Once you've had Cavaillon melon . . .

In thinking of that old saying, once they've seen Paris, you can't keep them down on the farm. So to it is with food. Once I began eating Cavaillon melon, canteloupe became a tasteless mealy mess to me. It was finished.

Today we were eating as a dessert, yesterday's goat cheese and fig with a little bread, it remained a sensory delight, taste texture, sweetness and creamy all mixed together. We agreed that we probably will not be eating goat cheese in the US any time soon, as we just cannot duplicate what we have here.

It is a shame that we in the US do not put much pride in our food, it is about quantity not quality. We seem to process, pasteurize, fertilize, and use pesticide until the food has no taste and is unrecognizable. It is as if that old commercial about margarine is so true, you can't mess with mother nature.

I am reminded of the chef featured on the POV show on PBS discussed in an earlier post. The chef is French but living in Chicago and teaching as his school there how to make pastry. He discussed the French feeling around food, it is their belief that it is an important part of life to experience the best food, even a little bit for the pleasure experienced in the brain. It makes life worth living.

That belief carries through in so much that happens in France. There are gold medals given annually for certain products and it is with great pride that a farmer, or a vineyard obtains this designation, through the Ministry of Agriculture awards given in Paris every year. Here is the magnificent website:

http://www.cga-paris.com/

Although in French, it is a fascinating read to go through the categories of animals and food products that are judged here each February. This is a must for us to attend in the future and experience.

So, once you've had the melon or cheese or whatever it is that captures the pleasure centers in your brain, you are finished, complete. It is like love, when you are truly, deeply in love with a person and can look at no one else. That is the French experience.