{"id":2702,"date":"2008-11-03T12:33:47","date_gmt":"2008-11-03T12:33:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/wp\/?p=2702"},"modified":"2018-02-27T11:13:37","modified_gmt":"2018-02-27T11:13:37","slug":"a-table-in-the-tarn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testing22.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/a-table-in-the-tarn\/","title":{"rendered":"A Table in the Tarn by Orlando Murrin &#8211; review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"text-element body\"> It\u2019s not just a story of a table but, in fact, a whole guest house. That guest house being in the Tarn region of South West France where the author, Orlando Murrin, and his partner Peter Steggall have made their home. More accurately, Orlando and Peter have turned an old property into a guest house, and A Table in the Tarn \u2013 Living, Eating and Cooking in South-west France charts that journey.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-4-3 image-review alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/img\/tarn.jpg\" alt=\"A Table in the Tarn\" width=\"191\" height=\"251\" \/> This is a charming volume of soft and sepia colours, and photographs by Jonathan Buckley. It\u2019s stylish but resists the temptation to be too stereotypically \u201cCountry French\u201d, it\u2019s more about showing \u201cReal French\u201d. There are plenty of pictures of neighbours and staff who have played a big part in the success of the venture. The buildings are honey-coloured and typical of this part of the world, and just a flick through the pages will encourage you to follow in Orlando&#8217;s footsteps&#8230; but read the book before you sell your home and head south.<\/p>\n<p>A Table in the Tarn is divided into two parts; it\u2019s almost like two different books. The Story of the Manoir is the first section and will drive away any romantic notions that you might have about renovating an old French pile. The tale of the plumber who filled the house with water from dozens of leaks &#8211; freshly plastered walls and ceilings being hacked away and treasured possessions being ruined &#8211; will be enough to make you think twice.<\/p>\n<p>And then there is the language problem! French TV wanted to make a documentary about the Manoir. During a tricky piece of pastry folding, presenter H\u00e9l\u00e8ne Bassas asked Orlando: \u201cVous \u00eates l\u00e0 depuis combien de temps?\u201d To which Orlando replies, \u201cUne heure dix \u00e0 peu pr\u00e8s dans un four chaud.\u201d (\u201cHow long have you lived in France?\u201d \u201cAn hour and ten minutes in a hot oven.\u201d)<\/p>\n<p>The Recipe section of the book is divided by course and there are some lovely dishes that make the best of local ingredients. \u201cLe Cake\u201d is a popular French appetizer or even a starter. It is a savoury \u201ccake\u201d which can contain bacon, cheese, olives, onions or sausage and it\u2019s almost always loaf-shaped. Orlando\u2019s version has bacon, black olives, Reblochon semi-soft cheese and herbs.<\/p>\n<p>The Ultimate Strawberry Tartlets are impressive but not difficult. Other soft fruits could be substituted making this a versatile and very posh dessert. The pastry uses Demerara sugar which gives a nutty crunch to the base. Mascarpone supplies the creamy filling and the final result is a stunner.<\/p>\n<p>A Table in the Tarn will be a fascinating read for anyone considering a serious move to France but also for anyone who loves good food, either French or British.<\/p>\n<p>A Table in the Tarn \u2013 Living, Eating and Cooking in South-west France<br \/>\nAuthor: Orlando Murrin<br \/>\nPublished by: HarperCollins<br \/>\nPrice: \u00a320.00<br \/>\nISBN 978-0-00-726394-3<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Cookbook and travelogue review by Chrissie Walker \u00a9 2018<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mostlyfood.co.uk\/index.php\/tag\/france\/\">Read more articles about France here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s not just a story of a table but, in fact, a whole guest house. That guest house being in the Tarn region of South West France where the author, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20990,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,22],"tags":[671,649,80,672,416],"class_list":["post-2702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-cookbooks","tag-a-table-in-the-tarn","tag-food-literature","tag-france","tag-orlando-murrin","tag-travelogue"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A Table in the Tarn by Orlando Murrin - review - Mostly Food and Cocktails<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Table in the Tarn by Orlando Murrin - review - Mostly Food and Cocktails\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s not just a story of a table but, in fact, a whole guest house. 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