Collegiate Times

Southwest Virginia will get a taste of France next week.

On Oct. 26 Our Daily Bread, a bakery and cafe off South Main, will push the envelope with a Pyrenees themed dinner, inspired by a region in southwest France.

The dinner is part of a monthly series called "La Cuisine Club" that the cafe has been putting on since Valentine's Day. Each month, they have advertised a one-seating only dinner, each of which features food from different regions in France. Past regions include Basque, Alsace and Paris.

"Paris was a huge hit," said Clare Humphrys, Our Daily Bread's front end manager. "We had rabbit, pheasant, escargot, steak tartare, it was quite a menu."

The upcoming dinner is $25 for an extravagant three-course meal. The combination of price and exclusive once-per-month events has made La Cuisine Club quite a hit. Every dinner thus far has resulted in the cafe selling out its limited seating. The Paris-themed night sold out the fastest.

The upcoming Pyrenees dinner is no exception. The cafe has already taken reservations for 70 of its roughly 84 available seats. 

Six seats are located in the kitchen itself, where guests can watch their meal be prepared.

Due to high demand, the cafe has included a takeout option for those who may have missed the opportunity to eat in the restaurant.

While the upcoming dinner will be the last La Cuisine Club meal until next Valentine’s Day, both Humphrys and her mother, Marketing Manager Lynn Hube, are eagerly considering options for expanding the event. 

“We’re going to look at hosting two nights in a row,” says Huber. “We hate turning people away.”

The dinner on Friday will include authentic French Pyrenees flavor, thanks largely to one of its Pyreneese owners, Danielle Tellier. 

Together with her husband and co-owner Thierry, Humphrys hopes to bring a bit of European flair to Blacksburg. 

“The purpose of these dinners, more than anything, is to help share good European food with Americans,” said Humphrys. “Thierry wants the people of Blacksburg to try escargot, or rabbit, or duck.” 

 Follow this writer on Twitter: @alexgomes_CT

A version of this article appeared in the Oct 17 issue of the Collegiate Times.