During our x-mas holidays in France, I was once again amazed about the quality of the food in the shops and the restaurants, considering my parents live in a pretty remote part of the country, where most villages struggle to get over the 1000 inhabitants mark. And yet, at the local butcher's in Chantelle (co-owned by the mayor who declared us 'Husband and Wife' almost 2 years ago), the holiday display looked like this:

Yes, the locals did think the 'townies' had arrived when they saw me snapping away with my camera, but Dede (the butcher) was happy to let me do my thang... And how could one resist the whole suckling pig, stuffed with some kind of pate, the small ducklings made of 'mousse de canard', the tiny vol-au-vents with snails and parsley-garlic butter, the saucissons, the... ok, you get the picture(s).

A few days later, we went to our favourite restaurant in a neighbouring village, run by a most enthusiastic couple and their two teenage daughters. Dad is in the kitchen, Mum is front of house and the two girls take turns to help their Dad during the holidays. One of them is already extremely talented, and the other is developing a very fine palate indeed, tasting everything. Maybe a fiendish food critic in the making?

We like this place, Le Prieure de Monestier, so much, we asked them to cater for our wedding with a resounding success (it's always a good sign when the wedding guests use the ubiquitous disposable cameras to take pics of the food!). So it's practically a given that whenever we visit my parents we must have at least one dinner there. And it never fails to amaze me to see, smell and taste what Thierry's fertile imagination has come up with. And how tuned into the latest trends he is. The cuisine is not your average rustic Auvergnat fare, no siree. It's sophisticated, light and innovative, and yet not intimidating to the locals who are used to something else. I must point out at this point that I like nothing more than my home region's specialities, but after a combo of Danish and French x-mas food over very few days, our stomachs were yearning for something lighter. Yes, the following is much lighter than what we had been eating until then!

Living in London and being a self-confessed foodista, I pride myself on having at least part of my little finger on the pulse of food trends. Thierry's latest invention was an amuse-bouche of cauliflower soup, fragranced with Tonka Beans. Well, I, for one, had never heard of Tonka Beans and neither had many of the people I checked with subsequently. It tasted like nothing else, and yet like alot of other things at the same time: one taste after the other seemed to appear on the tip of your tongue, swiftly to be replaced by another, familiar and indescribable at the same time. Vanilla? Cinnamon? Five Spice? No? Yes? Apparently that sensation is exactly the appeal of Tonka Beans. The chef had tried them in both sweet and savoury recipes, both infused and/or grated and had finally settled on this combo. Having not tasted the others I cannot say if this was the best, but I can say that I was a woman obsessed. So when prompted for more info, the man himself came out of this kitchen / kingdom and brought me a whole bowl of the intriguing spice.

Did I mention that it's my favourite restaurant?

On Wikipedia, Tonka Beans are described as " reminiscent of vanilla, almonds, cinnamon, and cloves: it has sometimes been used commercially as a substitute for vanilla. It is also sometimes used in perfume and is commonly used in tobacco". More worryingly, "The seed contains coumarin, and for this reason its use in food is banned in the US by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Coumarin is an anti-coagulant and can be lethal in large doses. Many anti-coagulant prescription drugs are based on more powerful forms of coumarin." GLUBS! Maybe not the spice of choice for a pregnant lady, then? Luckily, other websites are more enthusiastic about the beans: Scents of the Earth desribes the fragrance as "reminiscent of newly mown hay or a freshly cut meadow" and the beans are "said to lighten one's mood and be emotionally balancing". Maybe not such a bad choice when hormones are running havoc with your mood, then?

Not wanting to be left out, I set out to experiment a bit too. First off, a pumpkin and Jerusalem artichoke soup, with grated Tonka Bean and Chinese chives.

Hmmh... OK, but not convincing. The 'chokes' were probably a mistake, having such an over-powering taste.

So it was back to the drawing kitchen table. This time for something sweet, as my pregnancy has developed not only my bump but also my sweet tooth. And a new-found love of rhubarb compote which I had never attempted. Spotting forced rhubarb at the market, I pounced on it, dragged it home, chopped it up, steeped it in sugar (500g rhubarb to 300-400 g sugar), juice from one large orange and half a grated Tonka Bean. Leave it to marinate while you eat starter and main course, then pour into pan and simmer gently until it all dissolves. Having never cooked rhubarb before, I found it extremely fascinating to watch how quickly all the fibres just go limp and blend. The almost 80's neon colour is also very alluring and is truly put into contrast by a nice dollop or two of double cream. Who said 'craving'???