The Finesse moored in Saint-Jean-de-Losne, our starting point one week & finish the following week. Although in these pictures she looks deceptively small at 38 metres long she is 8 meters longer than her sister boat the Enchante which cruises the Canal du Midi.
Category: Rosa
First lunch of the season
Our maiden cruise aboard the Finesse & we have just served our first lunch of the season, a beautiful warm day in burgundy, so for the starter we served a tomato salad of green zebree, marmande & crimee noir tomato, oven dried cherry tomato, mozzarella cheese, avocado, salad onion, basil & dressed with basil oil….
Barge Finesse
A few days before our maiden cruise & the Finesse is guest ready. The finesse interior upper deck is an open plan lounge dining area & open kitchen. The Finesse has four ultra deluxe cabins with unsuite bathrooms.
Welcome to my new kitchen
Aboard the Finesse for the first time I have a demonstration kitchen, beautiful kitchen with marbel work tops & all the toys a chef could need. The kitchen is a metre from the dining table in the dining room, so guests can see everything that happens in the kitchen. it also means we can do…
New season new barge
After another winter working in the French alps another summer barge season is imminent, for summer 2016 a move to a new barge & new waterway. When I say new barge I mean this literally, the Finesse has been built & fitted out in Belgium, she will make her way down to Burgundy for a…
Food pictures
food pictures from winter job at La Petite Chapelle ski chalet. Sous vide cod, pea purée, hollandaise charred sucreen, asparagus. Pistachio & olive oil torte. Raspberry sorbet, honeycomb, raspberries. Pickled & seared mackerel, celeriac & pear remoulade, celeriac purée, Granny Smith Apple purée. Chai brulee, honeyed roasted walnuts, Granny Smith Apple, chocolate soil, creme fresh….
Autumnal Venison
End of the season on the Rosa & the markets are full of the new seasons produce. Many varieties of wild mushrooms are in season here, black trompettes, ceps, chanterelles & girolles which have chosen to use here. There are also pumpkins & squash of all sorts from crown prince, acorn, spaghetti & potimarron which…
Rocamadour goats cheese
A light cheese course for the lunch menu, Rocamadour goats cheese baked in the oven on a crouton of baguette paysanne, a drizzle of local honey & served with a little herb salad & black cherry compote. Rocamadour goats cheese belongs to a family of goats cheeses called Cabecou from Quercy, the name is derived…
Foie gras
As the seasons move on here the garnish changes on dishes according to what is currently fresh & available, with autumn upon us pears which can be seen growing in orchards all the way along our cruising route, are perfect match for the local foie gras. Here a whole lobe of foie gras has been…
Barge kitchen
As with most hospitality environments most of the space on the barge is devoted to guest space to create as much comfort as possible, as I have posted some pictures of the living space on the barge I thought it would be good to add some pictures of the kitchen area. A free standing cooker…
Goats cheese cheesecake
Like most of France Gascony produces a large amount of goats cheese in all shapes & sizes, one of the trips from the barge is to La Cheverie Du Mas in La Mas d’Agenais where Anne-Sohie Cazemajou produces a variety of lait cru, unpasteurized, cheese from fresh 3 day old goats cheese to aged goats cheese…
Rabbit
Rabbit is a much used protein in this area of France & very plentiful, a classic dish in this region is a stew of rabbit with prunes so over the last few weeks we have been serving the whole rabbit including its offal in modern interpretations of this classic dish for both starter & main…
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