Jewish Food in France

A couple years ago, my friend Joan Nathan, a Washington, D.C.-based food writer and author, called and said she was coming to France, doing research for a new book. I snapped to attention, not just because I love Joan but also because I loved the topic: Jewish food in France. Joan was looking for cooks, stories, recipes, family lore, historical documents--anything that would help her piece

Moroccan Hotel Fit for Royalty

When the King—any King--opens a hotel, you don’t exactly expect a Travelodge, Days Inn or Formule 1. Yet even by royal standards, the Royal Mansour is a beauty.

The King in this case is His Majesty the King Mohamed VI of Morocco and the hotel, the Royal Mansour in Marakech, was developed to be one of the world’s finest. It opened in July, with 53 individual riads, three restaurants and a 27,000-

Shangri-Ooh-La-La!

The Shangri-La Hotel Paris opens today, marking the Hong Kong-based hotelier’s European debut. As elegant as one would expect, the 16th-arrondissement hotel sits between the Place des Etats-Unis, the Place d’Iéna and the Trocadero--in the 110-year-old palais of Prince Roland Bonaparte, grand nephew of Napoleon. It’s walking distance from the Arc de Triomphe, across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower

Did I Mention I Wrote a Book?

If you and I spoke at all in 2009 and I was acting a bit mental, here's why--I was writing a book. And this week the book comes out! It's called the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival Cookbook and we celebrated it last night with a big party at the very-chic Barney's in New York. We'll celebrate again at the 10th Annual South Beach Wine & Food Festival--which everyone just calls SoBe-

Fanfare for Modern French Food

When famed Parisian patissier Pierre Hermé went looking for someone to write his cookbook, Desserts by Pierre Hermé, he chose Dorie Greenspan. When it came time to do his next book, Chocolate Desserts, he asked Dorie again. 
When top New York chef Daniel Boulud signed his book contract, he called on Dorie to help with the writing. 
And when the legendary Julia Child needed someone to pen the

Jon and Kelly's Excellent Wine & Truffle Adventure

When I have Provençale food or restaurant questions, I go to Jon Chiri, an American chef (from New Orleans) who has lived and worked in Provence for years. When I first met Jon he was the director of the Petit Marmiton cooking school at Hotel La Mirande in Avignon…and if you’ve been there you know that that’s kind of a big deal. These days, Jon is sort of a free-range chef, teaching cooking,

From a Star Chef: Where to Go in Bordeaux

When I'm about to travel, I check in with industry friends to get advice. When it comes to food, for example, who better than a local chef to recommend the best markets, bistros, wine bars and restaurants in town? Often, these are places I'd never find on my own. So planning a little jaunt to Bordeaux (where the 2009 vintages are being called some of the best in the region's history),  I rang

Foodie Fantasy Trip to Lyon and Beyond

I've known Arlene Feltman for 20 or so years, from back when she owned and ran Degustibus Cooking School at Macy's in New York. All the top chefs taught there--it was foodie central. Arlene sold the school a few years ago and then quickly hung out her new shingle, leading food and wine trips to some the best culinary destinations in the world. Traveling with Arlene you get the benefit not only

Danger! Drama! Dessert!

"I’ve never seen so many strong men sobbing at once," proclaimed the The Guardian about Kings of Pastry, a new documentary about pastry chefs competing for the prestigious Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (MOF) title. The MOF ("Best Craftsmen in France"), is awarded to artisans in a number of trades and seen as one of the country's highest honors. For many French chefs, it’s considered the ne plus

Michelin Launches Food-Themed Vacations

Michelin has launched a new "experience" brand called Michelin Food & Travel, in conjunction with niche tour operator Roadtrips Inc. The idea is to give food lovers behind-the-scenes access to Michelin-starred restaurants; guests can enjoy cooking classes, guided excursions, food and wine tastings, truffle hunts and all sorts of other custom experiences that get them up close and personal with

New St. Tropez Hotel Scores with Michelin Three-Star Chef

Love Pierre Gagnaire's food?  You're in luck: The Paris-based Michelin-three star chef is in charge of the kitchen at the 37-room Hotel Sezz Saint-Tropez, which opened in mid July. In the 60-seat restaurant called Colette, Gagnaire says he has “gone back to his roots with simple Mediterranean dishes such as freshly caught fish, grilled steaks, and barbecues” but there’s no shortage of lobster

Where Would Patricia Wells Eat?

