Food - and drink,  to a lesser extent, assail me at every turn. I have to say that I do not try too hard to avoid them. I simply love food... and can find few excuses not to turn up to those invitations where good food is included.

On the 19th March the French ambassador H.E. Beatrice le Fraper du Hellen, followed the wishes of Alain Ducasse who needs  no introduction and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development and did what 1000 chefs with 1000 menus were doing in five  continents:  celebrating French gastronomy by participating in a 'diner français'. Each restaurant taking part was to remain faithful to the values of pleasure, respect for good food and its sharing.  The event was to render homage to a cuisine which is open, living and innovative. The idea was launched this year and the response, surpassed all expectations. Laurent Fabius, the French politician and former PM, on presenting this project said: 'The patrimony of France is its cuisine, its wines... the French meal has been part of the World Heritage of UNESCO since 2010. It is not only a heritage to contemplate, glorify and savour, it is a heritage which must bear fruit and develop.

France's chef, Alain Ducasse commented that French cuisine is the interpretation of a cuisine which has evolved into lightness and harmony with its environment.

In order to see this event through  an international committee of chefs led by Alain Ducasse approved the list of participating chefs, amongst them greats like Paul Bocuse, Raymond Blanc, Thomas Keller and others.

French cuisine and its culture is a great attraction and motivator for 60% of tourists who visit France.

Chefs were asked to propose in their restaurants a French menu : a traditional French aperitif, a cold entrée and a hot one too, fish or shell fish, meat or chicken, a French  cheese or a selection of French cheeses, a chocolate dessert, wines and a French digestif. At the same time they  were free to enhance their own culinary traditions/culture.

Apart from restaurants, French embassies were encouraged to participate in the event by organizing a dinner at their own residence.

Well, Her Excellency is not one to pass by such an opportunity of putting France and its food into focus so she asked about 20 guests or more to dine at her residence in Zebbug on 19th March, which also happens to be the feast of St Joseph and the birthday of my eldest.

The French residence, a historic house in Zebbug has never looked so splendid... there were candles everywhere in the garden which enhanced the citrus trees. There were candles inside too which created a truly warm and sophisticated ambience.  H.E. looked very chic in a black outfit - trousers with a longish jacket, beautifully cut and a white silk blouse underneath.

A long table was placed in the salon rather than the dining room which would have been too small for this occasion. It was napped in white damask with gold rimmed china and silverware. It is spring so there are flowers in Malta and HE made the best use of them.

There were magnums of champagne and coups de champagne beautifully arranged in the garden. I almost expected Madame de Pompadour to appear from one of the paths on which I had, on a couple of occasions, nearly broke an ankle.  HE had planned everything  with military precision but with more than one feminine touch. There were several members of the cabinet and their spouses to my delight my dear friend Phyllis Muscat and Mr and Mrs Tonio Portughese. 

Once we arrived, we were offered champagne and canapés and this got conversation moving. Most knew each other and picked up conversation from where they had abandoned  it at some other dinner or reception the previous couple of weeks.

Once we sat at table - on my left the kind papal nunzio and on my right the erudite Charles Xuereb,  the feast went like this: Gougères de Bourgogne  - those light delicious 'nothings' made with cheese etc.  Foie gras de Chez Cyrille et sa compote de figues came next.  This must have been purposely ordered from the restaurant in Valletta and I loved the Foie Gras and the compôte of figues which accompanied this generous helping.

The Veloute de Carottes was not the same carrot soup which I churn out in winter and which I enhance with fresh corriandar and/or cream. The kitchen brigade in Zebbug had followed the recipe of Alain Ducasse and also used Maltese oranges which turned it into a sophisticated dish.

The Glacées prawns au cognac with vegetables were beautifully presented. We were being truly well victualled on St Joseph's Day. Serving at table were some very smart girls from the Institute of Tourism Studies which HE had recruited for this very special occasion.

For  the meat course we had Filet Mignon au Chef a la Moutarde Ancienne... I love mustard and nowadays in the delicatessens and supermarkets there is a wide choice. In my childhood we had a small tin of Coleman's and my mother would mix the power with either water or vinegar. My mother-in-law in Mauritius used to make Moutarde a l'Ancienne with coriander,  sage and  other secret ingredients which she could never remember if she was passing on the recipe to me. But, these days all is on the internet.

There was no cheese dish which threatens to  raise our cholesterol if we indulge too much. An elegant piece of Roquefort Cave des Templiers was served with biscuits individually. Fréderic Depetris, Deputy Head of the French Diplomatic Mission in Malta told us that this cheese is famous. This is one thing that the Knights Templars left behind them on the Plateau de Larzac he said. The parsley in this particular Rocquefort is intense and the texture very smooth. Mmmm.

The style of the whole dinner was nirvana. It was at once stylish, relaxed, elegant and informative as from time to time someone gave a short explanation about what we were eating, such as the Maltese oranges.

For desert it was Fondant de Chocolat aux Poires.  It was a big helping when you consider what had been served before. Delicious but just too much and I could hardly wrap it and take it home to eat in the bath during the week. 

Coffee was served in the drawing room by two young girls who stood guard over a beautifully napped table with the cups and saucers laid out to perfection.

The Champagne served was  Ruinart Blanc de Blanc. Ruinart is said to be the oldest Champagne house in France and was set up in 1729. We had some lovely wines including a Pouilly Fuissé, a Saint-Emilion Grand Cru and others and a calvados Adrien Camut with the coffee.  The wine gave me added courage to turn to HE the Papal Nunzio and ask him about his beliefs. Mgr Cavalli was marvelous and patient and I am sure he will not mind my relating a litte of this conversation. The soul is mentioned once in the Bible he told me. He does a lot of thinking and prays constantly. He has done good things in his life for others but has also made mistakes and, he remarked that when he had made mistakes it was because he did not understand (not because he meant harm). I thought that was a humble admission to make to me and I admired him for it. I may be a lapsed/collapsed Catholic but I still have a very Catholic temperament and I can only see things in black and white.  I had hoped that by sitting next to him some of his holiness would rub off on me. But I don't think it has.

Her Excellency and her small team really did us proud and the evening went smoothly with no fuss. And to think if I have more than two casseroles on the stove and am entertaining more than six friends I start getting the vapours. Calling it an excellent evening sounds so very tame. But at this stage words fail me.                                                                

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