After spending some of my teenage days and early adulthood despising my origins and my background, seeking to become my own person and create my own identity, I have come to realise that being French and provincial is an inherent part of who I am. Yes, it explains my passion, stubbornness, sometimes abruptness and snobbery for everything that is related to (or pretending to be!) food!

Some of us might feel disconnected with and sometimes not so proud of where we come from. The geographical, cultural distance often explains it but instead of looking at our background like an inadequacy and turning our noses up at it, why not embrace it? Why not accept it as where we come from, where we’ve learned about values and traditions? And whether we agree with them or not, they explain our current standpoint, our present strengths and weaknesses… Sometimes they are the answer to that certain Je Ne Sais Quoi that people just can’t put their finger on that makes you so… YOU!