Le Tour de France through French eyes!

Le Tour de France! 108 races since 1903!

Guest: Sarah Zwick - Be My Guest Immersions

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For many years I have been an avid fan of Le Tour de France. I have watched it overnight during its 3 week run and chatted the next morning with work colleagues about the events of the previous étape. I have relished in the scenery of rural France and wondered at the well informed comments of the Australian SBS broadcast as they report the histories of the various châteaux and churches along the route. I have also consistently dreamed of living in every single corner of France that Le Tour has touched!

Toujours j’adore chatting to my favourite French chick Sarah Zwick (from Be My Guest Immersions in the Basque region of south-west France).

Having Sarah’s unique perspective of Le Tour as she recalls details from her childhood as well as well-known particular culturally significant rituals that accompany Le Tour from the French perspective, is a wonderful insight.

So far on the Tour in 2021 we have seen massive crashes, especially the one on the first day caused by a spectator. I can’t believe that the crowds are allowed to get so close to the riders! We’ve seen a brief rider strike protest to raise awareness of their safety concerns. We’ve seen some incredible bravery with riders continuing on with all sorts of injuries, we’ve seen some wonderful paddock art (as I like to call it) and some amazing scenery of rural France.

In our lovely chat about the “caravan de Le Tour“, the lengths the French will go to view the race first hand was fascinating to me. Merci Sarah for this wonderfully warm sharing of your world avec the rest of us!

Musique

La chanson du Tour de France – Amit Weisberger

I recommend viewing the film clip as it is filmed with some of the Tour de France in the background. It also has English subtitles and the full understanding of how funny the song is will be worth the watch!

Recette

Salade Lyonnaise de Loulabelle

In my chat with Sarah she said that when going to sit out along side Le Tour waiting for the riders to pass, food that is fresh but cold is best. A picnic of sorts! I always like a salad on a picnic and one particular salad I make almost weekly at home or take on a picnic is my own version of a Salade Lyonnaise.

There are many versions on the internet by various chefs, but my petite Salade Lyonnaise de Loulabelle is my fave.

Build a salad with:

Oak leaf or butter lettuce washed and torn gently
Crispy bacon lardons which I usually like to have warm
One large crouton of sourdough bread (I sometimes like to use an olive sourdough)
A free range egg poached and placed on the crouton – if you’re like me, sourcing the eggs that have minimal hens per hectare is worth it for the flavour and the karma – I’ve seen hectare densities as low as 75 hens per hectare but even 1500 hens per hectare as commonly found in my local supermarket is better than the 10,000 hens per hectare in most commercial free range farms – definitely never ever caged eggs!
A gorgeous vinaigrette of good quality olive oil, walnut oil, Dijon mustard and the smallest hint of red wine vinegar

Then the Loulabelle additions: