Video Update

Patricia Michelson of La Fromagerie sent me a great video interview from a Belgian television show and I've added it to my January 3rd post.  If you'd like to see inside the store and hear how Patricia was inspired by cheese, click the link or scroll down to the January 3rd post and check it out.

Barefoot Contessa in London

I was so happy to see that Ina Garten visited La Fromagerie when she was taping her holiday special in London.  I wrote all about my lunch at this spectacular cheese shop (full of epicurean delights!) after my visit in June - you can read my post about it here. 

Before I go on, I want to list the shops that Ina Garten visited in London:

• La Fromagerie - bacon sandwiches
• William Curley Chocolatier - chocolate lollipops with fruit and nuts
• Ottolenghi - a Middle Eastern specialty food shop - cheese straws and sliced potatoes (thank you reader for telling me!)
• Harwood Arms gastro pub - Ploughman's Lunch (lincolnshire poacher cheese, keens cheddar, pork pie, potato bread, walnut bread, fresh radish, celery, carrots, apple, 7 min eggs, apple chutney and piccalilli relish)
• Borough Market was toured by Tom Parker Bowles
• Hebridean Smokehouse (scallops, salmon)
• The Flour Station (Chelsea Buns)
• (Piccadilly Chili - need name of food stand)
• Brindisa Spanish Tapas - chorizo, ham loin, salami and sherry
• William Yeoward - placemats, glassware, holiday tablescapes

Now back to La Fromagerie!  Although I couldn't bring back cheese in my suitcase, I was smart enough to buy a La Fromagerie tote in black and cream.  The version I bought has the cows (that produce milk for the cheeses they sell) marching across the bag with dignity.  I love the design and whenever I am on-the-go, it is by my side filled it with magazines, knitting and snacks.

So far it has been impossible to watch "Barefoot in London" on the Food Network.  I am hoping that they re-play this fun episode full of the London food scene.  You can read the recipes Ina derived from her visit here. 

*Watch a video interview with La Fromagerie's Patricia Michelson and have a quick tour of the shop and a peek at all of her luscious cheese!  Her segment begins (in English) on minute 4:17 - Press play, then move the bar to advance the footage.   

Visiting England: La Fromagerie

It is not often that I walk into a shop with articles about the place torn from a magazine. But I was very organized on this trip and I wanted Patricia Michelson to know that I had been reading all about La Fromagerie and had been wanting to visit her store for a long time.

La Fromagerie was on my "Moments of Delight: Visiting England" tour and I thought that she would be pleased to know it. Luckily, Patricia was in the Moxon Street shop when I came for lunch and I was able to introduce myself to her. She is so nice and what a beautiful shop she has!

Dark shelves of vinegar, jam and chutney. Beautiful open baskets of local produce. A glass-walled cheese room showcasing the prettiest selection of cheese I've ever seen.

Dan and I had lunch in the tasting cafe and shared an Ewe's Milk Cheeseplate (Perail, Wigmore, Ossau & Beenleigh Blue) served with Confiture de Cerises Noire (Black Cherry preserves) and a variety of fresh breads. It was delicious! We also shared a La Fromagerie Charcuterie Plate, which was a selection of cured meats accompanied by Duck Rillettes, Celeriac Remoulade and Cornichons. It was a midday feast and we ate every bite.

My visit was certainly a "Moment of Delight" and I was sorry that I wasn't going to be in town just a few days longer to be able to attend an in-store event in honor of Patricia's new book, Cheese.

If you are in London, be sure to visit La Fromagerie. I know ewe will love it.