Spring may not be in the air, but certainly love is, as we celebrate Valentine’s Day this month. It has a long and interesting history, beginning with an early Christian martyr, Saint Valentine. According to legend, before his execution he wrote a farewell letter and signed it “Your Valentine.” It was not until Geoffrey Chaucer, in his Parliament of Fowls (written 1382), however, that we have the first recorded association with Valentine and love. For the earliest known valentine we must turn to a 15th-century rondeau written by Charles, Duke of Orléans, to his wife, which begins,

Je suis desja d’amour tanné
Ma tres doulce Valentinée…

In 18th-century England, it became an occasion for lovers to pledge their love for each other, and this usually involved flowers, confectionary, and greeting cards, known as valentines. For an early Valentine’s Day poem—full of all the clichés—we can turn to a collection of English nursery rhymes called Gammer Gurton’s Garland (1784):

The rose is red, the violet’s blue,
The honey’s sweet, and so are you.
Thou art my love and I am thine;
I drew thee to my Valentine:
The lot was cast and then I drew,
And Fortune said it shou’d be you.

For this special day we imagine that you’ll want to prepare a candlelight dinner, and you will also want your house to be spotless. Since you will have many more important things on your mind, we’ll be happy to take care of these domestic tasks. Our cleaning staff will detail clean everything, floors, counters, rugs, drapes, bathrooms, and so forth, and our handymen will see to all necessary repairs inside and outside your home. We can even see to those last-minute errands (flowers? Champagne?). And all this will be done with our loving touch for which A Votre Service! is famous.

As for those other essentials…I’d suggest you make certain you have the Veuve Clicquot chilled. Do consider a cheese fondue (here’s a fairly straightforward recipe, http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/cheese-fondue-recipe.html). As for chocolate, consider Valrhona (http://www.valrhona-chocolate.com/shop/index.php). I think all this goes well with Edith Piaf, the little sparrow (here’s a recording, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzeLynj1GYM).

The rest is up to you, but do call upon us for any cleanup afterward. We’ll even send you a Valentine, in French, of course.

Amitiés,
Jocelyne