Poterie Not Frères

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Stephanie

The three men sat in a row, talking, laughing and expertly modelling the clay on their potters’ wheels. They were two brothers and a cousin, the third generation of the Not family to carry on the family tradition of working as potters. When the friend who had taken me to their pottery introduced me as English they couldn’t help immediately making some jokes about the British royal family (all in good taste of course).

The three work at Poterie Not Frères, which is a pottery just outside the hamlet of Mas Saintes Puelles, by the side of the Canal du Midi, about 5 kilometres west of Castelnaudary. A pottery has been on the site since 1830, passing through various owners but in 1947 was taken over by Emile Not, the grandfather of the Not family. It now has 2 claims to fame: it is the oldest pottery in the South of France and is the one place in France where the cassole is still made by hand. This is the vessel from which cassoulet takes its name, and according to locals, is the only vessel in which cassoulet should be cooked.

Poterie Not Freres

Poterie Not Freres

But the Not family don’t only make cassoles. They create all types of pots, bowls, plates, vases, jugs and decorative pieces and will also take orders for specific items. The pottery is a big place and there are pottery items, large and small, for sale everywhere, all made from clay extracted nearby, modelled by hand on a wheel and once made and dry, fired in a wood oven. There is even a section where items that didn’t quite work out are sold at a discount, although I couldn’t see much wrong with them.

On my visit I didn’t buy a cassole, although I intend to one day when I feel brave enough to cook a cassoulet. Instead I bought 2 little 3 legged pots, which I was very pleased to find and have put to perhaps quite an unusual use. My father spent the last 15 years of his life in Laurabuc, a nearby village, happily enjoying the local wine and the view of the foothills of the Pyrenees from his garden. He is buried in the local cemetery and as all the other graves there are well decorated I thought his needed something as well. The pots planted with lavender are perfect.

When I bought my two pots one of the brothers left his wheel to take my payment. The change was given to me from a tin cash box, which added even more to the traditional feel of the place. However the Not family have used modern technology to put up details of their pottery on the Artisan Aude website , together with some lovely photos.

The day I do buy a cassole from Poterie Not Freres I know it will be unique, made by a potter following traditional methods and who maybe even cracked a joke while making it.

If you’d like to visit here is the information – in French but it’s easy French:

Infos Pratiques :
POTERIE NOT FRERE
ROBERT, JEAN PIERRE et PHILIPPE NOT
La Poterie – Lieu-dit Le Médecin
11400 MAS-SAINTES-PUELLES
Le long du canal.
Tél. : 04 68 23 17 01 Fax : 04 68 23 17 01
Mail :philippe.not@neuf.fr
Visite de l’atelier du lundi au vendredi de 8h à 12h et de 14h à 18h
Portes ouvertes avril, mai et juin du lundi au samedi de 8h à 12h et de 14h30 à 18h.
Le dimanche de 14h30 à 18h.
Congés annuel en août. Pour venir à la poterie, depuis Toulouse;sortie Villefranche de Lauragais,direction Carcassonne,traverse de Labastide d’Anjou a l’Hostelerie Etienne, prendre a droite, faire 2 KM.
De Carcassonne; sortie Castelnaudary direction Mas Stes Puelles.

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The Other Carcassonne – Bastide Saint-Louis

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Stephanie
Rue Georges Clemenceau

Rue Georges Clemenceau

Say the name Carcassonne and most people will think of the Cité, that walled and turreted fortification that looks as if it has wandered out of a fairy tale. This thinking isn’t surprising as the Cité is a tourist hot spot attracting over 3 million visitors a year. It is a must-see place because of its amazing history and architecture (and for anyone with a small boy, the numerous shops selling plastic swords). But if you’ve made it to the Cité, it’s also worth crossing the River Aude to visit the other part of the old Carcassonne, the Bastide Saint-Louis (“the Bastide”). Although the Bastide doesn’t have the high profile of the Cité, it does have its own charm as a small, pretty, workaday town dating back to the 13th century.

The thing I love about the Bastide is that it has plenty to offer but is a manageable size. You are not daunted at the thought of exploring it, because it is so compact and relaxed. For high culture there are two places in particular to visit, the Musée des Beaux Arts and the Maison des Mémoires. The Musée des Beaux Arts is situated in a lovely but slightly dilapidated building in the Rue de Verdun. It doesn’t get too crowded and there’s plenty of room to wander around. Don’t miss the paintings by Jacques Gamelin, an 18th century Carcassonne artist.

