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76
winter
|
spr ing
wine, smooth and grainy Dijon mustard, and root vegetables, all
of it locally grown and produced. That is followed by roast fillet
of haddock with herb crust, fresh tomato sauce with “a little twist
of basil,” pasta, and green asparagus. After the main course, there
are three cheeses (there are
always
three cheeses): tonight they
are Bleu de Chevre (blue goat cheese), Regal de Bourgogne aux
raisins, soaked in Marc de Bourgogne (a local brandy made from
grape
pomace
), and Petit Pont L’eveque. Dessert was a sticky toffee
pudding with butterscotch sauce (Caroline gives away her English
roots with this one), and a warm date sponge cake.
BREAKFAST
There are no set times for the morning meal, but the dining
table is set early – Hannah chooses a local bakery from which she
selects the various pastries and bread for the day – with a nice array
of freshly baked pastries and bread, sweet butter, jams, jellies and
marmalade, freshly squeezed orange juice, tea, coffee (including
espresso drinks), yoghurt, muesli, granola, cereal, dried fruit, bananas,
and fresh fruits; cherries were in season.
We guests linger... and talk... and ask about today’s agenda.
LUNCH & DINNER
For lunch, we are served Coronation Chicken (in lightly
curried mayonnaise) poached in water and lemon juice under
the canopy on deck, as we cruise the canal and wave to
schoolchildren who seem pleased to watch this fancy boat
manned with convivial foreigners go by.
Our second dinner – all our meals except for breakfast
are served on deck – is as adventurous as the first, beginning
with a roasted fig salad featuring warm goat cheese and
followed by roast fillet of pork accompanied by a prune and
port reduction sauce and seasonal vegetables. Dessert was
a
tarte tatin,
and the three cheeses were all made from cows’
milk: St. Agur (a blue cheese), Langres, and Morbier.
Hannah describes and explains each type of cheese
(they are all French but not necessarily Burgundian) she has
A vineyard manager explains the nuances
of growing a good Burgundy, including the
fact that vintners are not allowed – under
penalty of law – to water their vines
Hundreds of barrels of Chambertin-
Clos de Beze cool in the Drouhin
cellars, overseen by Christine
Drouhin Laroze, proprietor
Schoolchildren wave as the
Aprés Tout floats by on the
Canal de Bourgogne
TRAVEL