Olive Trees
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Ten things you need
to know about olive oil

Of the dozens of olive varieties grown in Provence, the caillette - informally known as the Niçoise olive - is perhaps the most beautiful and subtle.

Sam at the Restaurant Zen in Paris
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On being vegetarian in France

A few months ago, my son Sam declared himself a vegetarian. Now, if we lived in California this might not sound unusual, but this is France, proud land of steak-frites and saucisson, andouillette and tête de veau.

L'Ecole des filles: centrepieces
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L’Ecole des Filles

The surreal extravagance of our last meal in Liguria left us with a quandary: how could any restaurant live up to that experience, which was all the more incredible for having caught us off guard?

Mirabelles
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Time for mirabelles

Mirabelles, like their cousin the quetsch (known as damson in English), are a specialty of the Alsace-Lorraine region. It's thought that René of Anjou discovered them during the Crusades of the 15th century…
Pissaladiere
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Pissaladière reinvented

I usually think of pissaladière as one of those dishes that it's best not to toy with too much, so when I saw that it had been reinvented for the Hi Beach by ultra-creative chef Mauro Colagreco of Le Mirazur in Monaco, I couldn't resist ordering it.

Basil
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A pint-sized garden

Some boys love trucks, others go mad for motorcycles: my son is crazy about cacti and just about anything else that grows.

Milk-fed lambs
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Navarin d’agneau – Spring lamb stew

Easter weekend was the perfect time to cooknavarin d'agneau, a dish that I first came across many years ago while working as an interpreter at the Cordon Bleu cooking school.

Ravioli: La Capelina d'Or

Cooking with La Capelina d’Or

The Niçois love to argue, and nothing provokes a better argument than the subject of how to make one of their classic dishes.

Broccoli
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The best way to cook broccoli

I have my friend Caterina to thank for this ridiculously simple and ridiculously delicious way to tackle a vegetable that many people find uninspiring.

Monoprix
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The future of French shopping?

You might think of Parisiennes as stylish women who take pleasure in shopping at markets and whipping up sumptuous meals with seasonal ingredients. You would be right about the stylish part.