Jean Luc Blandin, the acclaimed and multi award winning butcher from Brecey in Normandy is rapidly becoming quite a cult figure with many of our customers. He tells me that last summer he had a constant stream of callers to his shop and that, at times, he felt like a tour guide as he showed visitors around his shop and kitchens. He was the first butcher in Normandy to be awarded Fabrication Gourmandie status, an award that merited an interview on television and even more visitors!
In this dish he has skilfully combined tender pieces of Normandy lamb in a Calvados (being a dish from
Normandy the apple brandy of the region is almost compulsory) based sauce with locally grown carrots, onions, turnips and white haricot beans. Normandy is renowned throughout France for its pre-sale, or salt meadow lamb, which comes from flocks that graze freely on the salt marshes of the coastal estuaries. The sheep eat the samphire or salicorne which then gives the meat a unique slightly salty flavour. As with all of Jean Luc’s dishes this meal is as near to perfection as you can possibly get. The dish is hearty and warming, just perfect for this time of the year. I think you should serve the dish on a bed of creamy or garlicky mashed potatoes. Wonderful.





