You are an award winning journalist - what inspires you to make your French cookery videos? You have a very different personality to your serious presenter self!
I love telling stories. Sharing the world with other people. That’s what drove me to be a journalist, and that’s what drives me to do the cooking videos now. I started to make the videos because I wanted to find a new way to express myself, much less serious than journalism you are right! I have been living in the US for 6 years now, and wanted to find a way to talk to the English speaking world.
I wanted to laugh at the image French people have, while still sharing what I love about my country. And what I miss most here in the US - my good old French food.
Where did you learn to cook?
I learned to cook at home. My mom used to cook for us from scratch twice a day. She was ashamed when she had to serve us something processed from the freezer, "la honte" she would say ["shame"]! Both my grandmothers were farmers and cooked for everybody at the farm with what was grown there, they were both great cooks...
...And then, there’s my uncle Bernard. He is a chef. He worked for some time in England and always told me all about the pleasure of cooking with what you have. He’s the one who taught me to go to the market and see what you are going to cook from what’s for sale and especially what’s in season.
When I was living in Paris, I used to go to the butcher’s, buy something, and then just call him for guidance and I learned that way to cook with what I had in front of me.
“Tonton [uncle], I got aiguilettes de canard, what should I do now?”
His main advice is always the same:
“mijote mijote”. Simmer.
Take the time. He’s all about the ingredients, simple things, cooked beautifully…
La vie quoi!