1986: My Happy Life in Provence

Chapter 476 Smelling the Fragrance of Provence

How much do the people of Provence love spices?
You can buy this kind of thing in almost any commercial system, including grocery stores, delicatessens, butcher shops, bakeries, specialty stores, gourmet boutiques, souvenir shops, restaurants, train stations, airports, highway gas stations, and high-end department stores.

If a Provençal cook discovers they're out of spices while cooking, they can always find the type they need within 10 minutes of going outside.

Even in a medieval village like Lourmaran, where infrastructure is not well developed, there are nearly ten places to sell spices.

Dried spices can be stored for several years, and whether they are placed in jars or bottles, they will still have a strong, pungent aroma when opened.

Therefore, regardless of whether they can sell the goods or not, business owners like to stock up on some goods and display them in their shops.

What if some fool from out of town buys the 82 vintage thyme?
In regions where people are not frequently exposed to spices, they cannot distinguish the differences in taste and only find them pungent.

But these little tricks couldn't fool the Provençal people who were seasoned with spices.

Spice expert Freddie could tell whether a spice was aged by taste, and there are many 'experts' with this ability.

Of course, whether they really have this ability is unknown, but everyone uses it to show off their superior abilities in the field of spices.

But these little tricks on the market have been around for more than just one year.

As Provençal spices, like the land itself, gained a place in the world, various inferior spices began to flood this vast market.

Turkish bay leaves, Egyptian marjoram, Moroccan thyme, and Spanish rosemary—these exotic aromatic plants have created miracles through elaborate packaging, transforming themselves into new names—Provençal spices.

It's easy to distinguish whether an aroma is strong or weak, but the same spices from different countries don't have much difference in taste and smell. The difference can be described as subtle.

Even native Provençal people are now unsure whether the spices they eat are actually native to the region.

However, in Provence, people are extremely particular about anything related to food. Everyone must eat local spices, and inferior products from other regions are out of the question!
This mentality has led to counterfeits becoming increasingly realistic, to the point that even people in their sixties and seventies can no longer be guaranteed to be walking "fragrance detectors".

Thus, in the Provençal culinary world, there is an unwritten rule—spices should only be bought in bulk; once they are packaged in containers, they are suspected of being of inferior quality due to packaging.

Chefs typically don't buy rosemary from shopping malls that claims to have been sun-dried for 300 days and watered with weak alkaline water; they only go to markets to choose relatively inexpensive rosemary that is directly exposed to the air.

Luo Tianhai would go to the market in Bonnieux to buy spices, once a week.

He used to come alone, but this week it became a family activity.

"How long has it been since our family went to the market?" After walking through just one row of stalls, Feng Zhen was already carrying two bags filled with fresh strawberries and cherries, all seasonal fruits.

Living in Provence has a certain magic—no matter how many strawberries and cherries you ate yesterday, you still can't resist grabbing them when you wake up and see fresh ones.

Ronan woke up late today and missed breakfast. While looking around at the stalls, he took strawberries from his mother's fruit bag, wiped them quickly, and popped them into his mouth.
"The last time was probably last year's Easter? It was your first time in Provence, and I took you around the surrounding area, but we didn't come here."

The largest market near Lourmaran is in Mena village. With this most famous market in Luberon, there are fewer opportunities to visit markets in Bonito, which is a bit further away.

"Why buy it here? There are spice stalls in Lourmaran and Mena village too," Ronan asked Luo Tianhai, who was walking ahead with his hands behind his back. "Why come here of all places?"

There were many stalls selling spices at the market. Luo Tianhai casually picked up some spices from a roadside stall, smelled them, and then licked them.
"Here are the 'honest sellers' I've carefully selected. Do you think all these sellers of bulk goods are honest?"

Ronan mainly relies on his nose to select ingredients; he buys whichever has the best and most intense flavor.

But he knew that the chefs in Provence were indeed experienced in selecting spices.

He glanced back at the spice stall that Luo Tianhai had just passed:
"That one won't work?"

Luo Nan grew up too fast. Even though Luo Tianhai had been in the food industry for decades, he hadn't had the chance to be a father for a long time.

Seeing that this kid actually had a weakness, he said proudly and arrogantly:
"These bulk spices are local. At least the ones at these large markets are not fake, because the buyers are all locals. If they sell fakes, they are likely to be blocked at the door and yelled at. They don't dare to tamper with the products in their place of origin, but they can't help but have crooked ideas in other places, such as mixing in other things."

“You can’t tell at all that thyme is mixed with palm leaves, and there are even vendors selling sage stems as rosemary. The tarragon at that stall just now definitely had some mugwort mixed in, though not much, but it couldn’t fool my nose and mouth.”

"Wow, that's impressive." Ronan 'stole' another handful of cherries from Feng Zhen's bag.

When it came to his professional field, Luo Tianhai became noticeably more talkative:
"Especially since many local chefs like to put a variety of spices in one dish, and mix in other things, it's even harder to tell the difference. It took me a lot of effort to find that stall."

