Simplicity is the secret. Wednesday 29th July 2009.

When was the last time you rose from slumber at midday? For me, my memory doesn't stretch back that far, I know it was before AJ came into the world. I wandered into the kitchen, bleary eyed after last night's fun and frivolity and a hectic pace of places to be and people to meet.

We ventured to the heart of the Route des Grand Cru, to Nuit-St-Georges and caught up with blue-eyed Baptiste who was holding the fort at Fruirouge & Cie, the foodie heaven in the centre of the village. We shared a fair-trade coffee drunk from rustic earthenware mugs in the back room, surrounded by bulk stocks of cassoulet, rillettes, confitures, etc, etc, etc.

We headed a little further north to Gevrey-Chambertin where we had a 4pm appointment with Marie from Tours & Detours, the owner of the company who has lived in Australia and just loves it. She had given me a copy of the latest Gourmet Traveller article on the Burgundy region, it was so nice to read some Aussie journalism, and a story based in this wonderfully rich region. So much of it I could relate to. Marie pointed us in the direction of Daniel Cachot, the gold medal holder for his Pain d'Espices (spice bread). Oh Mum, it is so much like your homemade gingerbread, it brought back so many happy memories.

We found the village where Daniel bakes his spicy loaves of bread, finding Daniel was a little harder. I asked directions, I understood straight ahead, left and right, keep going passed the cemetary, so off we went. Fate seemed to take over and the rue we were looking for was quite long with so many houses, we did not have a house number so short of a door knock Daniel would remain elusive. At the end of the road I saw bright yellow and blue bread crates stacked in tall piles, "this is it, I just know it is" I said to JR, and it was. We rang the door bell, no answer. I trecked to the sheds and banged the door loudly, no answer. I could hear a distant tractor and walked towards the sounds of it working in the fields. I whistled and whistled expelling every puff of breath I had, but the tractor kept on its path, the driver unaware of his Aussie visitor standing at the side of the field whistling and waving her arms. John had met up with Daniel's wife and I turned to the sound of their voices as they became near. I explained who I was and she was off like a shot, over the field, waving her arms just like I had done, this time with sucess.

Daniel climbed down from his tractor, supporting himself on crutches after a recent leg break. It hasn't slowed him down by the look of things. He was in the middle of raspberry harvest when I arrived, the tractor was shaking the fruit from the bushes under Daniel's watchful eye.

He motioned for us to walk to the house, through neat orchards of blackberries, apples and pears, he tells me he also grows blackcurrant and redcurrant. We stepped inside his humble showroom and were met by a scented wall of intense honey and spice. I wanted to breathe it in and become it. Daniel shared his little secrets of success and invited us to his dining table upstairs to share some of his pain d'espice and home made nectar de cassis, thick and syrupy and so refreshing, "yes please, I'll have another, merci."

I have lost count of how many stranger's dining tables we have sat around and shared our stories of life with. Today's encounter was a very special moment, special in its simplicity - once again.

A little miracle is happening in the vineyards of Burgundy and today I was witness to it. The sour and hostile, young, green grapes are beginning to blush with purple, awaiting the September harvest. The bunches positioned to catch warm licks of sunshine are turning first. Change is coming...

Birthday Boy! Saturday 4th July 2009.

Skype did not stop this morning with calls to wish JR a happy birthday. While Mum and Dad were on skype, they watched JR answer the phone in the background, the person on the other end hung up when he answered with ‘bonjour’. Soon after, their phone at home rang. It was Linny and Pete from New Zealand. Linny said to Dad, “You have given me the wrong number to call John for his birthday, some French guy answered”. We all laughed at her thinking JR was French, although he is getting pretty good. So, Linny and Pete called back and John had a great chat to them, it was lovely.

Birthday cards had arrived at Combertault so it was nice for JR to have mail from home, thanks to all who thought of him. We spoiled him with beautiful coasters made of stone from a nearby village called Nuits-Saint-Georges, they are decorated with prestigious wine labels and will be a lovely souvenir of our time in Bourgogne. Alex had made a special card and gave JR his favourite box of Bouchee chocolates. JR was so surprised as none of us had seen them since leaving Australia until now. Grandma and Papa gave him matching coasters to the ones I had bought to make up a beautiful set that I am sure will be treasured always.

We set off for the Grand Cru wine road and settled in at Restaurant de la Tour at Nuits-St-George, the same village the stone was from used to make John’s coasters. Restaurant de la Tour is owned by two brothers who specialise in regional dishes; we ordered accordingly. I began with escargot cooked in their shells (I can hear you oohing and ahhing Francake!) with parsley and garlic butter, they were delightful – John tried them and thought so too. The meat was quite tender but had the typical resistance expected of escargot, but certainly not the rubbery consistency sometimes experienced when these little delicacies are overcooked. They had been cooked so perfectly, the parsley in the butter was still a bright green making them a delight to look at. I am happy to say I did not flick a snail or shell across the restaurant, I diligently clamped them and pried the flesh from the shells without incident. I cannot wait until my next encounter.

Next was Boeuf Bourguignon, all dark and mysterious on the plate, served with a tangle of buttery pasta, we all ordered the same for our main course, yum! I finished with a gingerbread infused crème brûlée. You all know I am a big fan of the brûlée and although it was a lovely flavour, the addition of gingerbread left me longing for the velvety texture of an unadulterated brûlée.

We wandered around the village, again, so pretty, neat and clean. I found an interesting little shop called Fruirouge & Cie who sell products of foie gras, escargot in many guises, jams, syrups, preserves, rillettes, confits, soups, oils, etc, made by a group of passionate and dedicated farmers from all over France. We dropped into a nearby village to speak to the couple who organise it but they were away on business, I will email them and set up a meeting – how exciting.

With me behind the wheel after John’s enjoyment of a local pinot noir at lunch, we drove around the back roads lined with lush vineyards, whose vines are becoming laden with brand new bunches of green grapes. The transformation is lovely to see after only seeing bare vines during our time in Lyon and surrounds.



After enjoying a wine from the vineyards of Chateau de Premeaux with lunch, we decided to call into the estate to enjoy a wine tasting, one of JR's favourite passtimes. I was interested to learn that they do not necessarily want the international tourist trade as these visitors only usually purchase a bottle or two instead of the bulk quantities the locals purchase. Claude and Arnaud were warm and friendly and we did have a lovely tasting of some soft and fruity reds, the first tasting of many we hope.




We sung happy birthday to JR back at home and ate our rich chocolate cake. It was yummy and I think AJ did a great job. He decorated it himself too. We made JR shut his eyes and surprised him with a bunch of fresh rosemary from the garden. JR had been craving his favourite sea-salt and rosemary potatoes since leaving Australia, we have asked and asked at markets and so far have not been able to buy it. Now we have the healthiest rosemary bush in our garden, just in time for a big, birthday batch of rosemary potatoes. Happy birthday JR!