For the love of food

George Souglides, London

We spent a wonderful afternoon at an old mill hotel - Le Moulin Du Vey at Clécy, near Fougeres in Basse Normandie - to celebrate a birthday not too many years ago. I have to say that the French dining experience is second to none. We had a seven course lunch - all for €60 each. The meal included foie gras, lobster thermidor, wonderful cheeses, duck, sorbet, an intricate dessert and coffee outside by the weir. We were not rushed, the service was professional and intelligent, our co-diners were friendly and we had a bottle of wine to die for (Chateau Margaux 1981 Grand Crue Classé) - one has to celebrate superb food with a complimentary wine. I am planning to take a couple of friends back there next year for a repeat performance.

Fiona Donovan, Ringwood

My most memorable and unique dining experience in France was at a fabulous, unique and secluded restaurant in the busy ocean side port of Collioure in the Southern part of France just this summer. For many years my fiancé and I have visited Collioure and promised ourselves an evening there to appreciate this bustling Mediterranean town by night. So, nestled at a table watching the almost burned-to-the-wick candles dance and already suffused with a fresh white wine we will never forget the moment when we were both served the main dish of the meal.

A whole saupe laid on a bed of green rocket-type leaves and warm yet crisp potatoes. The meal itself was entirely like nothing we’d experienced before but it was the fish that stole the show - whole and stuffed with real garlic and butter, only the very slightest hint of herbs and cooked until it melted in the mouth was wonderful and deliciously different, a meatier fish than swordfish and more tender than tuna steak, a real one off.

The restaurant provided a wonderful experience, from the cooking aromas wafting across the azaleas, to the lights from the port across the bay twinkling lazily out at sea and the gentle rhythm of the waves breaking gently on the beach just below this dining terrace - made it all a truly memorable evening, mainly attributed to by the wonderfully prepared and beyond my imagination meal.

Caroline Boyce, Leigh on Sea

A wonderful country restaurant on the Ile D’Oleron. The Menu of the Day, for a very basic price, provided an unexpected extra starter of exquisite fresh oysters, followed by beautifully cooked local mussels, followed by a local fish main course, followed by a wonderful array of French cheeses, followed by a still warm and freshly baked tart aux pommes. What hope is there for most UK restaurants or dining pubs in comparison to this?

Andrew Domin, Bath

In my Irish boarding school I was one of the few who stuck with French for all five years, becoming gradually besotted by La douce France. When I finally made it to Paris a full decade later I was in heaven. Worn out with sight-seeing on my first day, I wound up near St-Germain-des-Pres where I found Aux Petits Paves. When the waiter approached to take my order I waived aside the menu and informed him grandly that this was to be my very first dinner in Paris, and I was putting myself in his hands. He started me with an aperitif and a crock of pate.

Next came a soup sealed with a thick and delicious crust. The fish and meat dishes have become telescoped in my memory with other fish and meat dishes. Dessert, however, I do remember. It was a bunch of grapes, accompanied by a bowl of water. With the studied nonchalance of the true Tipperary boulevardier I nibbled grapes, and washed my fingers afterwards in the bowl. I was to make it to Italy before I discovered that I was meant to dip the grapes in the water first!

Damian Smyth, Alameda, California

Over a number of years, there has been one restaurant in Paris which has, to my mind, consistently offered excellent affordable food. At the Relais Louis XIII, in the 6th arrondissement near the Pont Neuf, I have eaten lobster and foie gras tortellonis, seafood risottos which the American tourists in that part of town would agree are “to die for”, pan fried goose liver in red burgundy wine sauce with cepe mushrooms and bourbon vanilla millefeuille amongst other indelible souvenirs of fine dining.

Manuel Martinez, the chef, and owner since 1996, is one of the elite breed of “meilleurs ouvriers de France” but his restaurant is not as well known as some of his illustrious counterparts on the left bank. A gastronomic restaurant this most certainly is but the set menu at lunchtime (including cheese) is only €45 and in the evening it is €68. The degustation menu, which is definitely “du bonheur”, is €89 (two starters, two main courses and two desserts!). My husband and I have had five very happy years of meals at the Louis XIII. Do give it a try when you’re next in Paris.

