Le French Festival has a local flavour
A TASTE of Guernsey came to last week’s Le French Festival, as local businesses Amchi Bus and Guernsey Woollens set up stalls outside the Guernsey Information Centre.
Amchi Bus owner Audrey Castanha said she had been hard at work cooking up an island-themed feast for customers, with beanjar, Guernsey gache and biscuits all on the menu.
‘The beanjar took about eight hours to make so it was a bit of a labour of love. The longer you leave it the better, really.’
She had also made a vegan beanjar, as well as a French-inspired bouillabaisse, or fish soup.
‘To make the beanjar vegan you take out the meat and just add a bit more vegetable stock and let it reduce.’
‘The vegetables in the bouillabaisse we got from The Soil Farm. There’s beetroot, squash, carrots and parsnips among other things.’
She said a steady stream of people had visited the stall over the course of the day, adding that they had seemed to enjoy the food.
However, she remained tight-lipped on the exact recipe she had used for the beanjar.
‘I know that people can get quite touchy with what ingredients go into a beanjar, it can be quite controversial.
‘All I’ll say is that, along with the usual trotters, beef shin, beans and stock, there may be some onions, carrots and suede in there too.’
Guernsey Woollens co-owner Paul Eldridge said that the company had been approached by Visit Guernsey to get involved with the festival, adding that he had managed to sell a handful of traditional guernseys and hats over the course of the day.
‘I wish it was a little bit cooler in all honesty. The nice weather we’ve had this month has meant that people generally haven’t felt the need to dress up more warmly yet.’
He added that the company was looking forward to ‘wear a guernsey day’ next month in support of the RNLI.
‘It’s always a big event for us.’
