It was June 1984, early morning, and I was seated in a brown Ford Granada next to my mum. I was 3 months shy of 14, and we were on our way to St Maure de Touraine, roughly 30 miles from home, to meet Mr Turmeau at Le Nemrod restaurant.

“Eating the right kind of food is key. To understand why, we need to know a bit about how our bodies process food. We eat it and it passes down onto our gut where the good stuff is extracted and used to help us grow and keep us healthy.” by Walter Mowat, Slow Food in the UK, Director for Scotland

This time last year I was in Lyon at a motorbike show with my son Camile. It was the first time we heard about what we now know as COVID-19. The French authorities told us not to worry, that the virus wouldn’t reach us any time soon.

“We have been supplying Fred and Betty for many years with wild Scottish game. It started in Glasgow and carries on today in Edinburgh at l’escargot bleu. To keep such a long work relationship going needs good communication and understanding by both parties, which I believe we have!” by Johnny from Burnside Farm Foods

Charlotte Blacker has written a few words for us on her free-range livestock grazed on wild and cultivated herbal pastures in the Perthshire Hills.

Today is a big day at l’escargot bleu as we await the arrival of a whole pig from Herb Majesty in Perthshire. It’s a cross breed that’s has been fed only on grass, so no added substitutes or grains. I’m very excited. The legs will be turned into a blanquette for this week’s menu and I hope you recognise the very special flavour when eating it, it should be treat.

Today is La Chandeleur in France, known here as Pancake Day. In the north east of Brittany a crepe is a thin, sweet, wheat flour pancake, and a galette is a thicker, savoury pancake made with buckwheat, water and salt. The argument between villages has been going on for generations.

“Take, for example, our l’escargot bleu dinner last night. Hand-delivered by a masked Fred, it came with easy reheating instructions. All we had to do was open the wine. The snails were paired with ‘sassaermaet’, a traditional, highly spiced sausagemeat from Shetland. Ronnie Eunson’s son Jakob makes it not only for l'escargot bleu but for Shetlanders to buy in food shops such as Ann Johnson’s wonderful emporium Scoop in Lerwick.” by food writer and novelist Sue Lawrence

“A warm Angus welcome from us, Jillian and Neil McEwan of Lunan Bay Farm. We’re really exciting to be working with Fred again. This time, showcasing our pasture-fed Lunan Bay goat meat. Back in 2019, we started supplying Fred with our Lunan Bay asparagus. In May-June, we deliver our seasonal, Scottish spears straight to l’escargot within 6 hours of hand-cutting, which guarantees an asparagus experience like no other - the freshest  asparagus combined with L’Escargot unique culinary flair! “

“Neighbourhood restaurants are an essential part of the community. There’s no impersonal internet ordering – it’s a human on the other end of the phone, Sophie or Betty, which says it all. We know that when we order from Fred and Betty, it’s not just their restaurant we are supporting, but also the other members of the bleu team and that fantastic supply chain of producers, across Scotland and beyond.” by customers Philippe and Julie