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Sunday at the Marché de Wazemmes

Lille's many charms - great beer, friendly people, a freshly restored historic center - are not necessarily obvious on a Sunday, when shops and restaurants pull down their shutters for families to gather round a steaming pot ofcarbonnade flamande, beef cooked in beer until caramelized, or share a potjevleesch, an assortment of jellied meats.
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New York and a fresh start

I have always taken New Year's resolutions very seriously. This year, though, too many are whirling around in my head: Blog more often. Listen to my acccountant. Start each day with sun salutations. Meditate. See more of nature. Teach my son to cook. Let my friends know how much I appreciate them.

Bread
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A new chef at the Louis XV

It was potatoes that first cemented my friendship with Franck Cerutti, chef for ten years at Alain Ducasse's Louis XV restaurant in Monaco…

Pramil, Paris
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Paris restaurant: Pramil

When it comes to restaurants, I'm not really that demanding. I want the basic ingredients to be seasonal and good. I want the cooking to show restraint: nothing puts me off more than an overly complicated plate. And I want the chef to have a heart that shines through in the food.

"Love is chaotic", Paris
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A few days in Montmartre
with Haven in Paris

I have a vision of my perfect apartment in Paris. It would be high up - stairs don't scare me - with a small balcony and a sweeping view over the zinc rooftops, punctuated here and there with church spires and glimmering domes.

Big Ben, London
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Ready, prêt, go: Eating on the run
in London

For the school holidays, I took Sam to London to brush up his English. Well, that was the official excuse.

Raibaudo
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Sunday in Liguria

When I want a complete change of scenery, I get in the car and drive for 40 minutes. As soon as we cross the border into Italy, everything is suddenly different: the people, the language, the music, the clothes, the coffee (especially the coffee).

Paquerettes

Les Cévennes, donkey and all

Les Cévennes is a region barely known to tourists and even less so to foreigners, and that's the way I like it. Even so, it would seem a tiny bit selfish to keep quiet about my latest holiday in those wild mountains between Nîmes and Montpellier, which was different but every bit as extraordinary as last year's.

Breads
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Lunch at the Abbaye de la Celle

I had my first taste of the Hostellerie de l'Abbaye de la Celle a few years ago when Philippe and I, with two-year-old Sam in tow, spent a few days meandering through Provence, stopping at all the country auberges run by Alain Ducasse.

Genoa
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A tantalizing taste of Genoa

I had only half a day to explore Genoa, but thanks to a well-informed friend and the thoroughly researched book Food Wine: The Italian Riviera and Genoa I put every minute to edible use.