Catherine Holc, Paris

When my wife and I first met, at university in Aix en Provence 14 years ago, an English friend recommended that we try the “Clos de la Violette” near Cezanne’s studio in the north of the town. We have never forgotten that first taste of a Michelin starred restaurant, even though as impoverished students we were forced to decline any wine much to the sommelier’s astonishment.

Wild young rabbit in a deep red wine sauce and a dessert of eight summer fruits accompanied by matching sorbets were some of the highlights then. The fixed price menu was a great deal even 14 years ago - 175 francs or £17.50 per person.

In June this year we returned to Aix. Since our last visit, the Clos de la Violette has acquired a second Michelin star and the meal was just as memorable. The four course fixed price lunch menu is still excellent value at €54. The wine list is magnificent and very reasonable compared to many Parisian restaurants. We had simply the best white wine we have ever tasted - a Meursault 2003 from Coche Dury.

Our two main courses that day were a delicate fillet of sea bass with a truffle sauce followed by the tenderest bouchées of lamb accompanied with summer vegetables with a light sage stuffing crust and topped with individual herb leaves from the garden. Simple, rich and yet difficult to describe and yet capture the skill and originality of the food.

The restaurant is comfortable and elegant, set back from the road in a quiet residential part of Aix. It looks out onto spacious gardens with the option of enjoying the provencale climate at a patio table.

Returning to a place so resonant of the nostalgia of our youth, we could well have have been disappointed. In fact, we couldn’t have been happier. The after effects were much as they were years ago - a satisfied, slightly smug relatedness’, still savouring the flavours and sensations of fine French cuisine.

Paul Taylor, Paris

After an impromptu visit to Notre Dame where we attended; quite by chance the inaugural service for the new Pope, my wife and I were making our way back to our Hotel on the Rue Amelot. Of course we got lost in the back streets between the Ile de Cite and Beaumarchais. On one of which we stumbled across a Tavern called ‘La Gamine’, it had a picture of the little waif from Les Mis’ for a logo.

The place was packed with local French diners, however the waiter led us past the bar, behind the bar and into a back room which at first appeared to be as full as the first but we were given a table for two adjacent the massive fireplace which was occupied by a mass of burning candles, the only light in the place was candles. I chose a duck breast served with an unnamed but appropriate sauce, small potatoes, carrots and wilted spinach. My wife had a fillet of turbot served on a bed of greens with puree of vegetables and a mustard mash.

We shared a pavlova type pudding. The carafe of house wine and the coffee were excellent as was the ambiance. Although I remembered every detail of the restaurant and the meal I forgot to note the name of the street. I got some strange looks from the hotel staff the following day when I asked, in my broken French, where I could find ‘La Gamine’.

John Summerscales, Taunton

Living in France as I have for the past ten years, it is not just one moment that is memorable, but rather the continual delights and value for money which impress. My regular lunchtime haunt (Coté Sud in Béziers) serves a lunch menu which can include baby clams in a provençale sauce, a tagliatelle au saumon, and a sorbet all for €10.90! Other recent pleasures have included queue de lotte (monkfish tail) with ceps, gambas flambéed au pastis, and a Pana Cotta, a sort of ice cream brulée.

Brian Smith, Béziers.

As part of our honeymoon in December we decided we would like to spend a special meal at the Jules Verne restaurant in the Eiffel Tower. Amazing, exciting, wonderful and memorable sum up our whole experience of this restaurant. We spent a fortune - but it was our honeymoon. The food is absolutely gorgeous and the whole ambience created a memory that will stay in my mind for many years to come. Right down to the experience of choosing the wine we were not disappointed, and having a window seat meant we could look out at the stunning views from the Eiffel Tower and watch the snow drifting backwards and forwards.

I have genuinely never tasted food so good in my life - the combination of ingredients and amounts made it a mouth-watering experience. I wish we’d had our photo taken there because I would liked to have seen the look on our faces. I’m sure we’ll be heading back for a special wedding anniversary, but this time my husband has asked me if I would look at the menu with the prices on before ordering. My menu didn’t have prices on - the men’s do as they are ‘expected’ to pay.

Samantha Smith, Spennymoor.

“Cheap” is never a good enough reason to eat out; however, “fabulous” is. It is perhaps just good fortune that Nice’s best food can be had at Chez Palmyre for only €13.50 for a four course lunch. If you go crazy you can buy a bottle of their own wine for as much as €7. The courgette flowers in batter that made up the first course were crisp and without a hint of oil. The amusing “alouette”, in reality a grand beef olive, was perfect. As this was served, so was a splendid plate of spaghetti with chilli and garlic. Dessert was just three perfectly ripe figs.

