Although I began my talk at the Iceland Writers Retreat telling the group that I disliked the word โhumbled,โ (and invited the group to call me out on it in the future, if I ever used that word again), I felt humbled being in the presence of such highly esteemed writers, who came from around the world. Being the only person who writes about food,โฆ
Iโll never pass up a chance to go to a factory, whether it be to see how Americanย stand mixers are made, or French enameled cookware. Iโd never seenย copper cookware being made,ย though, and jumped at the opportunity to hop on an early morning train to Villedieu-les poรชles to visit the Mauviel copper cookware factory. (The only thing I didnโt jump at was the bleary 7:30am departureโฆ
Mont Saint-Michel is one of the greatย wonders of the world, along with the Parthenon, the pyramids in Egypt, and the Taj Mahal. Itโs a majestic, spectacular sight when youโre walking down the path toward the island (cars arenโt allowed past a certain point), and you look up and see the island with the church crowning the top, rising above you, framed by the steel-blue skyโฆ
Iโm always on the lookout for new bakeries and pastry shops that have opened in Paris. Although to be honest, itโs hard to keep up these days! The number of new boulangeries and pรขtisseriesย that are focusing on everything from artisanal grains to organic flours, are spreading like wild yeast across the city. Iโd met Alice Quillet a few years back, when she, and her partnersโฆ
รpices & Saveurs Although it may seem like your typical Arabic รฉpicerie (food shop), of which there are many in Paris, Iโve shopped a lot of them and found รpices & Saveurs especially well-stocked. The place is as neat a pin and in addition to the usual line-up of harissas, nuts and dried fruits in bulk, olive oils, and spices, I always findย curiosities on theโฆ
Pierre Jancou is one of my favoriteย cooks in Paris. He does the seemingly simple task of taking raw elementsย โ such as a pan of root vegetablesย โ and making them taste better than you thought that vegetables could taste. I first came across his cooking when he was the chef/owner ofย Racines. Iโd ordered a simple pasta Bolognese, which isnโt something Iย would usually order unless I wasโฆ
Call me old-fashioned, but sometimes I like old-fashioned places. One place that does old-fashioned especially well is France. But Iโm not the only one who feels that way; people come from around the world to visit the city, and baskย in the ร lโancienne charm, which is sometimes derisively described as carte postaleย Paris. Like other cities, Paris is changing and isnโt a museum, per se, butโฆ
Before gettingย ready to flyย back to France after the recent holiday, friends invited me to join them on a trip to Havana. I couldnโt make it, but the next best thing is taking the bus to Philadelphia, Iโm also juggling urgings to go to Los Angeles, New Caledonia, Mexico City, Vietnam, Florence, Honolulu, Miami, Florence, Oaxaca, Bulgaria, Iran, Gascony, Lyon, Rome, Chicago, Chiang Mai, Sicily, Toronto,โฆ
From the outside, Compagnie Gรฉnรฉrale de Biscuiterie is a low-slung place, resembling a workshop of some sort, rather than a pรขtisserie, located on the way up to Sacrรฉ Cลur, in Montmartre. I made the trek up there to check it out because I was interested in the one thing the low-key place makes: cookies. The French use the word โcookiesโ primarily to refer to chocolateโฆ
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