Earlier this year, restaurants throughout the world were invited by the French Ministry of Culture to participate in Goût de France, an event designed to promote French gastro-nomy. As if it needed promoting! And all this just because French restaurants do not get much of a look-in at the annual 50 Best Restaurants awards.

Spain and Scandinavia do well. Is it a coincidence, I wonder, that certain Nordic destin-ations are quite happy to roll out the red carpet for visiting food critics? And as for those award-winning Nordic restaurants, all I will say is that Michel Bras on the wind-swept Laguiole plateau in the centre of France was foraging for wild food and herbs for his exquisite dishes before these young chefs were in short trousers.

A few years ago Unesco awarded the French multi-course répas gastronomique the status of Intangible Cultural Heritage, as it has done with so many unique aspects of world culture such as polyphonic singing from the Alentejo, Mongolian calligraphy, Turkish marbling, the Mediterranean diet and, of course, the city of Valletta and the megalithic temples of the Maltese islands.

With an amuse-bouche, a first course, a fish course, followed by a meat course, cheese or one or two desserts, the répas gastronomique is indeed a celebratory occasion. I can remember the first one I attended as an assistante teaching at a small boarding school in Albi, in the Languedoc, many years ago.

It was the Christmas meal before students returned to their families for the holidays. Oysters, foie gras, capon, cheese soufflé, an elaborate pièce montée for dessert and several kinds of wine succeeded one another. The chef was certainly one of the inspirations in my becoming a cook and food writer.

Here in a corner of the Maltese islands, the French répas gastronomique has always been staged with great panache. That the team at Ta’ Frenċ in Gozo is determined to carry on the traditions established by its late patron Ino Attard is welcome news to the restaurant’s many fans.

A stellar occasion presents itself on October 10, when Michael Nizzero, a Michelin-star chef from Champagne, will be cooking a six-course dinner together with chef Mario Schembri and his brigade, at the invitation of Mary Grace Attard, in a celebration of Ino’s life in a most fitting manner.

Both publicly and privately, Ino was the embodiment of hospitality and innovation, whether he was preparing a flambé, organising a Burns’ Night dinner or serving a peacock, as on one never-to-be-forgotten occasion. I hope readers will indulge me in this tribute, for not only was Ino a family friend of long standing, but also played a significant part in the development of the hospitality industry in the Maltese islands.

The last project we worked on together was a small book about Ta’ Frenċ to inaugurate the state-of-the-art all-weather structure which is much in demand for weddings and special events. As well as writing the history of the restaurant, which Ino and his business partner Lino Cefai built stone by stone, I included many recipes from the kitchen, using food from the island, such as capers, Xwejni salt, Tas-Salvatur olive oil, citrus fruit and fish.

So using local ingredients and recipes from the Ta’ Frenċ book, here is a meal to create at home entirely in keeping with the spirit of celebration and le répas gastronomique.

Lack of space prevents me from including all courses, but for the meat course I like boned and stuffed saddle of rabbit, a red wine and oregano sauce and roasted pumpkin. And for the amuse-bouche I suggest tuna tartare on galletti. For the cheese course, especially if entertaining friends from abroad, I would serve a platter of cheeselets, ġbejniet friski, ġbejniet moxxi and ġbejniet tal-bżar. Champagne is the perfect accompaniment – the celebration dinner on October 10 has a sequence of Boizel champagnes served throughout the meal – but you might also like to try this Bajtra Sour cocktail, courtesy of Ta’ Frenċ’s very own John the barman.

All proceeds from the dinner will go the OASI Foundation.

Lemon curd

Makes about 750g
4 large lemons with good skins
2 egg yolks and 4 whole eggs
200g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
350g caster sugar

Note: The curd contains raw eggs. The usual recommendations apply.

Grate the zest, squeeze the juice from the lemons and put in a double boiler or in a stainless steel saucepan set inside a larger saucepan half filled with simmering water. Add the lightly-beaten eggs, butter and sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Continue cooking gently and stir until the mixture thickens. Remove the pan from the heat. Spoon the curd into warm, sterilised jars, cover and seal immediately. Label, refrigerate and use within four to six weeks.

The curd is also delicious on toasted English muffins and warm scones

Tips
For tarts, spoon the curd into baked pastry cases and put in the oven at 180˚C, gas 4 for five minutes. Serve warm dusted with powdered sugar.

Bajtra sour

¾ measure Bajtra (prickly pear) liqueur
¼ measure Cointreau
¼ measure vodka
½ measure fresh lemon juice

In a shaker put some ice and add all the ingredients. Shake well, pour into a cocktail glass and decor-ate with a red cherry and slice of lemon.

Parsley, almond and garlic sauce

(Serves 4)

1 head of garlic
Bunch of flat leaf parsley, trimmed and well washed
75g blanched almonds
Gozo salt
Freshly-ground black pepper

Peel the garlic and put the cloves in a saucepan, barely covered with water. Bring to the boil and throw the water away. Cover the garlic with water again and cook until the garlic is soft. Chop the parsley and put it in a blender. Pour on some of the hot garlic liquid and process for a few seconds. Add the garlic and almonds and process further, gradually adding the rest of the garlic water. Season to taste and serve with the fish.

Olive oil poached fish with parsley, almond and garlic sauce

(Serves 4)

4 x 175g fish fillets, such as red mullet, sea bream
Gozo salt
Freshly-ground black pepper
1 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil for poaching

Records show that in Roman times the Maltese islands were green with olive trees, and the land fertile. Ruins of Roman villas and remains of amphorae and millstones bear witness to large-scale olive oil production.

Olive oil is also an excellent kitchen ingredient. As well as for salad dressings, for sautéing vegetables, for brushing on fish and meat before grilling, it makes an unusual and very good poaching medium for fish.

Tie the fish fillets into a neat shape and season lightly. Grate the lemon zest on the fish and sprinkle it with lemon juice. Leave for half-an-hour or so. Heat the oil to 80˚C in a pan just large enough to hold the fish in a single layer covered by oil. Blot any excess moisture from the fish and lower each piece into the oil. Poach for seven to eight minutes, longer if the fillets are very thick. Remove from the oil, drain and serve on heated plates. Serve with the sauce, which you can make just after seasoning the fish.

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