Food Styling + Photo Workshop in Provence

Denise Vivaldo and Cindie Flannigan, authors of the The Food Stylist’s Handbook, have joined forces with food photographer Christina Peters, food stylist Tasha Powell and chef Saša Asanović to present a workshop on the art of food styling and photography in the glorious Luberon region of Provence, April 12 to 16, 2016.

Based in Los Angeles, Denise has 30 years of experience in the food world as a caterer, recipe developer, food stylist and more; you can read her bio here. 

The workshop will include three mornings of professional food styling instruction, one day of location photo instruction and one cooking class with participants photographing the food they make. Also included are a visit to a local produce market; shopping in Aix-en-Provence; touring and dining in the Luberon villages of Cadenet and Lourmarin; visiting local churches and abbeys; a tasting of La Tuilière Olive Oil including a tour of the olive orchard; and tastings at local vineyards, including Château La Coste in Le Puy-Sainte-Réparade. There will also be shopping at local markets to stock up on props for your own collection. All breakfasts, lunches, and two dinners are included.

Participants will be asked to bring their own SLR cameras and have at least basic camera knowledge. All instruction will be in English. Click here to see the course curriculum.

The workshop price depends on the hotel you choose: the "colorful and rustic" B&B La Tuiliere in Cadenet or the luxurious Le Moulin de Lourmarin. 

For locals who'd like to join in, there's a special weekly rate of $1300, without lodging or meals.

For all the info, click here. 

Photos: (1, 5, 6, 7): Dishes styled by Denise Vivaldo and her team for various clients. Over the years these have included Sunkist, Disney, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, California Strawberries, Le Creuset and many more.  (2) The Food Stylist's Handbook is one of eight books Denise has written; see them all here.  (3, 4) Take the food styling workshop in Provence and stay at the B&B La Tuiliere or at the Moulin de Lourmarin. (8) Denise on the Iron Chef set with Cat Kora. (9) Chef Saša Asanović gets a dish ready for its close up. (10, 11) Outings during the workshop will include shopping in Aix en Provence and a visit to the very unique winery Chateau la Coste, known for its contemporary art and architecture.

A One-Stop Online Photo Shop

Have you guys discovered YellowKorner? It's an irresistible site for browsing eclectic photography from all over the world, from all eras. The images are all available for sale in a number of sizes. You can search by theme, shape, dimensions, artist and more. To give you a taste, I did a quick search for "France" and found the photos above...and many more. (The bottom one, with the bubble gum, has nothing to do with France--the photographer Romina Ressia is Argentinian--but I like it!) The site also has featured artists (right now it's French photographer and film-maker Jan Arthus-Bertrand), limited-edition books and Masterclasses (Photoshop, Lightroom 5, fashion, portraiture, etc.) that you can stream or download. YellowKorner also has 75-plus real galleries worldwide...and you can see the list here.

Photos: A selection of images found by searching "France" on YellowKorner.com. You can click them to enlarge...and find all the info about them here. If you're in the mood for more, see my story about the Saatchi Gallery's online art shop.

Another Fine French Book Giveaway

Hillary Davis traces her fascination with the cocotte--the enameled, cast-iron French version of a Dutch oven—to early memories of her grandmother: 

“She was pulling a hot pot out of the oven and was swinging it around heavily to land with a thud on the wooden kitchen table. Her pot was bursting at the top with a golden crust that oozed bubbling brown gravy down the sides. Ever since that pot had been brought to her as a gift from Europe, she had not gone a day without using it. If she was the queen of the kitchen, this pot was the queen of her cuisine...”

Today the New Hampshire-based author has grandma’s pot proudly displayed in her own kitchen...along with a vast collection of French-made cocottes she has collected over the years.

And, as of a few weeks ago, she has a gorgeous new cookbook devoted to cooking in them. Using techniques such as braising, stewing, roasting, baking, stovetop and frying, the 224-page hardcover Le French Oven will help you create tantalizing appetizers, soups, main courses and desserts, no matter the size, shape or make of your own pot. 

Hillary’s publisher, Gibbs Smith, has given me two copies of this beautiful new book to give away.

Hillary works as a food journalist, cooking instructor and publisher of the popular food blog Marche Dimanche. She's a long-time food columnist and restaurant critic for New Hampshire Magazine and her work has been featured in many national and international magazines.  She has an economics degree from Columbia, a Masters from Cambridge (yikes!) and two previous books to her credit: French Comfort Food and Cuisine Niçoise.  

When she’s not at home in New Hampshire, Hillary’s almost always in France. Having lived along the Cote d’Azur for more than eleven years and in Paris for three years, she now spends two to three months every year exploring different regions of the country she considers her second home.

In the book’s intro, Hillary gives us some brief background about the object of her passion: “The best [cocottes] are made in France and those are the ones I collect,” she explains. “It’s a subjective and personal opinion based upon years of trying different ones. Mine are French ovens and are 100 percent made in France.”

She also tells the stories behind the top brands-- Chasseur, Emile Henry, Fontignac, Le Creuset, Mauviel, Revol, Staub—and provides info on how to choose and care for their wares.

