The French Breakout Star of the Olympics?

The Olympic Games are the biggest sporting event in the world, and they are coming to Paris. The Games always create breakout stars, athletes who go from relative obscurity to worldwide fame overnight. Who will be the new star for France, host of this year’s games?

Some possibilities are gymnast Mélanie de Jesus Santos, mountain biker Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, and judo champion Clarisse Agbegnenou. All are favored to win medals in Paris.

Another is an incredibly fast swimmer, Léon Marchand. He’s been breaking world records right and left and is known for his “lion’s mentality.” Might he be the French Face of these Olympics?

Learn more about Léon Marchand at Frenchly!

An American Pastry Chef in Versailles

Molly Wilkinson is a talented and popular pâstissière in Versailles, a graduate of the famous Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. She has trained bakers around the world and been featured in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. But how did someone from Texas become an expert in French pastry, living just steps away from the most famous château in France?

Molly always wanted to be a baker but didn’t pursue her passion until her late 20s. Discovering that the world-famous Le Cordon Bleu was much less expensive than American pastry schools, she headed off to Paris, armed only with a basic French vocabulary. There, she trained for a year, learning the intricacies of French specialties like Mille Feuille and Saint-Honoré cake.

Armed with her diploma, Molly worked first as the pastry chef at a château, then at a French cooking school. One of her colleagues praised her talent as a teacher, inspiring her to host her own baking courses. All was going swimmingly until Covid hit, and France shut down.

But ever resourceful, Molly began teaching courses online. Her timing was perfect, as people around the world were stuck at home, looking for something to do. Why not learn how to make French pastries? Molly’s business boomed.

Molly’s focus is on making French pastry simple—in fact, it’s the title of her cookbook, French Pastry Made Simple. As she says, “My style is all about making French pastry easy and accessible. I teach using the tools you’ll find in a typical home kitchen, along with ingredients that are easy to buy.

“I’m like my students, because I started out making cookies and cakes and pies, so I can relate to them and encourage them to try something different. And I make sure that my recipes aren’t overly complicated, but still taste really great.”

You can read more about Molly at France Today, but the article is behind their paywall (it’s a great magazine, you might consider subscribing!) Or you can learn more about Molly and her classes at her excellent website here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bonjour!

It’s Thanksgiving in the US, one of my favorite holidays. And the star of many American dinner tables today will be turkey. So how about giving it a French twist?

Here’s a recipe for you, inspired by one of France’s greatest chefs, Georges Blanc. It’s a little late for today’s meal but you can try it another time, maybe Christmas?

Bon appétit !

Visiting Provence Without a Car

My friend Janine Marsh lives in a small town in France with her husband and about a million stray animals she’s adopted. Janine has written three funny and charming books about her life in France, has a fabulous website about all things French called The Good Life France, and four times a year publishes an even more fabulous online magazine about France.

In her latest issue, she has a very helpful article about how to visit Provence without a car. You can always rent a car if you’d like, but Janine shows that you don’t have to. I learned a few things!

If you’d like to find out how to do it yourself, here’s the magazine. The article is on page 16.

My Webinar with France Today

I was thrilled to be invited by France Today to talk about Provence and my book An Insider’s Guide to Provence!

I spent about a half hour giving a little presentation, with lots of great photos, and then took questions from the audience. The webinar was recorded, so you can watch it if you’d like. Here’s the link (registration is required but it’s no big deal.)

France Today has done a bunch of these webinars, on subjects like French food and wine, French history, and different regions of the country. They are all recorded so check them out!

A Special Offer from Bonjour Paris

I’d like to pass along a special offer than might be of interest to you or someone you know.

Bonjour Paris is THE website for all things Paris. It has more than 5,000 articles on restaurants, museums, hotels, history, and more, with new articles every week. I especially like the Bonjour Paris Live lectures and tours of lesser-known corners of Paris.

Bonjour Paris is currently offering a “Friends and Family” subscription discount, and as one of their writers I get to pass it along to you. Here you go!

https://bonjourparis.com/friendsandfamily/

Happy Holidays and Joyeux Fêtes!

My Provençal Summer Menu

Summer is a wonderful time of year in Provence, with blue skies everywhere and brilliant sunflowers and lavender in bloom. My favorite time of day is the early evening when the heat of the day is past and you can look forward to a long, lazy meal.

Even if you are not in Provence right now, here’s a menu that will bring the flavors of the region to you. We start with a refreshing aperitif, move on to an appetizer and a main dish, and finish with a cool and refreshing dessert. I’ve chosen some of my favorite dishes, all very Provençal, and I hope you’ll enjoy them.

Read all about it in Perfectly Provence!

Eurovision: Europe’s Greatest Cultural Achievement?

What is Europe’s greatest cultural achievement? Is it the art of Michelangelo? The Magna Carta? French cuisine? For me, there’s no question—it’s the Eurovision Song Contest. For nearly 70 years, singers and bands across the continent have battled for the title of Best Original Song.

What makes Eurovision great? It’s not the music, because most of the songs sound alike. No, it’s the performances, and especially the cheesy ones (some might call them campy.) Who can forget the Bearded Lady? Or the man running inside a giant hamster wheel? Or the bare-chested fellows prancing in their sparkly gold shoulder pads?

Americans are starting to discover Eurovision. The number one movie on Netflix right now is Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, starring Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams. It’s silly and fun and captures the spirit of Eurovision perfectly.

Eurovision was cancelled this year due to the coronavirus, but the official videos for the finalists have been posted online. I’ve watched them all and picked out the best for you.

Read all about it at MyFrenchLife!

The Gift of Gab

In a recent issue of Living France Magazine, Lucy Shrimpton examines the science behind the benefits of learning a second language, which is especially helpful as we get older. Then she shares some practical advice on how to learn French, including interviews with some *ahem* mature French learners. I was one of the interviewees and I thought you might enjoy the various perspectives of those interviewed.

You can read all about it in Living France!

Audiobook Giveaway—Enter Now!

I’m thrilled to let you know that the audio-book version of Are We French Yet? has just been published. The reader is Doug Schuetz, a talented voice actor who just happens to be my old college roommate! We’ve stayed in touch over the years, mostly holiday cards and such, and this was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect, share memories, and have fun during the recording.

Doug and I live on opposite coasts so he would record a few chapters, send them to me for review, and then make any corrections. His only stipulation when he agreed to the project was that I not “go all Martin Scorsese” and try to tell him how to do his job. As Doug put it, “You’re a terrific author but not an actor or a director—I’m the professional. Let’s each do what we’re good at.” He said it in a lighthearted manner but I got the point.

And I love the result! He made my funny stories even funnier by the way he read them. A few times while listening, I would call Val into the room and tell her, “You’ve just got to hear this!”

The audio-book is available from Amazon here and would make a great Christmas gift for the France-lover in your life. And to get things rolling, I have six copies to give away. Just let me know in the comment below that you’d like one , by next Wednesday the 11th, and I’ll pick the winners from those who enter.