Bon Appetite - beware - you will be hungry after reading this POST!

Bon Jour,

I'm home from my French General - French Adventure, getting back in the swing of working, trying to sleep based on my time zone, and missing all the French Food!!

One of the first questions my friends and family have asked since I've been back is "How was the Food?!?" One word - AMAZING. The Chef's at the Chateau were incredible, making each meal better and more special than the next. I thought I would share the first set of my meals for this first post on France.

Bon Appetite!

Our first evening at the Chateau was such a nice welcome. We arrived from Paris on the train to Montabaun and arrived at the Chateau as the sun was setting. The rest of the ladies were enjoying wine and cheese on the balcony when we joined them.

Our first course was a trio of cold soups from gazpacho to a mint soup and mango with a onion puff. So tasty.

The main course was roasted vegetable, potatoes and a stuffed pork dish.

Dessert was a nice cap to the long travel day. Berries and cream. Mmmmm.

At the Sunday Farmer's market in St. Antonine there were many vendors with fresh fruits, (the strawberries were little pieces of candy they were so sweet!)

olives,

foi gras, and the below delicacy L'Aligot, which was like a cheesy mashed potato. Very rich, and pretty tasty!

After the market and a stop at a Brochante (much on these later) we went to a beautiful park and had a picnic lunch near the lake.

Lizzie (owner of Chateau Dumas), Renee (one of our brilliant Chef's) and Ollie (our resident do it all guy), set up a lovely spread for us.

The main spread included duck, onion tart, roasted vegetables, green beans, potatoes, and more.

The dessert was a flaky and sweet fig tart.

Dinner back at the Chateau was on this lovely set up out front.

We started with creamy hummus:

Then dinner was surf and turf, however I opted for a little more duck vs the beef. The roasted garlic spread was SOOOO good, luckily all of us ate it :)

The dinner was topped off with fireworks from a small town nearby, it was quite a show!

Breakfasts at the Chateau were easy and relaxed. Everyone woke at their own pace and joined in on breakfast when they came downstairs.

One of my favorite things was the muesli. It is hard to explain what exactly it is, but a kind of cold oatmealish cereal with fruit. I used to eat it all the time at the Corner Bakery in Chicago, for those with Corner Bakeries nearby! Of course there were croissants on the table each morning, along with a special dish each day. This day's dish was a cheese omelet.

The little chive just added such a great flavor to the omelet.

I realized I have MANY more photos of meals to share with you, but I figure I have made you hungry enough from this post, I'll wait to share more with you soon!!

Until then Good Eating!!!

-Rach