Rick Stein's Secret France. DVD review.

Rick Stein's Secret France DVD.

Review by Phil Lowe.

It will come as no surprise to you regular readers that I am a big fan of Rick Stein and I recently purchased his latest DVD Secret France and the accompanying book to add to my already large collection of all of his DVDs and most of his books.

Of late, I must have enjoyed the Secret France DVD multiple times and being a lover of France and French cuisine I have been in constant Francophile heaven. The two disc DVD gets better and better as Rick journeys around France on his new culinary adventure to search for France's best kept gastronomic secrets. His route across the country and France's varied regions takes us on his personal trip along picturesque and remote back roads in his own open top car. He says that his late producer David Pritchard suggested he do the whole series in a beat up Deux Chevaux. Sensibly Rick declines, otherwise the whole series would have possibly been littered with shots of the car breaking down on a remote back road.

As Rick says in this series “For the French, food isn't part of life, it is life itself. It's that important to them. And what is slightly worrying is that I keep hearing these stories about things not being what they used to be with cooking in France. The point is I really don't believe if I go off the beaten track to what I call Secret France that I still won't find those lovely bistros and restaurants. It's always better to travel hopefully.” Cue upbeat French style music.

This meandering quest sees Rick Stein pick up inspiration from the various regions and includes mouth watering examples like a rack of lamb with potato and celeriac dauphinoise, a confit tomato and aubergine tarte tatin, grilled bream with aioli from the Languedoc coast, chicken stuffed with mushrooms and Comté cheese and the most divine raspberry tart you have ever seen. The food looks so lush you almost find yourself licking the TV screen. On the second disc there is the most wonderful coverage of a brightly coloured and very inviting French market at Périgueux the capital of the Périgord region. The market is situated at the Place du Coderc and Rick revels in the quality and beauty and freshness of the produce on sale and confesses he may be becoming a caricature of himself as he expounds yet again on the open market scene. He doesn't venture down to Bordeaux as he does in his French Odyssey and Rick Stein's Long Weekends but Périgueux and its old town buildings and atmosphere looks a total delight. As does all the food and the other destinations throughout Secret France. If you loved French Odyssey you will love this series. Order your copy HERE.

“Bon Appetit Ricky.”