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Art, Rugby, and Photography in the Roannais.
A new exhibition of photography by Nicolas Jorge was held during June 2009 in Le Coteau, Roannais, Rhone-Alpes called “Essai D’Art 2009” . The theme of this superb photographic show was ‘Rugby’.
Nicolas Jorge exhibited large-scale, black and white images of the local Roanne Rugby Club – AS Roanne Rugby XV.
Over 1,500 people visited the exhibition over a 3-day period.
The images of this locally renowned photography depict moments before, during, and after various rugby matches, training, and occasions during 2009.
Beautifully captured in black and white, the images were varied with unusual, funny, and classic visual commentary surrounding this very popular game, both locally, nationally, and internationally throughout France. The sense of camaraderie and community is present in all of the many photographs displayed, many in very large format.
The entire show, over a 3 day period in Le Coteau, near Roanne, was held in a large, car showroom – ‘Espace Borgnat’. The presence of cars in conjunction with all the rugby images created an atmosphere of contemporary surrealism to the show.
It was an ideal venue with plenty of light, and passing public were attracted, and able to view through the large picture windows of the building.
Of course, in traditional French style there was music, food and wine, and the normal conviviality of visitors, friends, and rugby associates, and children enjoying the occasion.g
Copies of all images were available for sale, and the whole event marked the end of the 2009 rugby season with presentations to club members, trainers, and administrative personnel who have all contributed to the success of the Roanne Rugby Club during the year, and in particular for the training of the young players aged from 7 to 15 years.
A resounding success, this event may well be repeated again in 2010, and there is no doubt that Art and Photography mixes very well with the energy and impact of this historical game. www.purefrancenow.com
For more news about Art and Rugby in the Roannais take a look at:
Art and Rugby Success in the Roannais!
Maison Mons supports Purefrancenow in the Roannais
Many year’s ago we had been pointed in the direction of the Mons Fromagerie in Halles Diderot, a fabulous high quality indoor market in Roanne. Having been told that they were simply the best place to purchase cheese, not only for quality, but also breadth of choice – they sell a range of over 230 different cheeses throughout the year.
The Auvergnat , as Mons was originally named, was founded in 1965 by Hubert and Rolande Mons.
They started by selling on local markets and from a truck selling door to door. Their high quality and constant search for new products quickly won them praise and recognition in the cheese world. As is often the case with successful companies.
From these historic small beginnings a high quality business was born. In the 1980’s when Hervé and Laurent, the sons, started working with their parents the company took great steps forward; with the opening of new stores in les Halles of Roanne, Renaison, Montbrison… and the development of an affinage operation in Saint Haon le Chatel in the Cote Roannaise.
During the 1990’s the company was recognized for its excellence and its know-how, and obtains an agreement to supply the Relais and Châteaux, and Accord Groups.
Fromagerie Mons serves the best restaurants and cheese shops around the world, including some of the royal tables.
A few years ago, the company started fulfilling an international demand : Mons now sells to more than 10 different countries throughout Europe, including the USA and Japan).
Today, The Auvergnat has become Maison Mons – Fromager Affineur, managed by Hervé Mons. After starting under his father training, Hervé went to study with the famous cheesemongers such as Jacques Vernier and Christian Cantin. In 2000 he was awarded Meilleur Ouvrier de France – Best artisan of France, the highest recognition one can achieve in the field of affinage.
In 2002 he receives the title of Best Fromager by the Gastronomic Pudlo Guide. Congrilait, the most important worldwide event of the dairy industry, asked him to organize its 2002 show. The Sirha contacted him for its 2003 International contest of the best cheese board. And this is only a part of his personal and business achievements.
In 2004 he created, with his brother Laurent Mons, a training school Opus Caseus Concept for their customers and other people who want to know more about how cheese is made and its flavour refined.
In 2005 he organised the first International competition Caseus Award, made up of the best cheese makers from 12 countries. In 2006, Maison Mons arrived in the London at the famous Borough Market and created the company Mons UK with a young cheese maker Mr Jonathan Thrupp who has learned the cheese arts with the Maison Mons. Mons also set their feet firmly in Montbrison with the opening of a shop with another of our prodigious students Cedric Lenoir, who took the shop on as a new adventure.
In 2007 we opened the boutique Marechal in the Halles de Lyon, which is run by Etienne Boissy (Meilleur Ouvrier de France 2004) who has been with Maison Mons for many years now.
Most important of all, Hervé Mons travels all over France, searching for the best cheeses, particularly from those farmers who are still using traditional methods of production. Then the cheeses are matured in the Mons caves to develop their aromas and taste.
This is why today, Maison Mons is the official supplier of the best tables around the world and is recognized as the benchmark in specialty cheeses. Maison Mons keeps its roots locally meanwhile recruiting a professional team in each of its shops, and at the same time developing the export market thanks to its extensive range, and unparalleled expertise. Today Maison Mons has 22 people working at its caves in the Roannais, 155 clients in France, and many clients in 19 countries, 130 individual producers in France, 4 cheese shops, and about 190 different cheeses aging throughout the year. Affinage Cheese Aging will always be the heart of the operation.
