The Hungry (Greedy) Hippo: France: Wedding in Champagne

The best meal I had in France was at a wedding held in a chateau in an area called Villeneuve St Germain, near a not-so-small (but still quite small) town called Soissons in the Champagne region. It was a beautiful place.

The 14th century church where the solemnization was held. It was even prettier on the inside, with light streaming through the stained glass windows.

After the ceremony, there was a cocktail reception held in the grounds of the chateau while the bride and groom mingled and chatted and took photos with their guests.

I took photos of the food.

The groom's family made all the catering arrangements. They had the food catered by a local restaurant, which the champagne was from a smaller local producer - the name escapes me now, but it was really enjoyable - crisp on the palate, very smooth finish yet not too dry. I wish I had bought a few bottles back.

Too much champagne

We had at least 4 glasses each before dinner - on an empty stomach. This being a clear picture and totally in focus, was of course, the first and not the fourth glass.

Various canapes were served to go with the champagne

Pate with bread

Proscuitto with rockmelon

Open sandwiches with various fillings

Prawns (very good) and tuna (not so good)

Shrimp (grey, ugly and not so good) and crab (very yummy)

Prawns with shrimp mousse...rather pretty but too prawny.

Various pastries and vol-au-vents - the one with escargot and herb butter was pretty yummy.

The dining hall all set for the banquet

First course: La Cassolette de Saint-Jacques au Noilly sur Fondue de Poireaux. The only thing I understood out of this entire name was Saint Jacques and I had no idea who he was until my friend explained the connection with the scallop shells. But back to the scallops - they were so perfectly cooked; the seared exterior balanced by an almost-cooked interior of sweet, succulent flesh. The sauce was a mild creamy one with leek which was not too rich, since the scallop juices had come out nicely.

Second course: Grenadin de Veau aux Champignons de Saison Mousseline de Celeri et Pommes Fondantes. This was veal with seasonal mushrooms, plus something that was similar to couscous, and a cheesy potato rosti-like cake. The veal was stunningly, amazingly tender, and the sauce with morels was out of this world.

After that came the cheese platter. It was sad that we didn't know how to specify the cheeses we wanted...the only French cheese words we knew were brie and camembert. So that was what we got. But they were amazing.

Seated too far away to even point. We had to yell our orders to the dragon lady across the table.

The dessert was truly, truly stunning....."Gratin des Fruites Rouges au Sabayon de Champagne".....raspberries and strawberries with a champagne sauce, vanilla ice cream and a honey-covered wafer. It was the best dessert we had during the whole trip. The sauce was rich, sweet yet light enough to be lapped up.