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 Joan was looking for cooks, stories, recipes, family lore, historical documents--anything that would help her piece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-

After-Holiday Sale, New Years at Estoublon

Holiday decor is now 50% off and clothing is discounted 30% at the Christmas Market at the Chateau d’Estoublon, a magnificent 16th-century estate near Fontvieille where wines and olive oils are produced. This is the one market my friends and I never miss; each year the selection of food, decor, toys and tableware grows more elegant, eclectic and whimsical too. The items for sale come from all

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

You Want Foie Gras with That?

The fast-food chain Quick will offer low-priced foie gras burgers in France as a pre-Christmas special.  The “Supreme Foie Gras” is 5€ ($6.57, £4.20) and will be available at more than 340 Quick outlets across France from December 17 to 19. The sandwich contains beef, relish, lettuce and duck foie gras; Quick said the foie gras will be in slices but the photo they've released shows little (not so

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

Adventures in Provence Food and Wine

The "refined-rustic" Crillon Le Brave  is one of the loveliest hotels in Provence. It's also one of the foodiest, offering a number of culinary and wine-themed experiences throughout the year. Here are the next three, coming up soon. 


The Vendange Package will be offered two different weekends, Sept 16-19 and Sept 30-Oct 3. It lets you participate in the annual wine-grape harvest, with three

Remembrance of Breakfasts Past

I've known the photographer and painter Carol Gillott for many years and have always loved her work.  When we first met in New York, she was a was doing a lot of portraits of chefs, which found their way into top food magazines and onto many restaurant walls. A passionate Francophile, Carol now travels to Paris three or four  times a year and is always always painting, her

Major Antique Fair Starts Tomorrow

More than 200 exhibitors are expected at the 89th International Brocante and Antiques Fair, running tomorrow through Sunday in splendid L'Isle sur la Sorgue. Arrive early to get parking, especially on Sunday when the village holds its regular weekly market as well.  


With hundreds of shops, stalls and vendors, L'Isle sur le Sorgue is considered the third most important antiques center in Europe

For Your Favorite Dirty Francophile

How cute are these soaps? So sweet and pretty, in fact, that I'd find it hard to use them. Based in Clarksville, Tennessee, Kasey Hachler makes these goats milk macaron soaps by hand, scenting and coloring them in Brown (Chocolate Cream Cheese Cupcake), Yellow (Pineapple), Pink (Black Raspberry and Vanilla), Blue (Blueberry Delight) and Green (Almond). The 3-oz. soaps are packaged in a

The Cocktail Drinkers' Guide to Gardening: July

Each month here on ProvencePost, Gardening Guru James Clay dishes up great advice about two of his favorite subjects: gardening and drinking. This month he's all excited about datura--an amazing white shrub for the terrace--and one of his all-time favorite boissons, the classic margarita. "If the cocktail doesn't blow your house guests away," James reports, "then the plant most certainly will!"

Apricots Are Us

Katie Dahlstrom is a journalist with BBC World Service News. Originally from California, she moved to London after university, and fell in love with both England and Europe. After years of rainy summers, she and her husband Ben--a musician--sought out the sun and found it in southern France. They now divide their time between London and the tiny village of Le Barroux in the Vaucluse. Katie's

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 “