Celebrating Bastille Day in Australia
Every July 14th, France celebrates Bastille Day (La Fête de la Bastille or La Fête Nationale) which marks the storming of the Bastille prison in 1789 and the first major event of the French Revolution of 1789.
The destruction of the Bastille prison in central Paris was chosen as a symbol of France’s first stirrings of democracy, though it would take several reinstated monarchies and bloody revolutions to establish an enduring Republic.
A French Collection Celebrates Bastille Day
Every year A French Collection celebrates Bastille Day a little differently. Some years we have been in France and enjoyed massive fire work displays, street dancing and open air dining, and other Bastille Days have been celebrated in Australia. This year it was an intimate event with close colleagues and friends in the newly renovated office space of A French Collection in hometown Newcastle, New South Wales.
After a busy morning of answering emails, jotting down new post ideas and checking in on my editorial calendar I set about decorating the office with tricolour bunting and Eiffel Tower ornaments.
For this year’s menu we decided to do finger food and drinks. Authentic cheeses and meats from Pork Ewe Deli; freshly baked baguettes, croissants and delicious petit fours from French pastry chef Christian Breton were perfectly accompanied with French champagne.
French Pastry Chef Christian Breton
The selection of fruit tarts, hazelnut Paris-Brest and chocolate eclairs handmade by local French chef Christian Breton were a highlight. Christian gives the following history about himself,
“In the eighties I worked in a traditional patisserie (cake shop) in Bandol in the South of France, followed by formal pastry cooking school in the city of Marseille. These experiences have given me a strong foundation of knowledge in the field of pastry and cake making. Since completing my training I have built on these underlying skills, bringing me to the fine cake chef I am today.”
Christian Breton Patisserie is located in Newcastle and is a firm favourite at the small French market held just before each French Friday Movie run by the Alliance Française Newcastle.
French Cheese and Meats from Pork Ewe Deli
Everyone enjoyed the finely sliced smoked ham and intensely favoured French sausage that perfectly balanced the strong cheeses from Pork Ewe Deli.
We paired our meats with Chabichou du Poitou goats cheese, Gorgonzola from Northern Italy, Vintage British Cheddar and Goats Gouda.
Related Post – 5 Tips To Get The Most From Your Cheese has easy tips to make your cheese last longer and taste better
Homemade Quiche Lorraine
Preparing for our office party included cooking quiche Lorraine early in the morning. This easy dish is always a party favourite, and just as nice to eat hot or cold.
Following are my instructions on how to prepare quiches in the style of yesteryear. That is, exact food quantities are not given and cooking times are vague. I’ve found that very old cook books focus more about the origin of the produce and the choice of ingredients than the exact process of cooking. Much of the technical aspects of cooking in these old recipes is assumed knowledge.
Quiche Lorraine Recipe
- Lightly oil 12 mini quiche or tartlet pans with extra virgin olive oil (my pans 1cm deep x 10cm x 5cm)
- Line each pan with defrosted supple shortcrust pastry (I use store purchased sheets when in a hurry)
- Blind bake your quiche cases
- Crack 6 eggs from happy free range hens into a medium sized mixing bowl and beat well
- Add a large dash of creamy full milk to eggs
- Freshly grind a pinch of sea salt and piper nigrum (black pepper) into mixing bowl
- Add finely chopped freshly picked chives grown in full sun
- Grate strong and sharp cheddar cheese and add 2 handfuls to mixing bowl
- Now add finely chopped sliced triple smoked ham from your favourite delicatessen into the slightly cooled quiche cases. I like to cover the base with the chopped ham
- Pour egg mixture to just below top edge of cases making sure each pan gets it’s even share of grated cheese
- Cook quiches with soft medium heat until mixture is cooked through
French Verve Clicquot Champagne
Everyone was in agreement that our Bastille Day luncheon was a great excuse to drink champagne at lunchtime! One of our guests was telling me about her tour of the Verve Clicquot Champagne house and it sounded amazing especially because touring this famous champagne house has been on my travel wish list for some time.
So with another successful Bastille Day celebration over, I tidied the office and started to think about next year’s celebrations and how we could make it even bigger and better.
For more French National Holiday and Celebration dates read our article Calendar of French Public Holidays and National Celebration Days.
