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Foodies share more than a meal at Good France events
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Honey-roasted duck served at the Amuz gourmet restaurant in Jakarta (JP/Muthi)
T
he end of March is a special time of year for food lovers thanks to a series of get-togethers in numerous countries to celebrate French cuisine under the banner of Good France.
In Indonesia, the festival is celebrated in the major cities of Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Semarang, Surabaya, Makassar, Manado and Minahasa this year.
The highlight of the festival took place on Wednesday, when participating restaurants offered a special menu.
Some restaurants in Jakarta offered the Good France menu for several days, for instance AMKC Atelier, which will serve the dishes until Tuesday, Avec Moi until April 4, and Emilie until April 21.
Read also: Good France returns with more participants, new highlights
Meanwhile, the renowned Amuz Gourmet serves the menu until today for dinner. The Jakarta Post joined a dinner with French Ambassador to Indonesia and Timor-Leste Jean-Charles Berthonnet at Amuz on Saturday.
A table shared with a few other guests made for a chatty and casual dinner, with conversation touching on various French cheeses. Amuz’s signature pastry, gougère, was followed by two options for starters, namely sake-poached chilled king prawn or escargots à la Bourguignonne.
Berthonnet, who hails from Lille, said that the most emblematic foods from his homeland were French fries and mussels, although he later said fries were more Belgian than French.
In conjunction with this year’s Good France theme that showcases the culinary wealth of the French southwestern region of Nouvelle-Aquitane, one main course option was honey-roasted duck magret with foie gras cromesquis. The dish was completed with baked butternut pumpkin, king mushroom, petit pois and pilsner-balsamic jus.
While waiting for the dessert, a guest asked the ambassador whether French President Emmanuel Macron planned to visit Indonesia. Immediately Berthonnet played President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s recent video blog post featuring President Macron at the G20 meeting.
He went on to say with a smile that the embassy would help set up a date for the French President’s visit.
Beyond food, Good France is an initiative to appreciate French gastronomy as a world cultural heritage and to celebrate the spirit of sharing and togetherness.
