Stephen Jardine: Culinary benefits of Auld Alliance

What have the French ever given us? Bearnaise sauce, I suppose – but what else? Well, Chablis, baguettes, ratatouille, croissants, Beaujolais, crepes, Cognac and moules marinieres should also be on the list. Come to think of it, most of the food I love originates from the other side of the English Channel.

For a long time, good food meant French food and not much else. To be a serious chef anywhere in the world involved spending time in France. But there ended the relationship. France provided the foundation for a life in the kitchen, but then chefs moved on.

However, with Scandinavia, Spain and Britain now able to make as good a claim to great food as the French, attitudes have altered.

One of the most exciting examples of this is the Budding Chefs programme, which introduces young Scottish chefs to French cooking and then gives their French counterparts the same experience over here.

The latest trip to France ends tomorrow, and over the past week, six young chefs from Scotland have had an incredible introduction to gastronomy.

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The visit started at Rungis, the world’s largest wholesale food market, and the group then took over the kitchens at a tiny right-bank bistro to showcase Scottish produce to Parisian guests.

Then to Brittany for a look at the restaurant of a five-star hotel and visits to mussel, oyster and poultry farms before cooking a Scottish menu with Breton produce for 100 guests.