I was discussing holidays with a friend, to the Dordogne in particular, when I remembered an amusing story. You may know that a chef normally travels with a small set of cook's knives, especially in areas of gastronomic interest.

It's a bit like a photographer taking their camera everywhere -just in case they want to take a picture.

That's the theory, but in practice, chefs are very bad at remembering things. Or at least, this one is!

So it was that I found myself preparing our first meal of the holiday without my knives.

I had searched the luggage several times, but I knew I wouldn't find them. At the back of my mind there was a picture of my knife bag, sitting in the hall, by the front door, so that I would not forget them!

This picturesque little village in the Dordogne had no shops but I had been informed that, should we need anything, I should contact Mme Yvette, just across the square.

So I crossed the square and knocked on her door. Shortly, a pretty little woman answered the door, wearing an apron and bright blue Wellington boots!

I introduced myself, explained the situation, and as in last week's column, the facial expression visibly lightened at the knowledge that there was a cuisinier in town!

She became quite animated, telling me that her husband was the village butcher, and would be honoured to assist. I was shown through to the kitchen, summoned to a large drawer full of all kinds of culinary weapons.

As I made my selection, she caught me gazing across the kitchen to where she had been doing some cookery herself.

She insisted that I taste the duck rillettes that she had been preparing when I had interrupted her. Her method was much simpler than the recipe I use, and her results possibly better!

Whenever we saw her, Mme Yvette was always wearing those blue wellies. I still make rillettes her way, but usually in regular footwear.

Rilletts of Duck

Ingredients Serves 6

4 large duck legs

6 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 orange, cut in half

2 sprigs of rosemary

1 bay leaf

450g duck or goose fat

Method

1) Place all the ingredients into a thick bottomed pan. Bring slowly to the boil, and allow to simmer for two hours.

 2) Remove the duck, and drain well. Discard all the skin and bones, placing the well cooked meat into a mixing bowl. Flake the meat into roughly shredded pieces, using two forks, and adding a little of the fat. Season to taste, adding more fat if there is a dryness to the taste.

3) Place the rillettes into a bowl, smooth the top over, and cover with a little more of the fat.

4) Allow to set in the fridge for a couple of hours, then serve with some warm potato salad or crusty French bread. You can strain the fat and keep it to use again.