‘The Story of a House: fables and feasts from La Creuzette’ paints food in words and exquisite photographs!

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La Creuzette is a luxury Château in the village of Boussac in France, and the home of South African artist Louis Jansen van Vuuren and former banker Hardy Olivier. Today I was lucky to attend the launch of their second book (the first was ‘Festive France‘) ‘The Story of a House: fables and feasts from La Creuzette’, held at Oude Libertas.

I had paged through the book two weeks ago, at the home of Isabella Niehaus, a friend of the La Creuzette owners, and also of the two photographers Francois Pistorius and Hein van Tonder, who were appointed to photograph the food and interior of La Creuzette on the recommendation of Isabella. I was fortunate to attend a Food Photography Workshop on that day, hosted by both photographers and Isabella. We were shown some of the photographs which had been taken for the book, and lighting principles explained.

The book launch was held inside the hall behind the auditorium at Oude Libertas and flowed into the outside area too, with couches, riempiesbanke, and a red carpet to lend an air of importance to the event. French music by Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavour, and other icons added a French flair. Watermelon gin cocktails were served, as well as Nederburg wines. There were many guests attending, a good 200 – 300. Three tier stands were set up inside the hall, with biltong and droë wors, a favorite of Ton Vosloo, amongst others, good friend with his wife Annette of the La Creuzette owners. The publishers had set up a sales table, from which the new book was flying out at R600 a book.

Louis and Hardy addressed their guests, and told us why it was necessary to publish a book about the history of La Creuzette, their guests visiting in France regularly asking them the same questions about their residence. They bought the Château 15 years ago, and they are only the second owners of it, it having been built in 1850. They bought the house from Countess Michéle Renaud Saint Gal de Pons, and have dedicated the new book to her, to her children, and to the guests of La Creuzette.

Louis described the book as a ‘love story‘. When the Countess handed over the more than 400 keys to the Château to the new owners, she said ‘these are the keys to paradise’. She requested that La Creuzette remain as a ‘house of love‘, having married at the Château in 1934. The Countess is a ‘mean cook‘ Louis said, and Hardy had to step into very special designer shoes of the Countess. We were told that they added as many of their favorite dishes, with recipes, and of course mouth-watering photographs by Francois and Hein, into the new book.

The main book is divided into five seasons, the four in France, and summer on the West Coast, to which Louis and Hardy escape during the French winter:

# Spring, with recipes for sea anemone mousse with a tian of Spring vegetables; veal cutlets; rolled sole; pork fillet mignon; marinated sardines; Spring asparagus; piquillo peppers stuffed with kob brandade and Spring vegetables; asparagus and crab Charlotte; tomato gazpacho; white asparagus with morel mushrooms in a bread blanket; white chocolate cake; Valentine’s Day mango smoothie; lime meringue tartlets; chioggia beetroot with raspberry sorbet; and La Passerelle’s dandelion marmalade.

# Summer, with recipes for courgette flower and pork dodine with quail’s egg; La Creuzette-style Gargouillou; Scottish salmon sashimi on a salt slab; steamed kob with butter foam and purple carrot jus; sea bass with green apple and spinach; crab and apple millefeuille; opera of apple, avocado, celeriac, and crab meat; La Gargouille beef tartare; beef fillet with truffle jus and ‘potato flowers‘; chicken breasts with buckwheat and grains; raspberry tuilles with pistachio cream; and chocolate dessert with fudge and chicory;

# Autumn, with recipes for fried scallops with sweet peppers and epelette chili pepper; steamed cockles with sea-water jus; sweet potato purée with bacon from Hervé Chemel’s farm in the Auvergne; traditional ris de veau (sweetbreads) with green asparagus; pan-fried goose liver with beetroot and a balsamic and cocoa jus; rabbit thighs with Bayonne ham; carrot and langoustine velouté; pigeon breast with foie gras in puff pastry; farm pigeon on hay with a truffle and pomegranate jus; duck liver with fresh garden apples; pineapple carpaccio with verbena and orange sorbet; and sweet saffron pears with apple sorbet; and lemon soufflé.

# Winter, with recipes for Le Grenier à sel’s farm duck with Charroux mustard; scallops with watercress and tandoori oil; Beaufort cheese mousse; chicken in Bordeaux red wine (coq au vin de Pomerol); snail and vegetable dish; cherry tomato clafoutis; pork trotter burger; Spekulaas chocolate cake; pear cheesecake; La Bonne Auberge’s baked Limousine Apple on spiced brioche; Granny Smith extravaganza; crayfish tail pain perdu; duck liver opera with smoked duck breast and balsamic chocolate; marinated scallops with celeriac remoulade; salmon smoked on hay; salmon tartare; double leg of lamb slow roasted in the oven; granadilla cream with exotic fruits; canalés; feast bread; croquembouche surprise; Arlette millefeuille with vanilla cream; and nougat cake from Délices des Abbeilles.

# The West Coast, with recipes for limpet, horse mackerel and ice plant salad; oyster tartare; linefish with wasabi and avocado cream; seared tuna; crayfish and strawberry salad; fig, beetroot and prickly pear salad; polenta tart with roasted vegetables; Bella’s mussel soup; mussel Bobotie; Tuna tartare with
avocado and olives; fig clafoutis; Belinda’s vegetable cake; and Hardy’s chops on the coals with a quick mushroom sauce.

Canapés prepared for the event by Annelize Buchanan and her catering company created a queue waiting closest to the kitchen to grab the more than ten different treats coming out continuously, each prepared on the basis of a recipe in the new book. We have included some to illustrate the dishes listed above.

They added ‘The C{r}ookbook’ too, with ‘culinary shortcuts‘, with suggestions of using ready-made ingredients for a feast of a dish, and how to transform ‘something into food fit for a king‘. Fundamental to these suggestions is ‘to set a stylish table, polish the silver and use crystal’. Tips are provided for base ingredients such as onions, icing sugar, seafood, cheese, and more. Interestingly all the photographs in this second book are in black and white, and include dishes such as spring vegetable terrine, Hardy’s fast gazpacho with basil ice cream, salmon quiche, and many more. The interior shots in this book are in white and gold, adding grandeur to its content.

La Creuzette is a private residence, but also is a house for visitors wanting to take a Painting holiday with Louis; Creative Writing courses with Dr Riana Scheepers and Cherry Gilchrist; Cooking courses; with tours also offered.

The new La Creuzette book is a visual masterpiece in representing dishes one would eat at the French Château, its chef Thierry Finet being a master in creating creative masterpieces on the plate.

‘The Story of a House: fables and feasts from La Creuzette‘, Louis Jansen van Vuuren & Hardy Olivier, Quivertree Publications. Tel +33 05 55 65 78 27 www.lacreuzette.com R600 per book.