Bastille Bon Appetit!

The French national holiday Bastille Day, celebrated Saturday, commemorates the 18th-Century insurrection over the power of the crown initiated after the Bastille was overtaken by an incensed mob.

“Today in France we celebrate with lots of picnics and fireworks and fairs,” Norbert Viaud said. Viaud is owner of Raffine Gourmet Boutique in Westlake Village, which offers a variety of French foods and desserts and can provide delicious gourmet entrees to fill a Bastille Day picnic basket.

Not every order Viaud gets is so cut and dried, such as cheeses, breads and salads.

“We get requests for costume cakes. Maybe they want a guillotine on the cake, if they’re into that.”

If you’re having a Bastille Day picnic, Viaud offers five different gourmet picnic menus, ranging in price from $10 to $14.95 a person.

He will also accommodate any special order.

Raffine Gourmet Boutique is at 3741 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. Call 496-2699.

Bon appetit!