Where should we eat in Provence? As a food writer living in the South of France, it's the one question I'm asked more than any other. So this week I turned to none other than Patricia Wells for help. 


Patricia is a journalist, author and cooking teacher, an American who has lived in Paris since 1980. Her groundbreaking "Food Lover’s Guide to Paris," which debuted in 1984, was hailed as “

Anthony Bourdain Hits Provence

Anthony Bourdain and his No Reservations TV crew were in Provence recently, filming a lovely episode that's airing on the Travel Channel in the US this week. If you catch it, you see well-known local faces such as Jean and Cecile Chancel (Chateau Val Joanis), Anne Daguin and Hermann Van Beeck (Petite Duc) and artist Jeanne Bayol, who restores old gypsy caravans and makes exquisite one-of-a-kind

Michelin: Best Meal Deals for 2010

Yesterday Michelin released Bonnes Petites Tables du Guide Michelin 2010, listing all the restaurants in the newest Michelin Guide France 2010 with the Bib Gourmand label.

The Bib Gourmand signifies "the best affordably priced restaurants" chosen by Michelin's inspectors, where diners will find excellent value for money.

The new Michelin Guide France 2010, known as the Guide Rouge, will be

One Restaurant I Love: Chez Bob

Jill Mitchell is a native Californian who has been living in Provence (in Venelles, just outside Aix) for three years. She specializes in selling French vintage school posters and other antique goodies online at stores.ebay.com/The-French-Wall. She also shares her buying tips and secrets with fellow Americans on her Vintage Buying Tours in Provence and Paris (LeTrip.org). Because Jill gets around

Room with a View

Designed by chef Gilles Stassart and artist Laurent Grasso, this stunning glass box sits atop the 1937 Palais de Tokyo in Paris, which became a contemporary art museum in 2002. Called Art Home or Nomiya, it's an experimental restaurant serving prix fixe meals by reservation only. It's a cooking school, for adults and kids. It's a gourmet shop. And it's also a showroom for the newest Electrolux

Kinder, Gentler French Food

What's the big trend in Parisian restaurants these days? Bistros, of course, run by top chefs who are cooking great food and serving it in a casual atmosphere at reasonable prices. Christian Constant, former chef of the Crillon, is one example: with two Michelin stars, he left the ritzy hotel and now runs four of his own bistros, all of them small and relatively inexpensive, on the same Parisian

SWF Seeks Date for El Bulli

So is this the next big foodie romantic comedy waiting to happen or what?

Jules Clancy is a cookbook author and food blogger in Sydney, Australia and the type of girl who plans her holidays around restaurant reservations. "I'm always thinking about my next meal and have excellent table manners!" she says.
More than a year ago, Jules and her boyfriend somehow got themselves a reservation at

Michelin Guide 2009

The 100th edition of Michelin's Guide Rouge France was released this week and, as usual, there were cheers and tears.

The Hotel Bristol in Paris and its chef, Eric Fréchon, earned three stars, the only new restaurant to join that elite rank this year, bringing the total number of three-stars to 26. Apparently the Bristol is one of President Sarkozy’s favorite haunts.

Down here in Provence,

Restaurant Review: Le Vivier

If two or three foodie friends recommend the same restaurant, I’m usually all over it. Yet despite all the raves I’d heard about Le Vivier, it took me more than a year to get there. My friends and I arrived a bit weary—it was a cold, grey Thursday in Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and many of the shops and galleries we tried to visit were closed--so we were looking forward to a great lunch, a