Still recovering from chairing this year's jury for Prix Ragueneau. I have never eaten so much in such a short time.
We began with a wine-tasting and a 4-hour lunch at Chateau Thenac (magnificent red Bergerac wines), then a 4-hour dinner at my favourite restaurant, Le Vieux Logis in Tremolat.
The next morning began with the truffle market at Sainte Alvere, where the casse-croute (morning snack) was scrambled eggs with truffles, with bread and truffle butter, haricots couennes, confit de canard, pate de canard aux truffes and a selection of wines from Domaine de l'Ancienne Cure, Tour des Gendres, Chateau Belingard etc.
Then Francis-Xavier de St Exupery led us into a tasting of thirty years of his wines at Chateau de Tiregand, and thus sortified we went to the judging.
Five chefs and sommeliers were in the final, each producing a starter and a main course with appropriate wines, and the sommeliers had to explain their choice and we tasted, sipped and totted up our our scores.
The winner was Sebastien Pajot of restaurant Le Baraque at Orcines, with a beautifully layered marriage of foie gras, truffles and pig's trotter, with a glorious red Bergerac, Chant de Coquelicot, 2009. The main course was a local chicken roasted with a sauce of truffled Jerusalem artichokes with an enchanting 2011 dry white from Domaine de l'Ancienne cure.
I awarded the prize that evening at the lovely old Maison des Vins which dominates the quayside of Bergerac, with the Dordogne river in full spate below.
We began with a wine-tasting and a 4-hour lunch at Chateau Thenac (magnificent red Bergerac wines), then a 4-hour dinner at my favourite restaurant, Le Vieux Logis in Tremolat.
The next morning began with the truffle market at Sainte Alvere, where the casse-croute (morning snack) was scrambled eggs with truffles, with bread and truffle butter, haricots couennes, confit de canard, pate de canard aux truffes and a selection of wines from Domaine de l'Ancienne Cure, Tour des Gendres, Chateau Belingard etc.
Then Francis-Xavier de St Exupery led us into a tasting of thirty years of his wines at Chateau de Tiregand, and thus sortified we went to the judging.
Five chefs and sommeliers were in the final, each producing a starter and a main course with appropriate wines, and the sommeliers had to explain their choice and we tasted, sipped and totted up our our scores.
The winner was Sebastien Pajot of restaurant Le Baraque at Orcines, with a beautifully layered marriage of foie gras, truffles and pig's trotter, with a glorious red Bergerac, Chant de Coquelicot, 2009. The main course was a local chicken roasted with a sauce of truffled Jerusalem artichokes with an enchanting 2011 dry white from Domaine de l'Ancienne cure.
I awarded the prize that evening at the lovely old Maison des Vins which dominates the quayside of Bergerac, with the Dordogne river in full spate below.
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