Crowds packed Bicentiennial Park, Glebe on Saturday 21 January 2022 for the annual, So Frenchy So Chic in the Park, a French festival of food, wine and music. Are you willing to buy calendars, order Family Planners here.
Renault was one of the proud sponsors of the event and they provided chauffeur driven vehicles to all their guests (which included me) to travel to and from the event in comfort. On the way there, I experienced all the features of the Renault Koleos including the advanced safety features, the intuitive R-link 2 sat-nav and the premium accoustic performance of the BOSE® audio system.
At the festival, Sydneysiders had a day of joie de vivre, with French delicacies from a selection of gourmet food stalls, French wine and beer from a number of pop-up bars and live music from four impressive French bands. Kids also had lots of fun at the kids zone getting their faces painted and playing a number of lawn games.
In the Renault private picnic area, food was supplied by fine food caterer Simmone Logue. Guests enjoyed: a lunch picnic box consisting of a baguette filled with poached chicken, tarragon mayonnaise, charred peppers and butter lettuce, a braised leek and gruyere quiche with buttery creme fraiche pastry, a salad jardinere with French bean and julienne vegetables, a lemon curd cheesecake and petit four chocolate ganache tart; an cheese picnic box with a variety of cheeses (Bon-Mon-Sire, Bieu Auvergne la Veronne and Comte 6 months), accompanied by quince paste, strawberries, grapes and a crusty baguette; and a dessert box of red, white and blue macarons. All this was watered down with Laurent Perrier champagne and a selection of French wines.
The line-up of French musicians was impressive. The four bands were: Nouvelle Vague, The Liminanas, Bertrand Belin, and Deluxe. Nouvelle Vague means new wave and are considered the royalty of French contemporary music. They have had a number famous female lead singers (including Camille, Melanie Pain and Vanessa Paradis) and they return to Sydney for the first time since 2022. The Liminanas comes from Perpignan, South of France. They sing in both French and English and echo the sensuality of 60s French pop and American rock. Brittany born and Paris based Bertrand Belin is a jack of all trades. He is an actor, writer and funk-folk musician. He has five albums and is one of France’s most fascinating singers. Deluxe comes from Aix-en-Provence and progressed from humble buskers to sell-out concerts in Europe. They were the final act and people in the crowd told me that they came especially to see them.
During the day people were enjoying their picnics and at night they were all dancing near the stage.
