French cuisine is hugely varied and massively diverse. Yet there’s one thing every dish has in common: flavour. Packed full of bold ingredients, every French dish is a true flavour sensation, a treat for the tastebuds. So how do they get it so good? The secret ingredient is a little touch of patience.
Allowing the ingredients to blend together slowly and gradually ensures the development of a flavour that’s wonderfully mature and full-bodied. Paul Bocuse’s legendary coq au vin, for example, needs to marinate overnight to enjoy a flavourful and tender dish. And Joël Robuchon’s boeuf bourguignon takes hours to achieve that perfect taste.
Cooking French food is great for a special occasion or when you have time to enjoy cooking. But when it’s 6pm and you’ve just got home from work, it’s easier to just choose a quick, simple dinner. This means you’re missing out on enjoying all those lovely French flavours.
But it doesn’t have to.
The modern-day traiteur
Long before France was bursting with Michelin-starred restaurants, its city’s streets were lined with traiteurs; independent caterers selling mouthwatering home-cooked dishes to hungry passersby. While you can still find lots of traiteurs in France, fine French meals as a convenience food has developed over the years. French ready meals are considered to be easy ways to enjoy luxurious French flavours, without spending hours at the stove. And they’re unbelievably good.
A prime example is French onion soup. It’s so easy to prepare and it’s ready in 10 minutes… and with a sprinkling of aged Comté on toasted baguette it’s pretty close to the real deal.
La Belle Chaurienne
Looking for something a little more substantial than soup? Let us introduce you to La Belle Chaurienne. Based in the stunning town of Castelnaudary, between Toulouse and Carcassonne, La Belle Chaurienne’s mission is to bring the town’s famous flavours to people all across the world. And it achieves this by developing beautiful ready-to-heat authentic French meals in jars, tins, and trays.
The brand’s duck cassoulet may only take 2 minutes in the microwave, but there’s absolutely no compromise in taste or authenticity. Featuring Toulouse sausage and French duck, it transports you to southern France in less than the time it takes to boil a kettle. The Belle Chaurienne meatballs in Catalan sauce, made with French beef and pork belly lardons, take you on the same journey.
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