World Food Thursdays

Country No. 11: France

 

Date: 10/01/2015

 

Venue: Le Barbue d’Anvers, Lille, France

 

Attendees: Ben, Lee, Kim, Becky, Paul, Maor, Ellen, Poppy

 

Cost: €60 a head including a pretty hefty but essential tip (to be explained)

 

Being forward thinking consumers the attendees of World Food Thursdays have often flirted with the idea of packing a bag and drifting away to parts unknown in pursuit of the ultimate culinary experience. It seemed appropriate that on the first anniversary of  our gastronomic adventure that we make dreams come true and take WFT on holiday.

 

This explains why 8 bedraggled gastronauts assembled at Benugo St. Pancras International, at an hour previously rumoured to be mere fantasy, ready to embark on the most thrilling adventure of the year so far. The group gambled through the station like excited school children, excluding PK who was unfortunately suffering from a back ailment commonly known as old-age.

 

After an interminable wait we boarded the Eurostar and the author of this reportage unveiled its’ existence to the world. Cue shock, awe, a few muffled sniggers (thankfully) and a lot of constructive criticism.

 

Having settled in for the 2 hour journey Lee and Ben went to the dining cart in search of a suitable breakfast beverage…some of the finest vin rouge the Eurostar had to offer.

 

Once arriving in Lille to grey skies and a stiff breeze we entrusted our safety to Maor who added another type of leadership to his burgeoning arsenal, leader of navigation. This proved to be an unwise decision as the slightly meandering route he had plotted almost proved too much for a very heavily pregnant Becky. Fearing early exhaustion PK and Becky were deposited in a local café for local people to rest their aching bodies while the rest of the group, sans Ellen who bravely negotiated a taxi from the café to the restaurant (much to the disbelief of the patron), took a tour through a giant food market.

 

Reassembling at the restaurant, all parties feeling refreshed, be it from a rest, a beer, or just joie de vivre, we took our places at a large rectangular table in a room bedecked with wood and bottles of Belgian beer.

 

Fortunately the amiable waiting staff spoke good English as the attempts Ben made at translating the menu were pretty abysmal, anyone ordering the coquillages would have been very surprised when a plate of clams and mussels turned up, instead of the baby chickens Ben had promised!

 

The group sagely took advantage of the set menus, only pausing to add an entremet of steak tartar frites.

 

First up were platters of deep fried cheese, the infamous coquillages, pork pate, and finally Foie Gras for Lee and Maor to romantically share. These were followed by several servings of carbonnade (a beef stew made with local beer), some fish in a creamy mustard sauce and, of course, a fillet steak for Lee and Maor to share. We washed this down with a few bottles of St. Emillion, a robust red wine from the Acquitaine region of France.

 

At this stage most diners were fit to burst however we couldn’t let this momentous occasion pass without trying some desserts, three were ordered and they were all sensational. Lastly the men ordered Armanac and the bill. Typically the bill is an unremarkable part of the dining experience however it’s not every day that you dine with Lee Fels. Engaging in some ‘banter’ with the waiter Lee noticed that the card machine displayed phoning home when attempting to connect to his Merchant Bank. Perhaps emboldened by the wine, Lee proceeded to re-enact a scene from a popular 80’s sci-fi movie, prodding the waiter in the forehead while muttering E.T. phone home. Judging by the waiter’s reaction he did not get the reference (it wasn’t any better at the second attempt either). In fright he somehow managed to release the till roll from the card machine and it unravelled as quickly as Lee’s attempt at becoming the next Bob Hope.

 

Following lunch and a few photo opportunities we wandered into the centre of Lille in search of the ingredients for a Eurostar picnic. En masse we descended on a tiny fromagerie however the acrid smell of very ripe and sour cheese put most people off. Those who had the stomach for it purchased some local delicacies while the rest of the group ambled toward the Grand Place where a moving march punctuated by sporadic applause in support of those killed in the Charlie Hebdo massacre was in progress.

 

At this point in the day the group was reeling from spending over three times the normal amount of time in each other’s company and decided to split up. Some went for coffee, some to faire les courses and some to have a sit down and a beer. Reassembling at a Shoreditch style coffee shop in Northern Lille Becky and Lee were discovered conducting a science experiment – what impact does interference have on the speed at which an egg timer voids itself of its sand. The answer is that constantly tapping the top has but a minor impact on the release of sand, but a major impact on the sanity of those involved.

 

We rounded off our time in Lille with a couple of slow beers in a bar on a cobbled street and headed to the Eurostar station to pick up the final bits for the picnic. Not the best planning as the supermarket near the station turned out to only be a sign for a supermarket, and the shops inside the station were all closed. Lee tried to negotiate some bread and meat from a sandwich seller but once again his charm failed him.

 

Back on the Eurostar we discovered our carriage had been taken over by a large group of Asian tourists, we politely evicted them from our seats and proceeded to lay out the contents of our picnic basket. Having disappeared to procure more wine, saussicon, and some crackers Lee and Ben needn’t have remembered which carriage we were in, the overpowering stench of cheese was evident from about three carriages down! A delightful end to a fantastic celebration of WFT.