A few years back, I was returning from the Loire Valley when, somewhere near the centre of Brittany, my car started to play up. Well, the gearbox to be precise, which was having the mechanical equivalent of an epileptic fit! I was pretty close to having the human version.

To paraphrase Oscar Wilde: There is only one thing worse than driving on the wrong side of the road, and that is not driving on the wrong side of the road!

I ground to a halt in a small hamlet, just outside the Bar Rio. It looked discouragingly closed as I peered through the window.

A roughly spherical lady with a very fine moustache peered back at me. After much gesticulating, she opened the door suspiciously. I explained the situation in my broken Franglais, and that I was a chef/restaurateur returning from a wine tasting trip.

Suddenly, it was as if I had mentioned the words "American Express?" to one of those hotel receptionists on TV. She beamed at me, and invited me to stay to dinner. She had prepared a Potée Bretonne and there was plenty to go round.

The aromas of that dish will stay with me forever, and the flavours are engraved on my tongue.

Washed down with endless bottles of local cider, we finished the meal with some very strong coffee, sitting in comfortable chairs by the fire. Madame Rio produced a bottle of her own Eau de Vie de Cerise, and my final memories of that evening were of her crunching the cherry stones very loudly with her nut-cracker teeth.

I awoke the next morning, a tartan blanket draped over me, to the clatter of coffee and croissants being placed in front of me, together with my car keys.

Madame Rio had gone one better than American Express. Her son was the local mechanic, and he had resuscitated my car!

Potée Bretonne

Ingredients Serves 6

* 600g boneless shoulder of lamb, cut into 6 pieces

**600g boneless belly of pork, cut into 6 pieces

**3 large duck legs, cut in half

**1 Savoy cabbage, shredded

**3 sliced leeks

**3 sliced carrots

**3 small turnips, peeled

**18 small potatoes, peeled

**4 large plum tomatoes, peeled and quartered

**Few sprigs of thyme

**1 bayleaf

**3 tbsp freshly chopped parsley

Method

1) Place the cabbage, leeks and carrots in a large pan. Put the pork and lamb on top, and the duck on top of that. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil.

2) Skim off the fat, then add the herbs. Season lightly. Simmer for about two hours.

3) Add the turnips and, 30 minutes later, the potatoes. 15 minutes later add the tomatoes.

4) Skim off any remaining fat, correct the seasoning, sprinkle with parsley and serve! Bon appetite!