Bonjour!

Bonjour!  

Great beauty is to be found in the gardens of Le Manoir during these winter months. I enjoy a stroll across the lawn, and this morning it was a white carpet of frosted grass that crunched with each step I took. At times in recent weeks the ponds have been mirrors of ice. I wander the path, past the bamboo and the trees of plum and almond. As I did so today, my mind took me back to Kyoto, where I visited the Golden Pavilion Temple. That is when I dreamt of creating a Japanese teahouse at Le Manoir. That dream, that trip to Japan, was thirty years ago… And then I reach the end of the path and there it is, the Japanese teahouse that I dreamt of. The epitome of purity, this little house that is made of English oak has provided the setting for many marriage proposals.  

Our potager – a glorious ‘veg patch’ – is like an ode to winter, with neatly lined rows of vegetables; kale, Brussels sprouts, Cavolo Nero… Soon they will make their way to our kitchen, and then to the table. I smile always at the sight of the celeriac as they sit on the soil like a regiment of fat, green-topped centurions. ‘But Raymond!’ I hear you say, ‘Celeriac is not beautiful. It is knobbly and ugly.’ Do not judge a book by its cover and don’t dismiss a vegetable because of its appearance. As a child I would eat it raw and sometimes my mum would make sauerkraut, replacing the traditional cabbage with celeriac. Here, you will find a recipe for celeriac puree, and – for the ultimate celeriac experience – my recipe entitled ‘a celebration of celeriac’. Or quite simply grate celeriac and brush it with hazelnut or walnut oil and enjoy. You will not be disappointed!  

I wish you a very Happy New Year.