Caviar

In Canada, top quality caviar can by bought from Lemberg Canada. They sell everything from reasonably priced Salmon Trout for $19.99 per 100gm to Beluga for $500.00 per 100gm. Besides beluga, they also sell less expensive sturgeon caviar. Sturgeon caviar is most expensive from Iran and, for some reason, is less expensive from other countries.

Salmon Trout

Beluga

Another source of caviar is La Maison Nordique in France. Their products can be purchased online or at their boutique located at 221 Rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré, 75008 Paris (Ternes metro stop). They sell exclusively sturgeon caviar whether from Iran or France. The selection below (left to right) is from cheapest to most expensive. Price is per 15 gram tin.

Shadi (€30)

Imperial Caviar of Sologne (€33)

Imperial Osetra Caviar of Sologne (€42)

Beluga Caviar (€115)

La Maison Nordique also sell a nice presentation tin containing the Imperial Caviar of Sologne and a mother-of-pearl spoon.

Imperial Caviar of Sologne & mother-of-pearl spoon (€45)

Mother-of-pearl Spoon

As with most caviars, beluga is usually handled with a caviar spoon made of mother of pearl, bone, or other nonmetallic material, as metal utensils are said to impart an unwelcome metallic taste to the delicate roe. Beluga caviar is usually served by itself on toast, unlike other less expensive caviars that can be served in a variety of ways, including in hollowed and cooked new potatoes, on blini, or garnished with sour cream, crème fraîche, chopped onions, or minced hard boiled egg whites. (Source: Wikipedia)

Lemberg Canada is a subsidiary of Lemberg Kaviar, Germany. Their Beluga Caviar 50gm jar sells for €140 in Germany which equals approximately CDN$200. They sell the same jar here for $260, a 27% premium!

A standard way of serving caviar is on blinis. See my recipe here. 

Sauces

Based on Marie-Antoine Carême's classification of sauces, this is a catalog of the various classic sauces of French cuisine. These were later codified by Auguste Escoffier into the sauces and their derivatives used today.

First are the four grande or "mother" sauces: Béchamel, Espagnole, Velouté and Allemande.

• Béchamel sauce was originally made with a fish stock and a little onion and parsley to which milk is added and thickened. It is now mostly made by thickening milk with a white roux and adding a pinch of ground nutmeg to enhance the flavor.
• Espagnole sauce in Carême's original version was made with ham, veal, and partridge braised in water, thickened with a roux and garnished with parsley, chives, bay leaves, thyme, sweet basil, cloves and parings of mushrooms. It is now a brown sauce made by thickening dark beef stock with a dark roux, then simmering with a classic mirepoix¹ and a bouquet garni² until greatly reduced. More recently pureed tomato or tomato paste is added.
• Velouté sauce is light in colour, made by reducing clear stock (made from un-roasted bones), usually veal, chicken or fish stock, thickened with a white or blond roux. Velouté is the French word for "velvety".
• Allemande sauce is based on a light-colored velouté sauce (typically veal, chicken, fish or shellfish), but thickened with egg yolks and heavy cream, and seasoned with lemon juice.

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And Carême added five petites sauces: Poivrade, Suprême, Tomate, Hollandaise and Mayonnaise.

• Poivrade sauce is made of a cooked mirepoix thickened with flour and moistened with wine and a little vinegar, then heavily seasoned with black pepper. More traditional versions in French haute cuisine use Sauce Espagnole as a thickener.
• Suprême sauce consists of Velouté thickened with cream and strained.
• Tomate sauce consists of tomato purée or fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, salt belly of pork, bay leaves, thyme, roux, salt, sugar, and pepper.
• Hollandaise sauce is a mixture of egg yolk, melted butter, and lemon juice. It is usually seasoned with salt, and either white pepper or cayenne pepper.
• Mayonnaise is an emulsion of oil, egg yolk, and an acid, either vinegar or lemon juice.

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1. mirepoix - a mixture in equal proportions of onion, carrot and celery, all diced.
2. bouquet garni - a bundle of various herbs used to season sauces; in most French recipes it is made of thyme, bay leaf and parsley.