Cuisine, culture from OZ to Cordon Bleu-Paris

Ooh la la! I will speak at Le Cordon Bleu Paris.
The exciting spin-offs from my book From France With Love continues with an extraordinary offer to address students at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris this Saturday, September 11.
Of course such an offer didn’t simply drop from the sky while we are holidaying in France; It had much to do with the fact that I launched my website with my blog My French Kitchen back in May.
I had interviewed Le Cordon Bleu Paris’s Chef Philippe Clerque who came to Adelaide to hold a Masterclass at Cordon’ Blue’s campus at Regency Park for Tasting Australia for www.nadinewilliams.com.au. I observed the Masterclass, but did not take part other than to sample the excellent fare prepared by 18 students under chef Philippe’s instruction.
When we talked afterwards, Chef Clergue said he had been impressed by the Adelaide markets he had visited, including the Saturday market at Willunga and on Sunday, the market at Adelaide’s showgrounds.
We talked about how Australia was very late in developing its own food culture because of its convict roots and isolation, but I told him how I had written a major article entitled “What If We Were French’’ back in 2001 and how interesting it was that Adelaide was developing a love of food culture – just like in France.
I gave a quick potted version of how Olivier, now my husband, and I had met through the Encounter 2002 celebration of the 200th anniversary of the meeting at sea of French captain Nicolas Baudin and British navigator, Matthew Flinders off Encounter Bay in South Australia. “I was cultural issues writer for The Advertiser at the time,’’ I said.
I continuedthat I had written a book about a five-week journey around France and that we had stayed in friends’ French households, dining in various French restaurants and bistros.
“I would like you to share your experiences with my students at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and tell them the best and what you expect,’’ he had said. “Will you be in Paris this year?’’
Of course, talk is easy. However, we followed up by telephoning Le Cordon Bleu, Paris, when we arrived in France giving dates when we would be in Paris. However, Chef Philippe was on holiday, but handling his matters was an ex-pat, Australian Kaye Baudinette.
Luck stepped in because Kaye, who was the resource centre manager co-ordinating courses and programs for the students had handled the launching in Paris of Encounter 2002 which our own celebrity cook, Maggie Beer had organised in association with Le Cordon Bleu. When I told her I had written about the prestigious occasion for the media in Adelaide, she was delighted.
We received an email from Kaye with her offer of a 10-15 minute lecture on the evolving food culture in Australia and its historical context within Chef Clergue’s address to new students.
So think of me on Saturday. I am what you might describe as an emerging foodie, and have certainly been cooking French food for a few years now, but I am hardly an expert. Like any good journalist, I am an observer and I guess that is what they want – a keen eye to report.
I will indeed be speaking about everything I know about our food culture, our history, our burgeoning cookery book genre and on the down side, how we haven’t exactly embraced native foods, as the French would have done if they had colonised South Australia back in the 1800s.

Be Sociable, Share!

2 Comments to “Cuisine, culture from OZ to Cordon Bleu-Paris”

  1. By chris D, 07/09/2010 @ 8:21 pm

    Good luck sounds like fun enjoy the rest of your hols love to Olivier

    • By nadine williams, 08/09/2010 @ 5:37 pm

      thanks Chris, greatly appreciated. some wonderful recipes soon on My French Kitchen (Absolutely French).
      XXX Nadine & Olivier

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

Leave a Reply to chris D