What It’s Like: Shopping with the Chef in Bordeaux

“We’re entering the belly of Bordeaux,” Star Legend Head Chef, Joseph Kalynuik says as we gather at the entrance to Marché des Capucins the city’s largest market, first established in 1749, and named after the Capuchin monks who once lived in the area. 

“Over the next couple of hours, we’ll pick and choose produce to share with everyone onboard in the coming days.” 

It’s Saturday morning on our 11-day James Beard Foundation cruise through Portugal, Spain and France. “Shop with the chef” is a complimentary excursion offered, (when possible) on specific itineraries. In addition to Chef Joseph, our shopping entourage includes 20 enthusiastic guests; James Beard celebrity chef, Tanya Holland, Windstar Cruises’ Director of Hotel Operations, Peter Tobler, local guide Emmeline, together with Emile to coordinate filling the bags. boxes and a large trolley with culinary goodies. 

“This market is where locals shop and socialise,” says Emmeline, who has lived here for 30 years. She goes on to explain the market was once much bigger with many changes made over the centuries. However, the essence of the market has remained the same – “to feed the people of Bordeaux.” 

Like most of us, it’s Chef Joseph’s first time in the market. “I’m looking for provincial flavors, delicacies that tell the story of the region,” he says. He’s also looking to spice up the dishes Windstar chefs create onboard by incorporating local delicacies. 

Local knowledge is invaluable as Emmeline leads the way winding through the colourful aisles to our first stop – a stall specialising in ‘canelés de Bordeaux. Meaning ‘fluted’ in French, rows of golden, sticky on the outside, soft on the inside, pastries baked in traditional copper molds fill the glass cabinet. 

While the treats are being carefully packaged, Emmeline describes the legend of canelés. “The nuns of the Annociades Convent created them in the 18^th century to help feed the poor. They used anything they could find like rum, vanilla and the yolks of eggs. The recipe was forgotten during the Revolution but has returned as a flavor of Bordeaux.”

“I’ll take 250,” Chef Joseph says to the server, who looks puzzled as if she may have misheard.  

We move onto La Ronde des Fromages, where Chef Joseph scans the attractive display. “Here we have some beautiful cheeses,” he says. “Some I’m familiar with, others I’m not.” 

Careful consideration results in settling on the Tomme aux Fleurs, a pretty semi hard cheese decorated in edible flowers, a bright yellow Shropshire Blue, the Brebis Corse filetta made of sheep’s milk, as well as the deliciously looking soft truffle brie. Seeing first-hand the meticulous way Chef Joseph selects produce makes me realize why every meal onboard is so incredible.

Emmeline recommends we head to the Amandine bakery stall before they run out of bread. “The bakery has been here for over 100 years and they bake the bread in a wood-fired oven,” she says.  A big pile of crusty baguettes immediately catches everyone’s attention and Chef Joseph is quick to say he’ll take the lot. 

There’s a long queue for the fishmonger where Chef Joseph waits patiently to secure three large bar (bass) fish, and crevettes (prawns). It’s then onto the rows of fresh produce stalls for seasonal fruits and vegetables. The cherries and peaches are the market pick, and Chef Tanya spots a specialist micro greens stall selling mache – a difficult to find sibling of rocket with a nutty, but slightly tangy flavor. 

Over at The Pork Specialist stall, Chef Joseph’s eyes light up when he sees a gratton, a terrine reminiscent of his childhood. “This is known as ‘from snout to tail’ where every part of the pig is used. My grandfather used to add sweet onion, butter and nanny’s homemade to make sandwiches.”

The artisan olive stall is a favourite with everyone. Tubs filled with of olives come in all shapes and sizes, some stuffed with things like white anchovies, pickled garlic, slivers of lemon, or almonds, others marinated in herb infused oils or hot pepper. After careful deliberation the chefs decide on a range of flavors to cater for various passenger preferences. 

Once bags and boxes are stuffed full, and Chef Joseph’s wad of cash is depleted, we have 45 minutes to wander around the market on our own. A few of us make a bee line for the ‘when in Bordeaux’ must-do experience – oysters and wine. Perched on a stool at Chez Jean-Mi a market café where people queue for tables and oysters are shucked right in front of your eyes, I sip on a crisp Bordeaux white and savor every mouthful of the velvety smooth oysters. 

Heading back to the Star Legend, the bus is abuzz with excited chatter. “Best excursion I’ve been on.” “This is exactly what I came on this trip to do.” “That was brilliant.” 

Over the next few days, produce from Marché des Capucins adds another dimension to Windstar’s exquisite dining scene. The canelés are presented as a nightly turn down surprise, slices of baguettes appear in bread baskets at the Amphora restaurant, the ‘donut’ shaped peaches feature in the fruit selection at breakfast. And then there’s thepièce de resistance – the Bordeaux local tasting tables curated in spectacular fashion in the Veranda restaurant over two lunchtimes. 

From the subtle earthiness of the truffle cheese piped onto rounds of bread; to the texture of the bar (bass) fish served ceviche style, sweetness of the plump cherries, boldness of the duck sausage, aromatic essence of the tomme aux fleurs cheese, and simplicity of the stuffed olives, each bite transports me back to Marché des Capucins capturing the strong sense of place and the ‘gate to plate’ traditions of Bordeaux’s gastronomy.