Judging from the slippers on the feet of half the locals in this little room and the rapturous reviews from the New York Times on the walls, the comfort of this joint is enjoyed by locals and, well, others too. I was so delighted I broke the bank by having an espresso and a huge brandy. The lady whose family have been running the Palmyre since 1934 saw us out with a big grin. It must be nice to do nice things for so many people.

Edward Tully, St Saviour, Jersey.

We will never experience a more unusual meal than the one partaken at a farm in Le Paradis, Normandy. It was recommended to us by our French friends and we had to book in advance and turn up at the exact hour or else. When we arrived, the farmer offered us an aperitif and told us to take a walk around the lake, checking out the vegetable plot on the way, while he carried on spit roasting ducks, which he had shot that morning, over the fire in the farmhouse. When we returned a table had been laid under an enormous old tree and we were invited to sit down to dine with a Belgian family, the farmer and his wife.

The farmer proceed to carve the ducks, his wife then served a cassoulet, and when this had been devoured the farmer produced a very old flagon that had been in his family for generations and which held Calvados made on the farm. Everyone was given a small glass of this, which he said was to make the “Normandy hole” in ones stomach so that we could proceed with further courses. He didn’t speak English, nor we French or Belgian, but we all got along famously and had a wonderful and memorable time together.

Sheila Bannister, Chesterfield

Walking through the cobbled streets of Brussels the smell of mussels could not be mistaken. As a predominately French-speaking capital, the cuisine culminates in all that is French - aromatic herbs and spices galore. The simplicity of a bowl of mussels is not to be sniffed at, as the accompanying array of sauces is sufficient to keep you entertained for the duration of your stay. The mussels were washed down with wine that perhaps should have been savoured, rather than necked- not so French.

Finishing off our night, we stumbled across what could of passed as a hotdog stall, minus the smell of burning meat. However, upon inspection we were faced with what looked like a cauldron, with a suspiciously cheery fellow offering snails. This seemed like the perfect time to try - this was now our equivalent of late night party food where anything goes. The polystyrene dish and tooth pick packed a medley of garlic and creamy sauce that could of masked tree bark, but as it turned out the escargot were not far off the texture of squid, and being avid fish lovers, it was a pleasure to have our eyes opened. A truly memorable experience.

Charlotte Kerry, Needham Market

I was on a balcony in Toulon with some French locals who didn’t speak English. It was a beautiful summer evening. The host was preparing dinner, and a generous dish of escargots (snails)appeared before my bewildered eyes. To my horror everyone tucked in enthusiastically as I sat in terrified anticipation, aware that eventually someone was going to offer me the unappetising delicacy. I didn’t have to wait long and before I knew it I had swallowed my first taste of snail. Not wanting to offend anyone, I braced myself and smiled before informing them all it was delicious, a bit like garlic mushrooms. This was just before a quite involuntary and rather violent shudder accompanied by an audible groan erupted from my entire being. They were shocked but thankfully a little amused and I quickly regained my composure, politely declining a second one. I can honestly say it has been my most memorable French culinary moment to date.

Jacqui James, Forres, Scotland

He invited me for a meal in his glorious Parisian apartment. I assumed it was a party, but when I arrived it was just us. He had taken the day off work to prepare a romantic dinner a deux. He proudly showed me into the kitchen to look at the Coquilles St Jacques bubbling under the grill. Oh God, how could he not know I was vegetarian? We’d eaten together with friends in restaurants hundreds of times. When I told him, the scallops were immediately binned. Worse was yet to come... “Mais, tu mange civet de lapin?” he asked. Stewed rabbit? I know many carnivores who’d never dream of it!

In a complete rage, my host hurled the Le Creuset dish out of the window. I was obviously the date from hell. I felt I should get my coat, he insisted I stay and eat with him. Since I whipped him into such a frenzy, he whipped up a souffle. It was heaven. Reader, he forgave me and I married him.

J Frances, London

Perhaps at the opposite end of French haute cuisine, my favourite experience of French dining is the simple rustic approach. A good loaf of crusty bread, a potted coarse wild boar pate and a bottle of reasonably priced plonk. The simple things are almost always the best!

Jamie Knights, Redruth