Last night I attended a lovely French dining experience with fellow classmates from our French School.

Our teacher Nathalie had organised an end of term dinner at the nearby Providore Cafe on Hampton Road. Chef Guillaume laid out a fantastic charcuterie spread of French products like hams, terrines, butters, cornichons (pickles), cheeses and delicious confitures (jams) that I spread over the cheese.

Over a glass of French wine, we chatted in French and the waiters also spoke to us about the various products.

The cafe has been on Hampton Road for some years but now they’re going to open up for evening service too. I made a mental note to return here with friends and with Andrew because the food is delicious, staff are friendly and the serves are generous.

After the entree starter, (I paced myself), the main meal was beef bourguignon, a perfect meal for winter. I hadn’t eaten little brown button mushrooms for many years (I just buy the general supermarket ones) which I later realised, I prefer these ones from the meal. They maintain their firmness when cooked. The potato were scalloped and made into a mould layered with a delicious creamy sauce.

It was a convivial dinner with lots of chatter and laughter. All of the people are Francophiles and who learned the language and culture through the school or travelling to the country. I spoke to a fellow student who had just returned from a six day immersion tour in one of the French villages living with the tour guides family all the time and she said that her French radically improved when you’re speaking it all day long, every day.

It made me realise that I want to do something like this. Maybe in the near future, I can do an immersion in a French village while Andrew can do his in a German town and later, we can meet halfway? That’s something to think about.

I received a compliment about my French speaking too saying they noticed that my French had improved greatly with time. Sometimes I think I’m going backwards as language learning is a constant daily activity and I do feel that my aural skills need a lot more work however, I took the compliment with grace and thanks. ☺️

After dinner was an enormous Crème Brûlée which was DELICIOUS. One of the better ones I’ve tasted with the crackle of caramelised sugar on the top.

When it was time to say goodbye, Guillaume was at the door and we offered our thanks. He gave us each a small jar of cornichons labelled with his brand.

We left in great spirits having enjoyed a little part of French life in the southern suburbs of Melbourne.