WELCOME
W
HY WOULD my first restaurant have been named Les Quat’ Saisons?
My reasoning was simple: the seasons are the foundation of my
cuisine—and the seasons are the essence of my Maman Blanc’s
traditional and intuitive cooking style, a style that has profoundly influenced my
life since childhood.
I came under the influence of the seasons at a very young age, and in a very
hard way. As boys, my brothers and I were expected to toil for many hours in our
large family garden, where so much of our food was grown—endlessly picking
stones out of the soil (they seemed to grow there!), watering the plants, weeding,
hoeing and yet more backbreaking weeding. There were no free lunches coming
from Maman Blanc’s kitchen! So we worked hard in the garden for our food,
week in week out, while in the distance we could hear the joyful shouts of our
friends playing football.
But I also took notice of those superb vegetables growing and the ripening—
and of that wonderful fruit—giving us a bountiful harvest according to the season.
In this way I also learned about varieties and their different tastes and textures.
Then came the harvesting—mountains of peas, beans, beetroot, and potatoes
to prepare, and of course many baskets of fruits. Much of this Maman Blanc
would preserve in hundreds of jars, stacked on the many shelves of a cellar
almost as big as the house. It was a real family business!
Looking back, this intensive effort (this child labour!) instilled in me the best understanding of each season. It was the very
best school of learning. It showed me that vital link between seasonality and gastronomy, as well as giving me a great respect
for the food we worked so hard for.
There were breaks from this garden toil for me, however. These, for a boy, were the exciting days of hunting, foraging and
adventure in the nearby forests of Burgundy. With my friends we would collect masses of edible snails and wild asparagus in
springtime, frogs in summer, wild flowers and many varieties of mushrooms and fungi according the seasons. Then, through
our cottage industry, I saw a commercial opportunity. We began to supply local shops and restaurants with this wonderful,
wild produce. Although I didn’t know it, I had become a very young entrepreneur! I had stepped into the world of food and
business.
So the seasons have permeated my life, shaped it and defined it, right through to the ingredients I use in my cuisine. And
what I think we are beginning to see happening today is a growing awareness of our neglected local specialities and some of
our lost culinary heritage, and the need, the growing desire, to regain this knowledge and these values.
A note about Raymond Blanc’s Seasons
However much we know about food, about those vital ingredients, there is always something new to appreciate, something
more to learn.
The purpose of the magazine that you have in your hands is not simply to inspire you to produce superb seasonal
dishes (although I hope I give you that inspiration, too). My purpose is also to share with you the spiral of knowledge and
understanding—about food, from the roots in the earth, the fish from sea and rivers, to the animals in our fields and farmyards,
to the carefully prepared dishes on our tables and the nutritious effect this food chain has on our health and on our society.
Let’s enjoy a conversation about food culture, about fresh seasonal ingredients, so that we can all become confident and
knowledgeable consumers.
The journey begins in this issue of my magazine with some winter and Christmas menus and recipes. Here you’ll also find
some important tips I want to share with you. Also very much connected to this is an insight into local produce as well as
the fresh produce from our own gardens and allotments. So, following this introductory issue (which also contains some fun
elements such as travel and holiday destinations), in the next issue we’ll start to dive deeper, into the heart of food culture.
Along the way we’ll become more inquisitive about the origins and source of the food we prepare in the kitchen. It will be a
fascinating journey—let’s experience this journey together. Bon appétit!
Raymond Blanc, OBE, Chef Patron
Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons
www.raymondblanc.com
RAYMOND BLANC’s SEASONS 3
RBS.Welcome 3.vp.indd 3 1/12/08 5:54:08 pm
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148