In 2009 Mons are continuing to expand and are developing a new entity La Compagnie d’Affinage des Caves de la Collogne, which is unique in its realm. They have recuperated and restored an old train tunnel and transformed it into a cheese aging tunnel. This project will be completed in July 2009, and will allow Mons to really differentiate their products from the rest with an unprecedented environment and care for all their many cheeses, leaving Maison Mons with an exclusive range of high quality.products.
Maison Mons is always looking forward.
Purefrancenow Visit and Review
Fromagerie Mons are specialists in the true sense of the word. For this reason they supply all of the ‘top’ restaurants in the area, and beyond. They, in fact, export all over the world – from the USA, UK, Norway, and Australia, to Russia, Japan, China, and Spain. Our, eagerly awaited, recent visit to their headquarters and storage caves in Saint-Haon-le-Châtel in the Roannais, has now added a further dimension to our understanding and love of cheese. It would have been extremely difficult not to share the passion and excitement that exudes from the Co-owner and Director, Laurent Mons, and his Quality Control Manager.
On our arrival at the Fromagerie, we were first greeted, surprisingly, by a youthful, and enthusiastic American, Eric Meredith. We were amazed to learn that he had come to work at Mons only 2 years ago from a cuisine and nutrition background in New York. He is now responsible for Quality Control at Fromagerie Mons. Although now Fluent in French, Eric led us through the various stages of cheese affination (the development, nurturing, and flavour refinement of cheeses brought in from 110 small farm producers) in English – which we much appreciated. It would have been tragic to miss out on any snippets of the deluge of information that was fired confidently, and concisely, in our direction. ‘Passion’ seems too subtle a word to describe Eric’s love and understanding of the whole cheese process. He really does live and breath his work. He is totally dedicated. It is a vocation, not just a job! To achieve the continued quality for which Fromagerie Mons is reputed this is the only way.
From regular liaison with the many suppliers to hands-on nurturing of the varying types of cheese, Eric’s knowledge is outstanding. He treats each cheese (in fact, each batch) individually, regulating temperature, humidity, position within the different caves, whether the cheese should be kept wrapped or unwrapped (and if so, what in), and on what the cheese should rest – great slabs of wood, or straw matting. All in the name of quality of taste refinement! Eric understands the nuances of the chemical processes that create, ripen, and develop cheese. He is a true connoisseur. An intelligent, scientific approach, but with enormous passion and dedication to the art of affinage (refining of a cheese) After our superb tour we visited Laurent Mons in the board room. He is ‘fired’ by the love of not only his cheeses, and his historic family business, but also of the Roannais region, full of its many gastronomic delights. Rarely have I found in the UK such true adoration of a business. Fromagerie Mons is exceptional. A successful, entrepreneurial, family-run company.
Also visit our other Purefrancenow Reviews on Maison Mons:
Maison Mons, Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse
Maison Mons, Les Halles Diderot, Roanne
Gastronomic Magic of the Roannais! – Maison Mons – A special ‘Food and Drink’ section about the delights of the Roannais.
Mike Ford makes his debut at the Pure Art Gallery
The Pure Art Gallery, hosted by www.purefrancenow.com, welcomes Mike Ford to their select portfolio of international artists, photographers, and image-makers.
Mike Ford’s unusual and eclectic images and style of photographic approach is internationally renowned. A highly creative and original image ‘artist’, Mike’s special gallery presentation adds a particularly contemporary and poignant quality to The Pure Art Gallery.
Mike Ford found his artistic passion and vision when a career change took him from Yorkshire to London in the 1970’s. For five years he travelled the world as assistant to the celebrated fashion photographer Robert Belton, and Mike regards this time as an awakening, his stimulus to produce striking commercial images.
After leaving London Mike joined a daily newspaper, and his experiences as a press photographer resulted in a desire to capture an arresting image efficiently and without “fuss”. He continues this working pattern to this day.
In 2001 Mike took up semi-retirement in the South of France, where he still has a home today. With time to travel and without commercial pressures, he now shoots images to please himself and hopes others will enjoy his view of the world. He says “I am fascinated by the interplay between colour and tone, the relationship between a person and the space they occupy at any given moment…. “
Mike has exhibited at the Geras Tousignant Gallery and Spectrum in San Francisco, USA, and numerous galleries close to his home in France.
He has recently completed a major show in Dubai entitled ‘Life’. This was an ideal opportunity for Mike to successfully show off his work and creative talent in a new market in the Middle East. 
His major part in this new show, organised very professionally by United Arts – an up-and-coming company based in Dubai, was subtitled ‘People, Places and Patterns’.
It was the perfect showcase for Mike’s contemporary, thought-provoking images.
Exhibitions are also planned for London and Australia in 2009.
