Make it Mediterranean

THE ANNUAL Bonjour French Fair returns to the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre from December 15 to 18 with a fresh addition this year called “Vive la Mediterranee”.
The Franco-Thai Chamber of Commerce, which has hosted the fair for 14 consecutive years, is introducing the new attraction offering premium products from France, Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal.
“There’ll be more than 90 booths selling cheese, wine, foie gras, ham, tea and other food items, furniture, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics,” says chamber president Alexandre Dupont. “Visitors spend at least Bt2,000 will also have the chance to win a roundtrip trip to Paris, and investors will be able to pick up information and new ideas.”

As plans for the event were recently unveiled, interest was piqued with fine cuisine from around the Mediterranean shore, such as Cinco Jotas Iberico black-pork ham and La Espanola olive oil from Spain.
Chef James Na Talang put on a show for KCG, which imports the ham and olive oil, cooking classic tapas. Iberico is the most expensive ham in the world, he acknowledged, since it results from an intricate five-year production process. Free-roaming black swine fed a diet of pinecones produce meat that’s exquisite with melon and grapes.
Rodolphe Pacifico of Meda Selection presented another popular French export, Banon Cheese, made with high-quality goat’s milk produced in Ardeche and Drome in the southern Rhone Alps. The warm climate makes the taste less sour and adds an alluring scent, he said.

Goats also do the groundwork for Thailand’s own Cheese Vivin, a feta sold under the Vivin brand.
“We use top-quality goat’s milk from Chiang Mai and authentic French techniques to achieve a great scent and taste,” Nicolas Vivin explained. “It’s quite dry compared to feta cheese made from dairy milk and is great in bread dips and with pasta.”
Pinnacle Gastro imports Ronnefeldt premium tea and had Onjira Sriphaiboon introducing the Lavender Harmony blend from Provence, Darjeeling Earl Grey TGFOP Autumn, and Rooibos Cream Orange from Italy.
Meanwhile Alexei Raymond had aficionados of the grape enraptured with his Wine Connection talk. The Mediterranean was the cradle of wine production, of course, and has produced more than 3,000 different types, tapping the diversity of its fruit and flowers, he said.

Nontakarn Dapparungsi, managing director of Berger Product (Thailand), told the folks about Lampe Berger Paris, a modern take on the “perfume lamp” that’s been in use in France for 117 years. The smoke-free lamp sits mainly on dining tables, burning natural fuel safely.
An even older French notion is Mauboussin jewellery, lately being given contemporary designs after more than 200 years.
“The brand started off making jewellery for the royal families of Europe and Russia and the sultans of Brunei and went on to adorn Hollywood celebrities,” said Akkarej Pimkaen of Mauboussin Thailand.
“Nowadays we offer ‘Artist Jeweller’ products for every group, in a mix of design techniques and borrowing from different cultures. We choose just the right gems and other materials to match the wearer’s mood and personality.
“In selecting rings,” he advised, “ladies need to take into consideration the type of love they wish to express. A single diamond on a stone means one love, for example, whereas several surrounding diamonds mean endless love and three diamonds means long-lasting love.”

ALL EUROPE COMES CALLING
- The Bonjour French Fair takes place in the ballroom of the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre from December 15 to 18, daily from 10am to 8pm.
- Find out more from the Franco-Thai Chamber of Commerce at (02) 650 9613-4 or the “BonjourFrenchFair” Facebook page.