Craving Sweet Furniture 
Our South ‘n France Débutante
A high school senior, Tosha has been accepted into Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Las Vegas upon graduation. (Instead of a white ball gown, she’ll get to wear a white chef’s coat!) At the suggestion of one of her teachers, Tosha contacted us with a request for twenty hours of mentoring. We introduced Tosha (and her palate) to a host of new dishes and flavors. She tried her very first bon bons, sweet and savory crepes, goat cheese soufflé, smoked salmon, rosemary, and sauce au poivre while observing our gourmet cooking parties. Here’s more on Tosha’s mentoring experience in her own words:
"Hi, my name is Tosha and I am a senior at North Brunswick High School. Every senior who graduates has to complete a senior project. You choose your own topic, find an expert on that topic, mentor with the expert, and become an expert yourself. After becoming an expert you present everything you know to judges. They determine whether or not you graduate high school. It is a very big deal!
Luckily, I chose French Cuisine for my topic and not only one expert, but TWO: Charlene and Pascal. When Ruth (a South ‘n France customer) said ‘Charlene’s a smart girl; great choice on the mentors!,’ I thought she was kidding. She sure wasn’t! Charlene and Pascal took time out of their busy schedule in the bon bon business and helped me out big time! I learned a lot of valuable information during my time with South ‘n France. It really helped that I got to experience the hands-on activities. They were so nice and welcoming it really surprised me. They invited me to help at the Chocolate Festival, which by the way was amazing! That is where I tried my first crepe EVER. Charlene made it for me and it was delicious. I also attended a Bon Bon Party, a Crepe Party, and a five-course French dinner. I learned that putting those parties together is hard work, but it seemed to pay off. All of the people left with smiles!
My whole experience with South ‘n France was unforgettable. As an aspiring chef, I will never forget where I first learned all of the great things I have learned. Charlene and Pascal are great people and even better mentors. I will keep in touch from Vegas. Thank you so much and thanks to all of the people who made me feel welcome during their parties." -Tosha
We wish Tosha "Bon Courage" as she embarks on her culinary journey, and we look forward to welcoming her back to South ‘n France someday as a guest chef!
Keenan, the guest of honor, (the family calls her "Queen-an") is a true Southern belle. She is beautiful and talented with a razor-sharp wit. (That’s her ‘cartoon’ image so you’ll be able to identify her in the photos below). Aunt Annie directed me to her 
When the loot had all been opened, we moved on to the main attraction. Every generation of the family got in on the bon bon-making act and in no time these sweet Southern belles had transformed the shower into a raunchy, rowdy, rollickin’ good time. Pascal, of course, was in heaven! We both fell in love with every one of the beautiful women in this big, happy family (the dav before they had celebrated one of their most intimate Thanksgivings ever with just 38 people at the table!). They certainly proved the cliché, "the more, the merrier", and they also proved our theory that families are lot like bon bons: lots of little sweeties with a few nuts thrown in!
Since our wedding, it has been our tradition to buy at least one Christmas decoration in each new place we visit. This year, we traveled to Buffalo for my brother’s wedding and then on to Quebec City for a mini-vacation. While in Buffalo, we shopped at 
Mount Olive Pickles: Mt. Olive Pickle Company, Inc., located at the Corner of Cucumber & Vine in Mount Olive, North Carolina, got its start in 1926, with only a 3,600 square foot building and $19,500 in capital, Mt. Olive has grown to be the best selling brand of pickles in the Southeast, and the second best-selling brand of pickles in the country.
Texas Pete Hot Sauce: They fooled you with the name, didn’t they? That pistol-packin’ hot sauce isn’t from Texas; it’s from Winston-Salem, NC. Inventor Thad Garner acquired a hand-written barbeque recipe, added hot peppers, vinegar and salt and created Texas Pete. The story goes that Garner originally wante
d to call the sauce "Mexican Joe", but Garner’s father insisted on all-American name.
Hardee’s Hamburgers: Wilber Hardee opened his first namesake restaurant in Greenville, North Carolina in 1960. Five months later he had his first franchisee. Now, his burger chain has spread to become a favorite throughout the Midwestern and Southeastern United States.
ars ago, the French didn’t celebrate Halloween. Pascal has no memories of dressing up or trick-or-treating in his village. And, of course, there are no photos of him yukking it up for the camera in costume. I, like most American children, remember trick-or-treating fondly. My best-loved costume was the year I converted my "bride dress" (a pretend dress-up bridal gown my Mom had made for me) into a "princess dress". I wore a cardboard crown, carried a cardboard scepter, and had big round circles of blusher painted on my cheeks. And people wonder why years later I crowned myself 
There is also a wonderful bakery at the farm (not that we had any room for baked goods after that meal!). You can see the little gray-haired Southern ladies in the kitchen baking away (our waitress told us that the cooks in the restaurant are Southern ladies too – "just what you’d imagine them to look like", she said). The bakery is famous for its old-fashioned 10-layer chocolate cake. I’ve yet to try it, but I swear that next time I’m going to buy one! I have enjoyed a cheese Danish and sugar cookies on previous visits, and they were both delicious.