If someone gave you three bags of old clothes, what would do with them? Pull out anything you could wear and then donate the rest to your local friperie*? Not Morgane Sézalory, who did a few retouches* and then sold them on eBay. In short order, her eponymous label was born (Sézane combines her first and last names), and if you’re looking for un peu de distraction*, I could not recommend this site more highly. Un grand merci* to our Chouchou*, Kirstie, for wearing the beautiful pull bleu* a few weeks ago, which sparked the conversation.
Read Morgane’s story here.
Skip straight to the shopping.
Although not a stand-out star of French cuisine like foie gras or confit de canard, the taste of le beurre français* is nonetheless sure to remind you of your travels.
There are three butters in France which have been granted their own AOP (appellation d’origine protégée*), which guarantees they will be produced in a consistent and traditional manner, with ingredients from specifically classified producers in certain geographical areas.
When we heard that Chouquette in New Farm will soon be selling arguably the best of these butters, Beurre d’Isigny, we thought it time to lift the lid on why French butter tastes better.
There are three main reasons for the goût supérieur*.
French butter typically has a higher fat content (quelle surprise!*). Where Australian butter usually has a fat content of around 80%, French butter can go as high as 87%, which accounts for its texture onctueuse*.
Isigny-sur-Mer, the town which gives its name to the butter, is an important centre of dairy production in Normandy. Apart from butter, Isigny is also the home of Mimolette, Pont L’Évêque and Camembert cheeses. With a mild, damp climate and proximity to the sea, les vaches* graze on grass rich in iodine and particularly beta carotene which gives the butter its storied buttercup-yellow colour.
French butter is also cultured, a process whereby live active cultures are added to the cream before the butter is churned. Though this process is now deliberate, in days gone by, bacteria formed in the butter as farmers waited to have enough cream to churn. In any case, it is the fermentation process that means the butter takes on its own lightly tangy flavour, and in the case of Beurre d’Isigny, leaves a slightly hazelnut trace en plus*.
*French butter | *protected designation of origin | *superior taste | *what a surprise! | *creamy texture | *the cows | *as well
Did you know?
Walt Disney’s forefathers came from Isigny (his surname is a variation on the town’s name). So if you’re ever at Disneyland Paris you can be assured the butter will be of superior quality, since, in a show of loyalty, only Beurre d’Isigny is served. More about Disney’s French connections here…
Tout le monde en parle*, that’s for sure.
The new Netflix series, Emily in Paris, is causing a stir the world over.
“Emily in Paris Is Going to Seduce You” - New York Magazine
"Emily in Paris review – an excruciating exorcism of French cliches." - The Guardian
The debate reached Lingua Franca the day after the series dropped, with students either totally beguiled by the depiction of a young American (the titular Emily) who lands a dream transfer to Paris to work in a boutique marketing firm, or absolutely horrified by the unrealistic portrayal of expat life in La Ville Lumière*.
Intrigued, we decided to take a straw poll here au nid* among our six French team members to answer the question: Emily in Paris - info ou intox?
*fact or fiction? (intox is short for intoxication, which is a false friend. In French it means poisoning or brainwashing) | *Everyone’s talking about it | *The City of Light | *at the nest
