When we lived in Jeddah, I worked as a medical secretary to an English doctor. Gitte, my Danish friend was his nurse and Françoise was the dental receptionist. We all had different experiences working at the Clinic, but mainly it was a lot of laughs and great friendships were formed.

One evening, we were invited by Françoise for dinner. Her apartment was very much like herself, elegant, stylish and very Parisian with a tiny kitchen. We arrived at her place and were served drinks with a tray of amuse bouche (bite size assorted canapés). When we finished our apéritifs, we were seated at the table and the feast began.

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First course – a delicate chicken broth

Second course – pâté served with cornichons and baby tomatoes

Third course – pan seared scallops topped with crispy bacon

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She then served a sorbet to cleanse the palate before the main dish, something I incorporated into my menu when we opened our own restaurant.

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Fourth course – a piece of finest filet of beef, served with a wild mushroom jus and parmentier potatoes.

Fifth course was cheese, served with honey, fruit and nuts. In England we usually serve cheese last but in France it is normal to serve the cheese before the dessert. This is because the wine served with the meat course is usually a red wine such as Chateauneuf, or St.Emilion. The French simply continue with the same wine to compliment the cheese. Then they change to a sweeter white wine such as Sauterne or Muscat de Beaume which suits the sweetness of the dessert.

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Sixth course – a melt in the mouth chocolate mousse, made with dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa solids).

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This may sound like a lot of food but the portions she served were absolutely perfectly sized, meaning that we enjoyed every course without feeling so full up. I took this point into consideration when producing my own dishes for our restaurant, balancing up the six courses to produce a menu that didn’t overwhelm people. It has always worked well and we’ve never forgotten that inspirational meal produced by Françoise in her tiny kitchen in Jeddah.