The Adelaide Central Market will celebrate all things French this Friday and Saturday in the lead-up to the Bastille Day national holiday on July 14.

Words Ben Kelly

When they first came to South Australia, French couple Bastien Verslype and Katia Vincon were surprised and heartened to discover how passionately locals got into the spirit of their national holiday, July 14.

“The French community here in Adelaide is small but the celebration around the day is great,” Katia says.

The couple recently marked two years since establishing Adelaide Central Market charcuterie and patisserie Les Deux Coqs, one of the few traditional French smallgoods makers in the country.

“If you come here for Bastille Day you will see people wearing berets and stripes; they buy baguettes, pate and cheese, and a lot of sweets,” she says.

“People try to say ‘hello’ or ‘thank you’ in French, and they say ‘Happy Bastille Day’, which is funny because we don’t say that in France, we call it fête nationale.

“It’s something special to be able to talk to people about our culture and our products.”

The market will celebrate Bastille Day over three days: Friday and Saturday, July 10 and 11, and Tuesday, July 14.

Due to Coronavirus, the Bastille Day program has been scaled back compared to previous years but there will still be a live music program and plenty of French fare on offer across three days.

From 5.30pm on Friday, there will be a pop-up bar serving French wine and champagne.

Les Deux Coqs, stall two, will launch new charcuterie and patisserie products, along with their range of traditional French rillettes, terrines, tapenades, charcuterie, patisserie and viennoiserie.

Visit the Smelly Cheese Shop for French and Australian cheeses, French wine, ready-to-eat Raclette, and Croque Monsieur.

Market Bread Bar offers French-style crepes with all the fillings with a crepe pop-up at the Gouger dining area.

Visit Dough for house-made patisserie, croissants and baguettes.

For a shaving of truffle to add to your French cooking, visit the Mushroom Man’s Mushroom Shop.

Atlas Continental has curated a French-themed menu including escargot pizza, while Barossa Fine Foods will be selling French saucisson, and the Corner Deli will be offering French Camembert and brie.