Friday, May 15, 2009

42 ~ Friends & French Cuisine

 salad & nasturtium (click to enlarge photos)

Yesterday I attended a lovely charity luncheon sponsored by the Friends of Tenerife, a group whose purpose is to sponsor money-raising social events to benefit needy persons and charities on Tenerife. The luncheon was held in La Orquidea, a French restaurant which has been a favourite of mine for some years.

outside restaurante I arrived early so I could take a few photos for the club's event albums and was able to watch while the finishing touches, including bouquets of fresh roses and menus were put on the tables.

hostess
interior
menuYesterday the money raised was going to the Association of Apanate Norte, the group established to aid parents of autistic children in the villa of La Orotava.
Present were representatives of the Association, José and Mari, to whom a cheque of two thousand Euros was presented on behalf of Friends of Tenerife by the president, Helen Jameson.

José & Mari José & Mari
Helen JamesonHelen Jameson

The chefs were busy in the kitchen preparing what was to be a superb first course salad, complete with edible nasturtiums bordering each plate.

chef & salads As members arrived, they were greeted by Helen and vice-President Jean Pennington.
members arriveHere is the magnificent salad, a work of culinary art, with shrimps wrapped in three shapes of phyllo pastry: beggar's purses, triangles and wraps, topping a lovely plate of greens with caviar, smoked salmon, salad herbs and accompanied by lemon and a sweet mixed chutney sauce.
salad As a second course I chose the Coq Au Vin, a French classic of chicken cooked in red wine with bacon, onion and carrot. It came with baked potato, the insides mashed with butter and cream and placed back into the crispy skins.
coq au vinDessert was yet another treat for both eyes and palate. A slice of chocolate tart with gourmet ice cream and a miniature strawberry cream puff. Ohhhhhh!
dessert plate Here the president of Apanate Norte, José Luis Barquin Diez holds a photo of the new residence for the Association, recently ceded by the municipal government of La Orotava as a new center for the work and activities of Apanate.
José LuisAnd here a closeup of the new centre.
foto centreWell that was a lovely lunch and afternoon. I was able to catch up on news chatting with a good friend of mine who had just returned from a long holiday. The next Friends of Tenerife event will be an evening dinner with Canary Folk Dancing on Dia de Canarias, a Canary Islands holiday celebration at the end of this month. I may just make it there as well. It should be an interesting evening!

6 comments:

Patsy said...

That looks so delicious and so beautiful and ok, I love it that they chose that magenta tablecloth. It seems that you lead an idyllic life doing good deeds, being among friends, enjoying fresh, tasty food in a friendly, warm atmosphere!!

Lorna

Patsy said...

Yay!! The blog accepted my comment!!! :-) :-)
~Lorna

I am going to try leaving a comment now on the Canarybird blog.
~Lorna

Patsy said...

Oh Blast! I went to the Canarybird next and tried to leave a comment but it was not accepted. This one works, though. :-)
~Lorna

Canarybird said...

Lorna thank you....yes life here is beautiful and I know I'm very lucky!

I'm so glad you could finally get on the comment page. I still don't know why you are having trouble adding comments. Perhaps just using your Blogger identity without making changes is the key. I've allowed everyone to post here so it should be working okay.
Thanks again. Sharon.

Kathleen said...

Sharon, what a beautiful blog! I love your pictures, your writing and the FOOD! I am so glad you linked us from CF!

Canarybird said...

Thank you Kathleen. Your blog is beautiful, so I will spend some time visting you as well. Sharon.

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