The Maison des Mémoires, also in the Rue de Verdun, has a permanent exhibition about Joë Bosquet, a Carcassonne born writer, who lived in the house. After being wounded in the First World War he returned home and put himself to bed for the next 30 years. From his bed he wrote poetry and a huge number of letters, while also entertaining various literary figures. The bedroom is set up as it would have been when Joë Bosquet was working in it.

If after these cultural efforts you need some refreshment, the Bastide has plenty of independent restaurants and cafés. The Hotel Terminus opened in 1909, has an enormous and beautiful Belle Époque restaurant. It does good value set menus as well as dishes such as large seafood platters and the very French one of pigs’ trotters. During the 2nd World War the restaurant was used as officers’ quarters by the occupying German army and a portrait of Hitler hung over the fireplace.

Or there is Chez Fred in the Boulevard Omer-Sarrault, a small restaurant whose eponymous owner is clearly a man in love with cooking. Fred is to quote his website “un cuisinier passionné, fier de son terroire”. Chez Fred provides a range of set menus from the Menu Bistrot Express at 14 euros to the Menu Plaisir Carcassonnais at 32 euros.

Place Carnot

Place Carnot

It’s easy to wander around the Bastide, because like most fortified towns it is set out in a grid pattern. The main shopping street, Rue Georges Clemenceau has been pedestrianized, making strolling along looking at the shops even easier. Markets are held in Place Carnot, off Rue Georges Clemenceau, on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings.

And the locals are a friendly lot. When I was last there taking some photographs a man walked past and laughingly told me that I wasn’t getting his best side. Maybe not, but the Bastide is a pretty good side of Carcassonne.

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Lunchtime in the Aude

Posted on February 10, 2013 by Stephanie

We were standing with a very helpful assistant in a large furniture store just outside Carcassonne . The last hour had been spent choosing furniture for our house, while trying to stay within our budget (not large) and selecting only what we really needed. The assistant had organised delivery arrangements and was now about to take us to the cash desk to pay. Or so I thought. He looked at his watch. “It’s 5 to 12” he said, “We’re closing in 5 minutes so you’ll have to come back at 2”.
“But this will only take 10 minutes” I explained politely.
His reply was two words and absolutely final, “It’s lunchtime”.

Carcassonne

Carcassonne

It was not worth driving to our house in Castelnaudary for lunch and then back again. We would have to find somewhere nearby to wait for 2 whole hours until the store reopened. Then we hit another problem. A small wooden cabinet we had said we would take with us was waiting beside the car. When we tried to put it in the boot it was too big. Could we risk driving off and leaving it in the car park of the furniture store, now empty except for our car?
The restaurant opposite was filling up with local workers so we decided to have lunch there and chose a table from where we could see the car and cabinet. John, my husband, being a man who enjoys a good meal, was happier than I was. I felt as if I had been robbed of 2 hours and was cross that my plans for the afternoon would have to change. We ordered the set lunch menu, which included a glass of wine. The wine and the bread basket came first. It only took a couple of sips of wine and a piece of bread for the inevitable to happen. Relaxation and a sense of perspective set in. What could be so important about my afternoon that it couldn’t wait while we enjoyed a pleasant, good value meal with time to talk? We even found it funny that we were sitting looking at the cabinet. There was no danger of it being stolen because everyone was at lunch.
Apparently, not so long ago the whole of France closed between 12 and 2, the time allowed for the midday meal. Friends of ours who work in Paris say that tradition is dying out, giving way to the corporate model of lunch being a quick sandwich at your desk. In the towns and villages of the Aude that is not the case. At midday shops and offices close while the cafes and restaurants fill up or workers head home. But even if a restaurant or home is not on the agenda, lunchtime still matters.
Last summer as we were sitting by the Canal du Midi in Castelnaudary enjoying the sunshine, a camper van pulled up nearby. It was just after midday. A family of four climbed down from the camper van bringing with them a tablecloth, glasses, plates and cutlery and set these out on a public picnic table. The food followed and they sat and enjoyed a leisurely lunch on the bank of the Canal. It made a charming picture, created with a style that seems to come so naturally to the French.
As for the furniture store, we returned at 2pm where the helpful assistant was waiting for us. Final arrangements were made and payment taken. We drove out of the car park at ten past two, refreshed and much calmer than we had been at ten past twelve, and with the afternoon still ahead.

Posted in Daily life in France, Food and Drink | 1 Comment

What Makes Life in the Aude so Special?

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Stephanie

It’s the little things.

