In January this year I moved to Burgundy. Leaving a terraced  home in Tooting South London, my new home is now an abandoned watermill in the village of  Auxey Duresses, Burgundy France. As well as its beautiful buildings and location, one of the great appeals of the property were its abundant land.

Living in Tooting I took great pleasure from working on the small plot of land (some 20 m2 of London clay) that lay in the shadows behind my house. Now I have 7000 m2 of Burgundian clay to look after.

Abandoned for some 20 years the land was in an overgrown state on my arrival but as the weeks and months have passed the chainsaw and sheers have  been busy. Cutting back the shrubs and trees that had been allowed to grow wild, glimpses of a once beautiful and well cared for mill-house garden have revealed themselves. With air and light now free to enter the garden, over two dozen fruit trees have blossomed, a rose avenue has been revealed and a few stubborn asparagus have reared their heads in the vegetable plot.

As spring has advanced so have the weeds and grasses, their unforgiving pace of life a constant reminder of the daunting task ahead me. But as daunting as it may be, it is also  immensely pleasurable working out doors and learning about the land and climate and my dreams for a garden that provides calm, rest and nourishment for hungry cyclists at the end of the days cycling in Burgundy is within my grasp.

Below are a collection of images from spring this year. Do click on the thumbnails to enlarge the images. As the season advance more will follow. Dig for Victory!

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What sunshine we have had has forced the green shoots of 2013 to appear in both the vines and the garden of The Hungry Cyclist Lodge. In the vegetable patch the rhubarb, onion, garlic and leeks have all prospered; closely followed by tomatoes, broad beans, peas and radishes. All being well come the end of May the garden will be producing fine food and photographs and god willing a few cherries will ripen too?

Other wise the damp weather has slowed down work outside and I have moved indoors to work on the house. An oak staircase has been measured up and ordered. Walls have come down and and wall paper stripped. Months of tiresome demolition are drawing to a close and all being well May will see the beginins of the reconstruction. Decisions now need to be made about tiles, toilets and taps.

Other than weeding, digging and demolition, April has also seen the delivery of a wine press, flooding, a chicken hunt, a micro adventure, a few great finds at the local Brocante and Vide Grenier and a Burgundian oven. Huge thanks to Nick, Chris Colby, Tiggy, Stephanie Olsen, Keith, Sue, Cedric and of course Little Richard.

Enjoy the pictures below, click on the thumbnails to explore and see you next month.

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Hunting is a big deal here in Burgundy and every weekend in the the cold months of winter men in high vis jackets march around the country side blowing horns and tracking the powerful packs of ‘sanglier’ that inhabit the dense forests of the region. A fiercely territorial beast the wild boar of burgundy are all muscle. Combined with razor sharp tusks and a furious appetite they devastate the local crops, gardens and vines and are very much considered a pest.

Hunted here for thousands of years by Celts Romans and Burgundians a days hunt is heavy with tradition, food wine and song. Lucky enough to be invited to “le chase” here are a selection of images from a day hunting wild boar in Burgundy.

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The narrow, 50 km escarpment that runs southward from Dijon towards Santenay is home to the greatest wine growing country on earth. From the saddle of a bicycle it is easy to see why this somewhat ordinary strip of land produces the marveled wines it does. The gentle gradient of southeast facing slopes rest under a steep protective ridge topped with dense oak forests. The natural springs from numerous combes (small valleys) provide nourishment from deep within the earth and the suns path bathes the region in golden sunshine giving its name the Cote d’Or.

But the wines of Burgundy don’t make themselves. Other than the vendanges (harvest), spring is one of the busiest times of year in this ancient capital of wine and the work done at this early stage of the year is vital to the rest of the year’s production. Once off the closed, shadowed streets of Pommard, Volnay Monthelie and Vougeot, the horizon opens to reveal this essential landscape. Shaded cobbled streets become winding tracks and organized thoroughfares that connect the domains, Parcel and Clos, the names of which read like any wine lovers wish list.

Tight lines of wire run from the innumerable staves that in time will support a priceless harvest, but in late April the vines, dormant for so long over a long cold winter, are only just coming back to life. Guide Post Burgundy Wine

Dilapidated white vans kick-up dust as they navigate their way through this criss-cross of tracks, lanes, vines, and by-ways. These vehicles are not the most glamorous mode of transportation for the owners of the most valuable real-estate in the world, you might think, but inside these beat up panel-vans rest the tools, knowledge, and man power that ensure the attention that each and every vine deserves. From dusk till dawn generations of Burgundians toil amongst their beloved vines.

