It feels so strange, almost like the nervous, anxious anticipation of our grand opening back in 1994. So long ago, but I remember it well. We were opening a quirky little shop at 27 King Street, on the first floor only (the cellar back then was just a cellar!) and I was frantically arranging colourful Gien pottery, Emile Henry cook pots, Provencal tablecloths in our tiny space. It had taken months of planning and now our dream was about to materialise.....I remember the dizzy excitement and glowing pride, wrapped together in one huge emotion, as we gazed at our unique French haven in the centre of Nottingham.
And today, those emotions return as we prepare for another grand opening, making our entrance once again, announcing our presence to the people of Nottingham. It's like a fresh start, as we have had time to reflect on the French Living creation we dreamed up all those years ago. Its heart and soul is exactly the same. French Living is a living, breathing space of warmth, community, holiday deliciousness, nostalgic and retro at the same time, bringing people together with hearty home-made food, French tunes and Stef's cheeky French humour. This will never change.
However, we can always do better, we can always add more to our Frenchness, quirkiness, seasonality and home-made deliciousness, which is why we have introduced a new menu, with a new format, to offer you even more.
The menu, in the style of a French school notebook, makes an entertaining read, with school-teacher style anecdotes in the margin to help you make your choice.
You will notice that this Main Menu book contains a reduced choice of dishes. These are the French Living classic dishes that will feature all year round. To supplement these classics there will be a wonderful choice of Seasonal Specials written on our new large blackboards (easy to read and view). Chef will make the most of seasonal availability of ingredients, freshly made as usual, but once they are gone, they are gone, and they will be replaced by something new. So, for those of you who want surprise, something different, keeping you on your toes and excited to visit us to find out what French wonders we have in store, our seasonal specials will fit the bill.
We are keeping our ever-popular Dish of the Day Menu, available lunchtime and early evening, however the daily Plat du Jour dishes will no longer appear on the blackboards, they will feature inside our Main menu book instead.
You'll soon get into the swing of it all, particularly if you visit regularly enough! And of course Stef, Audrius, Annabelle will be there to guide you through the changes.
The excitement is building, the anticipation is growing, not just because we want to share our new menu ideas, but most importantly because we want to be reunited with our amazing community of customers & friends again. A très bientôt.