We will be hearing much more from Mike Ford in the future, and certainly at The Pure Art Gallery. So, watch this space!!
The Beaujolais near the Roannais! by Lucy Franklin
The Roannais may not be the most well known wine growing area around the world, but our neighboring department certainly is.
The Beaujolais is just 30 minutes drive from Roanne, in fact pre-19th century the Roannais was part of the Beaujolais region.
Here we recently had the opportunity to visit a small, family producer of wonderful red and white wines.
Roger Dumas cultivates a mere 5 hectares of vines and follows generations of his family in growing traditionally and esthetically.
Twice, each year, for a weekend, M. Dumas opens his doors and takes immense pleasure in explaining his methods and ethics to the public.
His is a story of tradition and quality, profit being a bonus when it happens, but certainly not Roger’s priority.
A producer of integrity and humility, who cares for his land with true passion and belief in quality, never willing to sacrifice the latter.
We visited with a good friend, who had joined the group of loyal ‘harvesters’ each year, (in his younger days!) to work hard in the fields, sleep rough in the huge barn and benefit from the fabulous family hospitality each evening. A ‘rites de passage’ for many a young man, (and woman of course!)
The Beaujolais region is notoriously beautiful. Rolling green hillsides dotted with tiny villages, golden in the sunshine.
Though not distracting from this beauty, as in many regions, a change has taken place over recent years. Sadly, you can see where odd fields have been stripped of their vines and turned to more profitable crops, a mark of the decline in France’s dominance of the world wine market, as new countries and big business in particular take over.
Never an option for M. Dumas, who almost takes great delight in describing the 2 years out of the last 10, when due to bad storms in the area, his whole crop was destroyed. Not willing to compromise, and produce an inferior vintage the harvest was abandoned until the following year- c’est la vie!
Back to the visit!
The very humble barn had been opened, and decked with trellis tables.
Along side the open bottles lined up for tasting, were various local delights- huge bowls of cherries from the garden, green olives and oil from a family friend in Spain, who shares M. Dumas’s beliefs in traditional and natural production. There were walnuts and almonds, from the same Spanish farm as well as cured ham, delicious!
The red wines varied in age, each with it’s own distinct character and along with the white, rose and sparkling, offered a variety fit for any occasion. 
Also a delight was the locally made goats cheese and honey that was on offer to taste. With their artisan producers, proudly talking about their products, and farms.
We came away, as one does on these occasions, feeling content and at one with the world, happy that in this corner of France, like our own Roannais region, the respect for nature and traditional ways were being upheld against the flow of technology and mass production.
Try our Purefrancenow Gourmet Week-ends with visit to a vineyard in the marvellous Cote Roannais, complete with wine-tasting, and a sumptious ‘Menu Gourmand’ at the amazing Chateau de Champlong.
The Pure Art Gallery in the Roannais
Purefrancenow has pleasure in announcing the successful launch of ‘The Pure Art Gallery”.
This is a web-based art gallery dedicated to presenting a wide range of thought-provoking, original art and imagery from talented international artists and photographers in Europe.
www.purefrancenow.com will be hosting The Pure Art Gallery with a specially designed and operated ‘Image Gallery’ featuring selected artists and creators, particularly from the UK and France.
There will be regular updates, news and reviews. Original, Limited Edition, and Special high quality format prints on canvas and contemporary acrylic will also be available for purchase at different sizes and prices. This is all part of the Pure Art Gallery Service.
‘Commissions’ for both in-home and businesses can be organised, and an Interior Design and Art Consultancy Service is fully available through the ‘Pure Art Team’, which includes ‘in-house’ designers, interior stylists, and marketing concept management, and project control specialists.
Total Art and Image Concepts can be developed with full ‘Production and Project Control’ for all aspects of Corporate Communications. This includes Business Receptions, Boardrooms, Showrooms, and Retail, Hotel and Restaurant Environments.
Art and the river La Loire in the Roannais
Art and the river la Loire in the Roannais, Rhône-Alpes
More Art news from the Roannais. Over 70 paintings and photographs were recently displayed at the Espace Congres in Roanne in the Roannais, Rhône-Alpes during May 2009.
All these remarkable images were based on, and related to, the famous river ‘La Loire’ which runs like a spine through France.
Roanne, in the Roannais, is one of the townships, and one of the many regions of France, touched by the magic of ‘La Loire’
All these images express the different moods and interpretations of each artist and creator’s reflections of the river and its influences on the Roannais region. It is an expression of love for this beautiful part of France, and an intense adoration of its watery landscape.
Yet another example of the passion and love for both the regional Roannais landscape and art – a successful combination of inspiration and adoration!
Take a look at www.purefrancenow.com for more information on the incredible Roannais in the Rhône-Alpes. And for some fantastic art and images visit:
The Pure Art Gallery There are some great original, and limited edition, pieces for sale, and special images available as large format prints – including remarkable contemporary abstracts, and exceptional photographic images by internationally renowned artists and image creators.