Bent double in the brisk morning air they work from vine to vine, their clouds of breath blowing before them. Come midday their sweat-soaked shirts rest on vine-posts as they continue to cut and trim by hand, leaving behind only the shoots that they believe will provide the best fruit. Traditional methods are mixed with new. Burley work-horses pull ploughs through dense earth under the bellowed orders of meticulous vigneron (winemaker), while in the neighboring plot insect-like enjambeur (tractor) rush awkwardly between vines, there mechanical claws and wings spraying and scraping as they go.

At almost 10 cm a day the growth of the vines, at this time of year, is unforgiving. Each vine must be cut to produce the amount of juice that respects the strict guidelines of the local AOC. Weeks from now the tight lines and russet earth of Burgundy will be invisible under heavy foliage. Now is the time vigneron have the best access to the shoots that will produce a crop to satisfy their hopes that 2011 will not just be a good year, but a great year in the Cote d’Or.

Every local you speak to in Burgundy passes on his or her wisdom. Young and old, they all have an opinion. By all accounts, 2013 is looking very promising. Current temperatures are reminding those who can remember of the great vintages gone by. But it’s all too easy to write what makes good wine. To understand Burgundy and its wine you have to come here. You have to meet its people. You have to smell its soil. You have to cycle past the forests and see how the sun falls on certain plots in the late afternoon. Burgundy is all about terroir (land) and the only way you can understand terroir is by coming here.

Abandoned for 20 years my main task was to get as much of the garden and orchards cut-back and cleared before the sap started rising again. My chainsaw has been a good ally and the bonfires have burned without stop for weeks. Trees have come down, logs have been split and at last there is some order as I try and return two acres of garden back to how they might have been when the mill was operational in the 18th and 19th century.

Inside the mill things have moved on apace. As with the garden it has been a job of clearing and cutting back before we start to put things back together again. I have become a regular at the local tip, there is dust every where and a few things have come back from the tip too. As with February it has been a hard month, with aching bones and plenty of blood and sweat being spilled, but as yet no tears and not a moment of regret. Life in Burgundy is GOOD!.

The month of my 35 birthday it has been a joy to have so many hard-helping hands pop-in to wield an axe or push a wheelbarrow. Damien, Baptiste, Mum, Dad, Brother Ed, Isla, Georgia, Isabelle, Nick, Richard, Pascal, Vincent and Cecile. A huge thanks to you all!

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What could be more satisfying than working on a dream?

Below are a selection of images from the first month in Burgundy as I go about converting Le Moulin Prunier in Auxey Duresses into The Hungry Cyclist Lodge. Come back soon to follow the progress.

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This summer I’ll be teaming up with acclaimed chef Jody Adams of Rialto Restaurant, Boston, to lead a gastronomic pedal-powered tour of Provence.  Cycling through endless  fields of sunflowers, lavender and asparagus. Climbing winding roads to vibrant farmers markets in medieval villages. Strolling through quite rural towns. These are the quintessential experiences of Provence and the best way to enjoy them all is from the saddle of a bicycle.

But as well as stunning cycling on this Chef on Wheels Tour , acclaimed chef Jody Adams and I will be introducing you to, and teaching you about  classic flavors and legendary dishes of Provence. Mother Nature is abundantly generous in this part of the world, and as a result Provençal cooking is naturally delicious due to the sun-kissed produce that is readily available. Aromatic herbs such as  thyme, rosemary, basil and sage grow plentifully here, and of course there are the biggest stars of all – garlic and olive oil!

On your Chef on Wheels Tour  you will get hands on expericence at using these famed ingredients to create Provencal classics such as tapenade,  aïoii, anchöiade and ratatouille as well as learning the fundematals of more complex dishes such as Bouillabaisse and perhaps the mouth watering Sisteron lamb.

Meeting locals, playing boule and enjoying freshly prepared gourmet picnics made with your choice of  local ingredients; Pairing classic dishes with the very best of Provencal wine, learning how to make olive oil and perhaps a little shopping.  If you or your loved-one has a passion for France, French food and cycling this is the holiday for you.  As with all DuVine Tours at the end of each day you will winding down in the regions most luxurious hotels. So if  you want to BIKE EAT DRINK SLEEP Provence with Jody Adams and The Hungry Cyclist get in touch today and  I look forward to drinking a glass with you this summer.

