Welcome to my world…
Un peu…Beaucoup…Passionnément…A la folie… I have a little passion and it is the history of food. Food is a both a reflection and a measure of a culture and a society, and following the evolution of a dish through history tells so much about the evolution of a society and its people. And I find that utterly fascinating. And pretty amusing, too. No, actually, it’s downright fun. Hang around and you’ll find out.
Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are. - Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin
When I began my Substack, I did not expect to only write about French cuisine, but here I am. American in France and I’ve become the expert on traditional French home cooking, the real stuff that they actually make in their own kitchens.
A little about me…
I’m a Florida girl but I’ve lived in France for 35 years (with a side stint in Italy), completely immersed in the culture, and I’ve been writing about food for the last 15: blogs (for which I won 2 IACP awards), many bylines in Huffington Post, Washington Post, Fine Cooking, Modern Farmer, The Art of Eating, Bake From Scratch. I worked in culinary tourism in Paris, wrote 2 cookbooks (Orange Appeal and Isolation Baking), and have become a professional jam maker. I currently own a hotel in the small French town of Chinon in the Loire Valley. Too.
Oh, and I trained to be a milliner in Milan in Italy’s oldest existing millinery studio.
I also host a podcast Stir Crazy with Jamie Schler where I talk food and other things with the most intriguing people who you least expect to talk about food. My guest Joe Walsh told me "You ask the questions no one else asks!” I also bake or cook with my guests and you can watch on video.
Where I’m going with this…
This Substack is my passion project which I would love to turn into a cookbook one day, sharing the authentic recipes for the traditional dishes, breads, and pastries the French make in their kitchens every day and for special occasions, including a short history of each. This content will always be free for everyone to access. I hope all of my readers cook and bake along.
I’m also working on 3 more book projects: a jam cookbook/instruction manual and 2 memoirs, one of my experience owning and running the Hôtel Diderot, the other recounting how I ended up in France and other stories. I will be sharing extracts from these projects on my Substack for a paid subscription for those interested in reading my stories, get a sneak peek into these future books, giving you the chance to watch and understand my writing process, and comment on it all, as well.
After all, as I always say… “Life’s a Feast.” And I really love having you here with me.
To find out more about the company that provides the tech for this newsletter, visit Substack.com.
