Q: Every summer you go to the South of France to cook - we’ve seen the photos on Instagram, and it looks amazing. How did you get that gig?
A: I cooked in Dublin, Ireland for a number of years, and before I left for the States I put my name up on the Ballymaloe job board. [Editor’s note: Ballymaloe is a famous cooking school, restaurant, organic farm and gardens in Ireland…it’s sort of the Alice Waters/Chez Panisse of Ireland, and a famous culinary destination in the UK] My work here slows down in the summer, when my catering clients in the Boston area take off for their summer properties, and I like to travel and cook in Europe. About five years ago I got a call from that listing to cook at a gorgeous villa in the South of France, in Provence. It’s in this adorable little hillside town, and I have to say the food just tastes better there. The vegetables, the herbs, everything is so fresh and flavorful…even the butter is amazing. The French would say it’s the terroir of course – the flavor imparted by the soil and climate - but is also about the love of food in that part of the world.
Q: What’s different about sourcing food over there?
A: Some things you take for granted here in the States like peanut butter are pretty much non-existent, and Asian ingredients are hard to find. But on the other hand, one time I had a client who wanted some “fresh” foie gras, so I went to the farm down the road. My French isn’t great, but I figured out that they wanted me to come back in an hour when it would be “ready.” I did, and it was the freshest and best preparation that client had ever eaten.
Q: What’s the day-to-day look like?
A: All summer long, my clients host different groups of friends and family. There’s a dinner party every night, with formal courses and everything. The days are long, but it doesn’t feel like work, because I’m doing what I love to do, and in an amazing place. I have free rein to make the menu, and it’s especially fun because the guests change every week. One week it’ll be kids in their 20s, the next an older crowd, so it never gets old, and I’m always meeting fascinating people.
Q: I know you don’t cook and tell, but we know there are some lords and ladies at your table, right?
A: It feels normal at the time, but later I’ll realize I was just chatting with someone who knew Prince William and Princess Diana personally, or someone who let Will and Kate use one of their castles in Scotland. Who has two castles?
Q: What’s a favorite lamb dish that came from your travels there?
A: The Cardamom-spiced lamb roast is one that I first did there; there’s a lot of North African influence in southern France especially, and those flavors really work well with the local wine!
Mar
21