End-of-year Picnic and Coupe D'Antibes Contest 2013

By now some of you will be melting under the weight of Coupe D'Antibes success and creating space on the shelf for the trophy. Many thanks again to Kerry for her cheerful and efficient organization of the contest!
The members and friends who attended our end-of-year event welcomed the sun (between clouds), enjoyed Kir royal (champagne and sirop de cassis) and then shared picnic fare as well as an occasional glass of wine. 

(The winners of the Coupe seemed to think that their 'no-wine-today policy’ was the key to their success!) Our BYO picnic was easy to organise and 'sharing the cakes' was very popular, with a particular 'strawberry cake' a real hit. (The berries were from the garden, but we would love the recipe, please.)

There were 26 competitors in the pétanque competition and while the regular players had been honing their skills over the past months, the finals were contested between the S Car Go (Bruce Gaunson and Neil Porter) and the Gee- Gees (Greg Welsh and Gabriel Roberts).     One of the semi-finals was an all male game, between S Car Go and Tanna Exploders (Ray Coutts-Smith and Pete Smith), which witnessed much sledging and cheering, amid numerous measurements. (Gives cricket sledging something to aim for.) Since last year, our players’ skill on the 'grassy pistes' has improved and caused a few to fall down,  once they moved over to the compacted sand courts.                                
The Canberra Boules group contacted us and was bitterly disappointed not to be able to participate this year, but they assured us they would like a return visit from our group in Canberra. Maybe we will have a formidable group to play next year, as both interest and skills seem to be constantly improving.            

Carmen Coutts-Smith 

 

 

Un déjeuner délicieux!

56 members and guests attended a wonderful Bastille Day lunch at Drystone Restaurant at Mimosa Winery today.  Glenn and Gail (and staff) looked after us very well and provided the food, wine and ambience we were hoping for.  Steve Clark and Colleen Spillane provided great music.  Merci Mareta for leading la Marseillaise at such ridiculously short notice! Here are a few photos in case you missed out - more to come.

Steve Clark and Colleen Spillane - lovely music!

The "shared mixed plate entrée.

Ray, Mary, Simon, Jan, Bruce, Carmen, Margaret, Brigitte and Neil at the after party :)

The menu - a classy touch by Gail and Glenn!

The Drystone Restaurant on the Tathra Bermagui Road is highly recommended!

Mimosa Restaurant and Winery

2845 Bermagui Tathra Rd

Bermagui NSW 2546

(02) 6494 0164

 

Bastille Day Celebration 2013

Bastille Day Celebration 2013

This year the committee has decided to organise a Bastille Day event focussing on quality French food.  We also decided that for the first time, our Bastille Day celebration will be a lunch. 

The details:

Where: Drystone Restaurant (Mimosa Winery) on the Tathra/Bermagui Road.  http://www.mimosawines.com.au/home.html

When: July 14th - for lunch - 12 o'clock.

How much:  Members $35, Non-members $55 - meal consists of shared Taste entrée plates, main and dessert.  Mimosa wines are of course available, as well as a number of other excellent wines.  Corkage is $20 per bottle if you want to take that special bottle.

There is a possibility that a bus can be provided ($20 per person return) to encourage safety on the roads.  Availability will depend on numbers.

Please contact Kerry ( kerryinparis@gmail.com or tel: 64959463) by June 14th if you would like to attend, and also advise if you are interested to travel on the bus.  Payment in full will be required by June 28th.

Payment: You can either send a cheque to The Treasurer, Alliance Française de la Côte de Saphir, PO Box 3, Merimbula 2548 - or pay by EFT - email us for banking details.

Gail and Glenn from Mimosa Winery are very enthusiastic about the event, and have provided a sample of the French-influenced menu - which looks fantastic.  We will be a part of a wider Bastille Day celebration in the restaurant, and live music will be provided.  One of the most highly respected restaurants in the area, members who have eaten at the Drystone Restaurant will confirm that the food and atmosphere is of the highest standard.  

This is our major annual event, and we'd love to see you there - bring your friends.  It is certain to be a memorable lunch, and a very highly subsidised opportunity for members to sample the Drystone Restaurant's food and wine.

