Minervois Autumn Fair

During The big autumn fair, Les Grands Chemins features the art and music, food and wine of Minervois in Southern France, and is a sensual experience on many levels...
... I had a ‘family’ dinner at Château d’Agel, cooked by Martine Ecal-Besse, the owner. We ate salad with fish paté and tiny tomatoes, then a smoky-flavoured cassoulet of duck and white beans. Cheese of the region followed and, as a treat for la Anglaise, there was a Jamie Oliver recipe of firm, ripe pears baked in pastry with chocolate.
In Martine’s wine cellar, we viewed an outstanding exhibition of paintings by another dinner guest, Martine Trouïs. Her work contrasts the elements of passion and purity, subjects of intense interest in the Cathar countryside. Additionally, there were sculptures by Josée Catalo and paintings by Joan Jorda.
Morning saw creamy scrambled eggs and featherlight croissants with individual jugs of coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice laid out on gay linen of the same hues as the countryside...
... Sleepover : Château d’Agel dates from medieval times. The rooms are vast; it is an expedition to venture from the canopied splendour of bed to bathroom. We spent two glorious nights here, with Martine Ecal-Besse’s irrepressible laugh echoing around the castle.
Set almost invisibly behind village walls, the castle has been carefully renovated by Martine, whose family have owned it since the 18thcentury. You can rent the whole castle in summer or stay on a B&B basis in winter...

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