Ronan spat a few cherry pits into his palm:

"Because we don't use mixed spices, you were able to tell the difference between good and bad?"

Ronan hasn't been involved in the restaurant's day-to-day operations for a long time, especially the dishes; Luo Tianhai is the one who sets the menu and upgrades the flavors.

However, Ronan eats it often and can still taste some improvements and advancements, which are quite obvious.

To help locals adapt to Chinese cuisine, Luo Tianhai adds spices to his dishes, especially seafood and meat. Previously, the spices had a more complex flavor profile, but this year it's noticeable that each dish typically uses only one spice, achieving a more unified taste.

Luo Tianhai nodded, not surprised by Luo Nan's discovery. This kid's tongue and nose were even more impressive than his own, so these things naturally couldn't be hidden from him.

"Rosemary with lamb, juniper berries with game and beef, sage with pork and potatoes, fennel with fish, thyme with barbecue, tarragon with chicken or tender beef, bay leaves with fish and beef, basil with tomatoes, and chard with cheese." Luo Tianhai listed more than a dozen pairings before stopping. "From now on, specific spices will only be paired with specific ingredients."

Provence has a wide variety of spices, and the combinations of ingredients and spices are not fixed. Ronan was a little curious as to why his father insisted on fixed combinations:
"Why use a fixed combination? Wouldn't a wider variety of flavors attract more people?"

Luo Tianhai revealed a 'mysterious' smile:

“Our restaurant doesn’t lack customers now, but it lacks ‘uniqueness’. The fixed combination is to create a memorable taste experience, which is something I learned from Michelin-starred restaurants.”

Thanks to Ronan's efforts, the restaurant became so popular that even after opening a second branch, it couldn't accommodate all the customers.

The meticulous Luo Tianhai naturally wanted to think ahead.

Their focus has shifted from how to make more money to how to gain more fame while making more money, and becoming a Michelin-starred restaurant is their next goal.

Ronan relieved his parents of the burden, freeing them from being tied to the restaurant every day. Luo Tianhai took advantage of this opportunity to continuously improve himself, often going to famous restaurants in Provence to "learn" and thus gaining some insights and plans.

Ronan grabbed his father, who was a full body length taller than the mother and son, and sandwiched him between himself and his mother:

"Dad, you're amazing! Opening this restaurant was the best decision I ever made. Our restaurant will definitely get another star soon!"

Luo Tianhai was very satisfied with today's 'parent-child activity', and his son's praise made him feel like he was floating on clouds.

"This is just the beginning. My plan has several more steps to go. We'll execute it slowly."

Ronan had his father's arm linked with his left arm and his mother's arm linked with his right arm.

"Okay, Mom and I fully support you!"

This is exactly the warm and cozy scene he wanted!

But the heartwarming scene lasted only a second—Feng Zhen, lacking any sense of teamwork, left her husband and son and headed straight for a stall with a long queue.

"Hey, where are you going?" the father and son asked in unison.

Feng Zhen stood on tiptoe to look at the items on the stall:
"Ronan has almost finished all the fruit I bought! I need to buy him something more substantial to eat. I wanted to take some back for Leah and Nicola to try."

To protect her fresh fruit, Feng Zhen bought two tickets to Luberon's specialty breakfast—vanilla focaccia—for Ronan.

This crispy bread, made by incorporating rosemary, thyme, and smoked salt into an olive oil dough and baking it, is a favorite breakfast among the locals of Luberon.

They would tear off a small piece and serve it with fresh goat cheese, and that's how a wonderful day begins.

Ronan didn't follow many rules; he picked up the whole thing and started biting into it.

Worried that her son might choke, Feng Zhen bought him a cup of goat milk herbal drink at the market.

This is also a drink that locals in Luberon love to drink: hot goat milk infused with fresh marjoram and tarragon, and some vendors also add parsley. After simmering, it is filtered and then mixed with local honey.

"Drink more, this helps with digestion, you've eaten too much!" While Luo Tianhai was selecting spices, Feng Zhen kept pouring the boiling soup from the copper kettle into Luo Nan's mouth. "How can you eat so much? It takes your father and me two to finish one, and one isn't enough for you!"

Ronan hissed as he spoke:

"Because I'm happy today, and when I'm happy, I have a good appetite."

The atmosphere today reminded Ronan of his childhood.

When he was a child, he often went to the market with his parents. Luo Tianhai would pick out things while Feng Zhen took care of their son. Those were his fondest childhood memories.

Upon hearing that Ronan might have eaten too much, the spice vendor suddenly became interested:

"If you eat too much, drinking goat milk herbal drink won't help; the spices in it are what actually help with digestion."

He offered a handful of spices to Ronan and Feng Zhen:
"Take a look at this; all kinds of difficult and complicated diseases can be cured with spices."

This time, even Luo Tianhai, who was squatting, looked over.

What is it that uses spices to treat illnesses?
(End of this chapter)