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In French, New Year's Eve (31 December) is called La Saint-Sylvestre and is usually celebrated with a feast, called Le Réveillon de Saint-Sylvestre. You know me, I always choose feast over famine and this time of year is the ‘feastiest’ of them all.

While the weather is sometimes frightful, the feast is always delightful in France and Le Réveillon is when hosts and restaurants pull out all the stops, and the menus tempt with French favourites like champagne and foie gras, truffles and seafood.

Foie Gras is French party food. America has its pigs-in-a-blanket, the French have their goose liver, and whether it's a party for a group of friends or a dinner en famille, Le Réveillon, like most meals in France, is a well thought out occasion and reason enough to give thanks. As it is also black truffle season during this time (December-March), you can usually count on a taste of these fabulous fungi too. Yes, this is truly the most wonderful time of the year!

I spent Le Réveillon in Monte Carlo this year, for no other reason than I had a really early flight out of Nice on New Year’s Day, and because... well, why not!? It’s Monaco and there's no place like it.

Most meals on this evening will be prix fixe and can range from 79 euros per person to 400+ euros per person. I opted for the lower end of the range and was not disappointed. At the Hotel Miramar we had a four-course meal overlooking the yacht harbour that started with an apero of champagne, followed by an assortment of gambas, foie gras with fruit compote and toast, and beef carpaccio with shaved black truffles. For the main course we were served a caramelized veal scallop followed by a white fish in a light herb crust, and finally an assortment of small bite size petit fours. The mix of flavours was divine. For your next special occasion (remember…foie gras is party food in France), or for your next Réveillon, plan a meal French style and include these delicious delicacies (available from French Flavour) on the menu. They are easy to prepare, very French, and your friends will roll away from the table with a thankful "merci"!

We counted down the last seconds of 2009 in front of The Casino and were sprayed with champagne until we were drenched. A waste of some good bubbly if you ask me ( I almost licked the guy standing next to me just to have a taste but that's another story). But where else but in Monte Carlo can one be so decadent?! This is truly the good life.

History Lesson: Saint Sylvestre was Pope from 314 to 335 A.D but there is no real link between Saint Sylvestre and New Year’s Eve, except that 31 December is his feast day. Pragmatic, non? La Saint-Sylvestre is feminine because it's short for LA fête de Saint-Sylvestre.

Of course it's feminine. All the finer things in life are. (Wink).

Happy eating for 2010.