In Nice, professionals offered their patron saint “the most beautiful table ever set in a church.”
If there is a saint that can be used in any context, it’s Saint Fortunatus, the patron saint of cooks and gastronomes. And it didn’t take long to convince the cooks, pastry chefs, and confraternities from the Côte d’Azur to join the cause.
Invited by Father Gil Florini to a festive celebration in Saint-Pierre d’Arène Church in Nice, they came “as they are,” in jackets and outfits, to honor their patron saint, Venance Fortunatus: a bon vivant and troubadour from the 6th century who became a bishop and was the author of both gourmet epistles and holy hymns…
Oh, what a beautiful table!
The professionals did not come empty-handed but richly equipped with solid and liquid gifts to supply “the most beautiful table ever set in a church since the Last Supper” to the sound of fanfares.
Beautiful golden breads, dishes with delicate aromas, Niçoise salad, sardine fillets, savory pastries, chocolate delights, crêpe millefeuille, pan fruchta… these demonstrations of our ancestral know-how, a true ode to French gastronomy, “fed” the celebration before being shared with an audience that was quite surprised but delighted by this impromptu communion.
We’ll catch them at it again! A date is already set for next year…
But what would the celebration have been without the friends from Annot and the fanfares?
All photos are available at:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/b7coeulwiltqfzr/AAB-GOyGtfIvWmoUhWyBh0Z3a?dl=0