• To find out more about Chef On Wheels Provence contact DuVine Cycling & Adventure Company.
• Dates August 20th – 25th 2013
• Read more about this great trip on The DuVine Website 

This culinary tool kit of ingredients make up the famed French dish Choucroute (cooked cabbage). A Sunday lunch special in these cold winter months it hails from the proud mountain region of the Alscase. In this corner of France the pig is king and every morcel is utilised. Appels abound and the humble cabbage, as in the Savoir, is the winter vegtable of choice. Mix all these ingredients together  along with litres of the acclaimed local wine, Resiling, and you have dish whose mention alone in the depths of winter makes any Frenchman’s face glow with delight.  For this is French comfort food at its best. A fast slow-cooked pot of heart-warming ingredients that fill your house with sweet  smells and  your guests with pleasure. Served on a vast platter , with various suasages protruding from all directions, a well-presented  choucroute is a dish of legend  belonging on the  pages of a comic.

Hosting my first Sunday lunch here at The Hungry Cyclist Lodge I am pleased to tell you that my arrival at the table with a steaming mountain of choucroute went down like a brides nighty! Here is the recipe…

• 1.5 kg of cooked or raw sauerkraut (this may be hard to find in the UK but try a Polish shop)
• 100g of lard or goose fat
• 4 onions
• 2 apples peeled, cored and sliced
• 450 g smoked pork loin
• 2 large smoked sausages (saucisses de montbéliardi if you can find it – if not get a selection from your nearest Polish supermarket)
• 3 medium smoked sausages
• 4 thick cut slices of bacon
• salt & pepper
• 6 waxy potatoes
• 10 juniper berries
• 1 bottle of dry Riesling
• 6 Frankfurters
• Dijon Mustard

1. Drain and rinse the choucroute. Melt the fat in a deep casserole over a low heat.

2. Add the onions and saute for 10 minutes until translucent.

3 .Take half the choucroute and layer it over the onions. Layer the slices apples over the choucroute.

4. Now layer the sausages, bacon and loin over the apples. Sprinkle with juniper berries and a generous grinding of pepper.

5. Add the rest of the choucroute, empty the wine in the casserole, cover and leave over a low heat for 1.5 hours.

6. While the pot is cooking boil the potatoes and leave in the hot water. Five minutes before serving drain the potatoes and heat the frankfurters through in the hot water.

7. To serve heap the cooked cabbage onto a large platter. Slice all the meat and layer over the cabbage. Place the potatoes around the edge and add the frankfurters on top.

8. Get hold of plenty of Riesling and settle in for a very satisfying afternoon.

Packed with vitamins it is normally found in winter salads here in Burgundy but while enjoying lunch at a truck-stop this week I was lucky enough to try it buried under molten cheese and generous cuts of ham in steaming-hot gratin. After a little time in the oven the endive releases a little sweetness to pair its bitter twang and with a dash of pastis and plenty of cheese what could be better on a cold winters day?

• 4 endive sliced in half
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 small onion, peeled and chopped
• dash of Pastis
• pinch of nutmeg
• 5 slices of quality ham
• 1 tablespoon of Dijon Mustard
• salt and pepper to tasty
• healthy knob of butter
• 270g of grated Comte cheese
• cup of milk (full fat!)

1. Melt the butter and sweat the onions. When translucent turn off the heat add the garlic, Pastis, nutmeg and mustard. Stir well so all are combined and then add the milk.

2. Layer a deep baking dish/gratin with the endive halves. Pour over the ingredients from the pan.

3. Layer the ham on top in an even layer and then add the cheese on top of that.

4. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at gas mark 4 until brown and bubbling on the top.

5. Dig deep and enjoy!

Good ‘boudin noir’ is hard to find in England but here in Burgundy it is plentiful. At weekend markest matt-black coils of the stuff wait in chiller counters and hungry Burgundians que up to buy it by the foot. Not the most attractive of ingredients, this rich sausage made of pigs blood is flavoured with spices and packed with a healthy dose of iron to keep out the winter lurgy.  Paired with sweet apples sautéed in a knob of salty butter this is simple yet satisfying lunch made for this time of year.

• one coil of  boudin
• 1 large knob of butter
• 1/3 cup of Calvados
• 3 medium apples cored, peeled and sliced
• Dash of nutmeg
• Dash of cinnamon
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

2. Prick sausages in several spots with sharp knife. Saute in a frying pan over medium-low heat in butter for 5 or until browning. Turning occasionally to brown all sides. Remove from pan and place in a deep dish in oven. Be careful not too split your casing.

3.Skim excess fat from pan, turn heat to high and deglaze pan with Calvados. Let Calvados simmer for 30 seconds, then add apples. Cook apples for a minute and add your seasonings. Serve over or next to warm sausages.