Parking:

It was early evening when we arrived for our very first holiday at our house in Castelnaudary, having driven all the way from London. We had unloaded the luggage and my husband was just trying to park the car in the street, when a man from a neighbouring house ran out. Coming from a part of the world where people put bollards and chairs outside houses to protect “their” parking spaces, I immediately assumed we were about to take his. My heart sank at the thought that we had just broken the record for upsetting the locals in the shortest time possible.

Our neighbour had come out to say that he was about to leave for work in his car so, if we waited a few minutes, a  bigger space would be free.

Restaurants:

That same holiday we were having lunch in a local restaurant for the first time. It is only a small restaurant but very popular because of its reasonable prices. We ordered cassoulet and as John, my husband, wasn’t bothered about the wine, I asked for a bottle of white. The waiter said simply “You can’t possibly drink white with cassoulet, I’ll bring you a bottle of red”. He came back with a bottle of Corbières.

Cassoulet and red wine

At a later date we treated ourselves to the menu gourmand at a more expensive restaurant. This menu involves the chef selecting the dishes you are to eat.  he waitress asked how we liked our steaks and I said well done for me, please. She shook her head and told me that was impossible, the most the chef would do was medium rare.

But hello? I’m the customer paying for these meals. If I want to drink pink gin with cassoulet and eat steak that resembles charcoal, isn’t that my choice?  Obviously not in the Aude, where it is more important to treat food and wine properly than to try and keep some misguided Englishwoman happy just because she is paying.

Corbières is now one of my favourite wines and the medium rare steak was beautifully cooked and very tasty.

When we opened an account at the local branch of a major French bank, we were seen by a very charming bank officer. On finishing the formalities she told me that I would receive a debit card but my husband would not get one until his French had improved.

I couldn’t stop laughing as I wondered what policy in the staff handbook covered her decision. It must be something like: “Foreign customers of the bank will not be allowed to access their own money using a debit card until they can demonstrate the required level of proficiency in French”.

John’s French is coming along nicely.

The inhabitants of the Languedoc have a reputation for being robust and determined individuals.   The people we have met in the Aude have been welcoming, generous and helpful and they definitely know their own minds when it comes to those little things in daily life.

Posted in Daily life in France | 1 Comment

Cafe culture in the Aude – Watching the World go by in Languedoc

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Stephanie

One of the things that Francophiles have always loved about France is its café culture. That delicious tradition of having an unhurried coffee while watching the world go by. Think of those real-life famous French cafés – the Deux Magots in Paris where Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre used to rendez-vous and the Café de la Gare in Arles where Van Gogh stayed. And think of those in the world of fiction, such as the Café des Poètes in Jean Cocteau’s film “Orphée” and Le Condé in Patrick Modiano’s novel  “Dans le café de la jeunesse perdue” .

Cafe le Francais in Castelnaudary

I am happy to report that as far as the Aude is concerned, café culture is alive and well. If you stop for coffee in an Audois café, there may well be a group of  budding philosophers/painters/writers/film directors  already ensconsed at a table engaged in brilliant conversation, but even if there is not,  you will find the following:

1. The likelihood is that the café will be individually owned and operated rather than one of a chain of cafés. It will therefore have its own distinct character.

2. When entering the café you will not be expected to queue at the counter to order your coffee, wait for it to be made and then carry your cup to wherever there is a free place. Instead you will sit at a table (or stand at the bar if you prefer) and the waiter will come to you and ask you what you would like.

Cafe de l’Industrie

3. When ordering coffee, you will not have to work your way through a long list of choices (e.g tall americano with vanilla syrup, decaff skinny latte, single shot cappuccino) before deciding what you want. If you ask for “un café” you will be given a small strong black coffee. “Une noisette” is “un café” with a shot of hot milk. “Un café creme” (also known as “un café au lait”) is coffee with lots of hot milk and is usually drunk at breakfast time. And that is it.

4. You will not be asked if your coffee is to drink in or takeaway. A café is of course a place to drink in. The inhabitants of the Aude are not given to rushing along the street clutching a disposable cup in such a hurry to be somewhere else that they have to drink their coffee en route. There will be a blissful absence of cardboard cups with plastic lids containing spouts through which to suck, which seem to be everywhere now in the Anglo-Saxon world.

Grand Bar, cours de la Republique in Castelnaudary

5. The waiter will bring you your coffee in a white china cup. You will drink it in your own time, while talking to your companion, reading the paper or simply in your own reverie. When you have finished and you are ready you will pay the waiter and leave, all the better for the time you have just spent.

All of the three cafés are located in a row along the cours de la Republique in Castelnaudary.  It is not possible to tell whether or not the next Jean Cocteau or Simone de Beauvoir is sitting in one of them. But each of them makes a good spot for those of us who like to linger over excellent coffee.

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