical area around the town of Cognac in the Charente department. The producers harvest their grapes and make wine that is then distilled twice to become eau de vie. This is then aged in oak barrels for a minimum of two years before it can be bottled and sold as Cognac. In this time a small amount of the eau de vie evaporates from the barrels and is known as the angels’ share. 

Cognac is graded according to its age:

VS (Very Special) is the youngest and must be aged for a minimum of two years.

VSOP (Very Special Old Pale) has to be aged for a minimum of four years.

XO (Extra Old) or Napoleon is the oldest and must be aged for at least six years, although on average it will usually be around twenty years.

Like many locals we have our own preferred producer who is always happy to show us around his distillery and pour us a taste of his fine Pineau and Cognac. He told us that the most important thing for Cognac is the time spent aging in the oak barrels and he sells one that has been aged for seventy years. 

Don’t forget to pop back tomorrow for the letters Y and Z, my final advent post. If you have missed my previous posts you can catch up by clicking on the letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U and V and W.

Silent Sunday

Cognac and Ferrari's is a good way to sum up our day out yesterday, but we weren't drinking or driving. We were cycling the back roads in between the Cognac vineyards at the same time a huge number of Ferrari's and other super sports cars were touring the more main roads. They were members of a rally cruising the area as part of a big weekend fund raising event Sport et Collection 500 Ferrari Contre le Cancer. Our paths crossed many times on the route and we had a great view of them from our beer stop in the market town of Rouillac. It was great to back on the bikes again cycling a well signed and pituresque route of just over 30kms. We had fun and I'm sure the Ferrari drivers did too.

Cognac vineyards in June

Ferrari Rally

The red ones were my favourite

Arty bike rack in Rouillac

The choice of beers in Rouillac