Inspired in Provence France

“Fields of purple as far as the eye can see!” I cried as I pulled on the brakes of my vintage silver bicycle at the bottom of the most spectacularly beautiful valley, in the heart of glorious Provence where miles upon miles of lavender and rosemary fields unfurled before me.

I was here to soak in the sights, and experience a little of the local culture and food, but my adventure today was destined to prove much more than that…

As I looked out onto the vast endless sea of colour my heart skipped a beat. Oh, that smell! The heavenly pine-like rosemary aroma was truly out of this world. In fact, there was something nostalgic about being here, like a distant memory or a dream I had had before. Perhaps the warmth of the sun and the beauty of my surroundings had sent me a little lightheaded!

Time to refuel I thought, as I delved into my backpack to retrieve a bag of freshly roasted, lightly salted almonds I had purchased from a street vendor in the historic city of Arles earlier this morning. If only the almonds could taste as sweet as that rosemary smelt!

It was at that exact moment I was struck with an idea that nearly had me skipping through the fields of green and purple with excitement.

What if we could combine the sweet fragrance of rosemary with the light saltiness of the French almonds to create a gourmet snack of the finest quality? “That’s it!” I exclaimed to absolutely no one in particular as I stood alone amongst the fields, one hand steadying my bicycle while the other furiously scribbled into my notebook.