Little Paris Kitchen SBS Thursdays at 8pm

Just watched the first episode, and it was good.  Definitely worth a look on SBS On Demand.
Here's a review from The Australian TV Editor, Ian Cuthbertson:
Whatever happened to French restaurants? In the 1970s and 80s they seemed to be all over Australian capital cities like un irritation. Now they are as rare as teeth in a coq au vin. And, since French women are known to be slim and gorgeous (see the book French Women Don't Get Fat, by Mireille Guiliano) it can't be that the food is unhealthy. This delightful six-part cooking program, hosted by English-born chef and food writer Rachel Khoo, pictured, will make you nostalgic for Paris and French food in general. The scenes of Paris are beautifully shot and they reflect Khoo's passion for the place. The chef left England to live and work in Paris years ago. She trained at Le Cordon Bleu before opening a restaurant in her tiny flat in Belleville where, with just two tables, she wowed the notoriously fussy French food critics and anyone lucky enough to score a booking. This is not just a triumph of celebrity cooking but a victory over space that should inspire anyone living in cramped conditions to give adventurous cooking a red-hot go. With arms outspread, Khoo can almost touch the walls in her kitchen. Undaunted, she show us how it's done with humour and a lovely, engaging manner. Her aim in this series is to take the fear out of French cooking. Mission accomplished.

French Cooking Class with Lynne Macmillan

8 lucky members had the rare chance to enjoy preparing (and eating of course) a 3 course French meal under the watchful, experienced eye of Lynne Macmillan at her beautiful home in Tathra.

Le Menu:     Escalope de saumon au fumet d'huitres

                      Medaillons de porc aux pommes et au cidre

                      Tian de courge & courgettes Provençal

                      Croustade de pommes et de pruneaux a la Gasconne (Pastis Gascon)

                      Glace aux pruneaux et Armagnac

Thanks for giving so freely of your time Lynne - I'm sure everyone there had a fantastic day (and this wannabe chef spent the day at home sleeping and/or coughing!).

I really hope this can be repeated on another occasion.

Neil

Kerry, Anh-Thu, Gai, Margaret sharing a laugh in the kitchen.

Margaret dealing with the apples.

Gai, Jan, Gabriel, Narelle, Kerry, Margaret and Anh-Thu.

Margaret, Anh-Thu, Robert, Lynne, Gai, Kerry, Gabriel, Narelle.

Lynne and Gai serving the vegies.

Margaret, Anh-Thu, Robert, Lynne, Gai and Jan.

Lynne's Cooking Classes

French Cooking Classes with Lynne MacMillan

Final numbers are in.  We have a full Wednesday group (with a waiting list).  Unfortunately, the numbers for the Saturday group were not sufficient for it to run, so it has been cancelled.

Change in time for SBS French News!

From today the FrenchNews on SBS TV has a new time.

Tune in to the French News program, at 8.40am daily on SBS ONE, and Monday to Saturday at 5am on SBS TWO.

:)

Two special events in May!

It doesn't rain but it pours!  There will be two major AF events in May:

The Alliance Française de la Côte de Saphir is organising a French Immersion Weekend on Saturday 4 and the morning of Sunday 5 May 2013 at Club Sapphire, Merimbula. Two experienced teachers from Alliance Française de Canberra will guide you through a variety of learning activities. Costs are still being calculated and full details will be published in the April edition of La Mouette, when the request for enrolment and payment will be made. Numbers are limited and Alliance members will have priority, with payment being confirmation of booking. If you would like to participate in this great opportunity to "immerse" yourself in the language and have lots of fun while doing it, please call Gai Jacobs on 6495 0365 or email gayrenejacobs@y7mail.com with your expression of interest. Any enquiries can also be directed to Gai. 

We are very pleased to announce that Lynne MacMillan has agreed to offer two special French food classes in May - one on Wednesday May 8th and the other on Saturday May 11th.   Both are for lunch time meals.  The classes will be available for members only, and will be limited to 9 per class.  Cost will be approximately $30 per member.  As you may know, Lynne has taken a number of U3A cooking groups to France in the last few years, on very popular tours.  She has also run regular cooking classes across a range of cuisines for U3A members.  This is expected to be a very popular activity - further details and booking options will also be published in next month's La Mouette.  Please contact Neil on afsaphir@gmail.com for details and/or to express interest.

New movies

5 new movies have been added to the AF library at the Sapphire Aquatic Centre on 8/4/2013.
   

Bienvenue!

What a good start to the AF de la Côte de Saphir year!  A good crowd of 31 members and friends enjoyed Rex's hospitality and the wonderful food provided by Graham and Jenny in the natural surroundings of Rex Tura Beach home.  Thank you all for coming!