There's something you should know about me: some people like spending Sunday afternoons going for a brisk walk, snoozing in the sunshine, or catching up on telly. I, on the other hand, am a fan of la salon de la gastronomie, or in stark British terms, the food fair.
Having already visited several salons in smaller towns like Pons and Saintes, I was full of high hopes for the La Rochelle fair, La Rochelle being the capital of Charente-Maritime and all. Chéri and I were not to be disappointed. The impressive marquee boasted over 50 stands, offering a diverse selection of high-quality products ranging from Corsican saucisson (which we had the chance to taste while on holiday last year and which I can say is delicious!) to home-made sweets of all flavours, passing by sumptuous olives and, of course, the obligatory coup de champagne.
After snaking around the marquee no less than three times, making the most of the generous free samples, Chéri tactfully made the remark that we'd have to decide on what to buy as my suggestion of buying a bit of everything had evidently not had the desired effect. So, after careful consideration, we decided on champagne from a local distributor, a jar of cheese-stuffed sweet peppers to accompany the champagne for the apéritif, several saucissons (Chéri's guilty pleasure), and finally (after a brief hesitation over the macaroons) a selection of the home-made cookies.
Purchases made, it was with bellies full and wallets empty that Chéri and I left La Rochelle, promising each other that next time we'd resist temptation.
