Ah thank you
@billybudd for highlighting the culinary delights of the Languedoc. Your menu is beyond mouthwatering.
I would like to suggest the rosé from Chateau Villarembert Julian, Caunes-Minervois. Their vine grow on marble and within the estate is the red marble quarry (le Carrier du Roy) which was used in both Versailles, Trianon and the opera Garnier in Paris. And when in season the cherries and apricots of the Roussillon are second to none.
May I point out that French Catalan - the Pyrenees Oriental, dept., 66 - is not in the Languedoc. It is Roussillon. It is very Spanish in it's architecture, food and lifestyle. In fact many, if not all, inhabitants of the P.O. consider themselves Spanish Catalan. And whilst French Catalan nudges into the Aude it officially doesn't reach Carcassonne, mostly coastal to Leucate (oyster land). Languedoc is Aude, Herault, nudging in to Gard to the east and nudging into Tarn to the north west. The winter dishes are hearty, made to put meat on your bones. While the spring and summer dishes are light and flavoursome - lots of shellfish, sea fish and fresh water fish. I do believe it is still the case that the dept., of Aude still has the most Michelin starred restaurants than any other department in France. The Aude, and to a certain degree the Languedoc, is a very poor (monetary wise) area. The food therefore is of the peasant type (though reinvented by said Michelin starred chefs). A forgotten place. Most foreigners pass through on their way to somewhere else. The romans called it the Carrefour du Sud with Narbonne at it's hub. The land is tough to toil. The soil either thin and sandy or heavy and clay. This is why vines and olives thrive here. The better, more nutritious soil, is in the Lauragais all around Castelnaudary. This is where the grains and pulses are grown and the flour ground. The seams of clay are massive and pottery, tile and brick making was a traditional metier. The people of the Languedoc are short, stocky and hardy built for the terrain and weather. This is rugbyland. Himself and I are positive giants by comparison and we're just average height and build by UK standards, though we appear to have bred a skinny giant!
Just a footnote - due to rising seawater temperatures the oyster trade is suffering in this area. When I could still quaff oysters they were the most delicious, almost sweet oysters I had ever tasted. Sadly, post thyroid, oysters and I no longer have a good relationship and so I no longer quaff. Though I may give steaming and poaching a go.
www.nancyconway.com
ashburtoncookeryschool.co.uk
