Le Moulin de Daudet
Green Olives with Aromatic Herbs - 500g

I’ve always thought the Mediterranean countries have a rather wonderful relationship with food. Not everything needs to be complicated, expensive or particularly fancy. Sometimes a bowl of olives, a piece of bread and something cold to drink is more than enough to make you happy. And frankly, I think they might be onto something.

These beautiful green olives come from Olives Arnaud, a family-rooted Provençal business established in 1959, and arrive in one of the most wonderful tins we’ve come across in quite some time. The name, Le Moulin de Daudet, takes its inspiration from the famous windmill at Fontvieille, a beautiful little village in the Alpilles region of Provence. Immortalised by the nineteenth-century French writer Alphonse Daudet in his Letters from My Windmill, the mill has become something of a symbol of traditional Provençal life.

And looking at this magnificent green and gold tin, you can almost imagine yourself sitting outside a little village café, watching the world go by whilst somebody brings you another glass of wine. But enough daydreaming. Let’s talk about the olives.

These are traditional split green olives, prepared in brine and seasoned with a fragrant mixture of aromatic Provençal herbs. Splitting the olives allows the wonderful flavours of the seasoning to work their way into the flesh, creating something beautifully savoury, fresh and full of character. hey’re firm, satisfyingly meaty and wonderfully moreish, with a lovely balance of natural olive bitterness, gentle saltiness and fragrant Mediterranean herbs.

The sort of olives where you have one, then another, then another, and before you know it you’ve eaten half the bowl whilst supposedly making your tea. Personally, I think these are magnificent served simply with some good bread, cheese, perhaps a little saucisson and a glass of something cold. They’re equally lovely alongside roast chicken, grilled fish or chopped into a simple tomato and olive salad.

The olives come in a beautiful deep green tin, finished with gold lettering and an illustration of the famous windmill, looks like something you’d discover at the back of an old French delicatessen. It’s wonderfully nostalgic without feeling remotely old-fashioned.

We’ve always believed that everyday things deserve a little beauty. Whether it’s a good shirt, a well-made coffee cup or a tin of olives, there’s something very satisfying about a product that looks as good as it tastes.

A little piece of Provence for your kitchen cupboard. Although we suspect it won’t stay there very long.

Bon appétit!

Contains stones.