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Saturday 25 February 2006

An Englishman fait chabrot: Sunday's food quotation

For the first time I was asked to have lunch with M. et Mme Vinges, our nearest neighbours and closest friends in the village. M. Vinges is a retired roadman of about my age, living on his foreman's pension.
Menu
Bouillon de boeuf with vermicelli. Ending with the ceremony of the chabrot, i.e. pouring half a glass of red wine into the last few spoonfuls of soup, then tipping the soup-plate up and drinking it. Very good. Try it.
Hors d'oeuvres. Paté de Canard truffé (bought at vast expense)
Tomato salad, salami.
Green french beans boiled and fried in butter.
Boiled beef.
Roast poulet-de-grain with green olives in a delicious caper sauce.
Cheese. Cherry cake. Fruit salad of oranges and bananas. Coffee with brandy.

1967 David Garnett, Letter to Sylvia Townsend Warner, 24 October 1967 [ Sylvia and David: the Townsend Warner / Garnett letters. Sinclair-Stevenson, 1994, p. 127]

Contributed by Anne Flavell. Posted at 23:53
Edited on: Sunday 26 February 2006 13:38
Categories: Literary Menus, Quotations