A visit from the beau parents

As you may have read I recently got married to a dashing Frenchman. My lovely french in laws have welcomed me into their family with love, support and lots of fantastic french cooking. My mother In Law is a great cook, intimidating for any daughter in law, but a great french cook is enough to encourage anyone to learn to cook well. My love of french food started all those years ago as an inquisitive teenager when I first visited paris but the many weekends spent at my husbands home in Perpignan created a real interest in french cooking.

As my parents in law called in this Sunday I was faced with a day of eating to prepare. I selected the classic courgette farci as a Sunday lunch option served with a tomato sauce and rice. I was happy with my recipe until my husband reminded me that it's a classic his mum made, setting the bar pretty high. It wasn't as if good as her classic of course, but I have another thirty years to perfect it.

Sunday dinner was a roast chicken with a carrot purée and roast potatoes. A simple roast but with a muscade laced crème de carotte I won over the French with the Olf favourite.

So cooking for the french parents In law was a success but my top tip isn't to perfect the french cuisine but to create a showstopper to attract attention. When they arrived I greeted them with a traditional english gateau, the Victoria sandwich. So impressed my Mother in law asked me for the recipe. So yes the English can not only cook but can bake too!