“I never realized they are like snowflakes," she says. "Each one is unique and hand made. Emile Henry even has its people sign the bottom of the cocottes they make. It makes me appreciate them even more.”

And then it’s on to 80 tantalizing recipes for full-size cocottes and mini-cocottes, including Warm Mushroom Custards with Garlic Toast, French Carrot Rice Soup, Basque-Style Paella, Two-Hands Praying Rack of Lamb Roast, Lemony Braised Chicken with Green Olives, and Beef Pot-au-Feu. Dessert recipes include Raspberry Clafoutis and Hot Brandied Peaches Over Ice Cream.

To illustrate Le French Oven, Hillary turned to her long-time collaborator, the photographer Steven Rothfeld, whose other titles include The Tuscan Sun Cookbook, Bringing Tuscany Home, Hungry for France, Simply French and French Comfort Food.  In addition to photos of the finished dishes you’ll find wonderful images of French villages, people, landscapes and more.

To enter to win a copy of the book, simply leave a comment under “comments” below. Tell us why you simply must have this book...or why you want to give it as a gift...or what you remember most about your own grandmother’s cooking...or how you came to have your own cocotte. Make sure to leave us a way to reach you; signing in with your Google account is not enough. Winners will be chosen in the next month and the publisher will send the books out tout suite.

If you’d like to go ahead and buy the book, it’s on Amazon here.

To learn more about Hillary:

Hillary-Davis.com

Marchedimanche.com

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Sunday: Anthony Bourdain in Marseille

Season Six of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown--the CNN original series --premiered Sunday Sept 27, with Bourdain visiting Cuba. The Emmy Award-winning series follows the popular chef/author as he travels the globe to uncover "little-known, off-the-road and seemingly-familiar" regions, to celebrate their diverse foods and culture.

The eight-episode series will also feature Bourdain traveling in Okinawa, Ethiopia, California’s Bay Area, Borneo, Istanbul, Charleston, S.C...and Marseille, France.

The Marseille episode will air in the US on October 4 and you can see the full episode here. 

"If you've been to France, chances are you haven't been here," Bourdain says in the opener. "France's second largest city, the oldest city in France. It sits right by the Mediterranean, the food is famously good. Yet it's a victim of bad reputation, bad history. Marseille. As it turns out, exactly the kind of place I like..."

Bourdain's sidekick for this trip is his great pal Eric Ripert, chef/co-owner of the Michelin three-star Le Bernardin in New York. Born and raised in Antibes (roughly 100 miles away), Ripert tells an incredulous Bourdain that he's never been to Marseille. So off they go to discover it together:  zipping around on scooters, bobbing around in a fishing boat, drinking Pastis, sniffing melons in the market, playing petanque, exploring the beautiful cliffs and coves of the Calanques and chatting up colorful locals such as crime novelist Cedric Fabre, cliff diver Lionel Franc, chef/restaurateur Georgiana Viou and Le Monde journalist Gilles Rof.

And of course, they eat: pied paquets, Algerian couscous at Le Femina, Corsican meats and cheeses, grilled sardines, octopus stew, pizza, bouillabaisse and much, much more. 

"Marseille is the pizza truck capital of France," Bourdain proclaims as the two chefs head off to man the popular JD Pizza Truck alongside owner Jean-Denis Martinez. En route, Bourdain asks Ripert if he knows how to make pizza. "Never did a pizza in my life," Ripert says.

"This is going to be like I Love Lucy," Bourdain says. 

"More like Laurel and Hardy," Ripert shoots back.

Busy making pies, Bourdain remarks on how pizza toppings here--crème fraîche, reblochon, figatelli, lardon, figs, chevre--seem somewhat more high-end than at home. A customer asks for anchois and Bourdain thinks he's being sworn at. When the line of customers starts to back up, Bourdain chides Ripert for "dicking around with your insane perfectionism...Michaelangelo worked on the Sistine Chapel for less time!"

Finally Bourdain takes a time out and Ripert asks him what happened. "Hey this is France!" Bourdain tells him. "You get a nice break! Have I worked my 22-hour-week yet?"

Of course Marseille's most-famous dish, bouillabaisse, is featured prominently in the 0ne-hour episode. In what Bourdain calls "the requisite fishing trip scene," the two head out with a local fisherman who works exclusively for chef Gérald Passedat, the "extremely demanding" chef/owner of Le Petit Nice, the only Michelin three-star in Marseille. He pulls his boat up right to the restaurant with his daily catch.

Ripert claims he never goes fishing, doesn't know how and never catches anything, while Bourdain gripes good natured-ly about too much fishing: "I must have done 20 fishing scenes in my life and I think I've had one good day out of all of them. Other than that it's been one humiliating goat rodeo after another..."

Afterwards, seated on the restaurant's terrace for lunch, Passedat asks the chefs "Would you mind to have the bouillabaisse?" 

Passedat's take on the famous dish is spread out over four courses, starting with a shellfish carpaccio of raw mussels and clams. Later come slipper lobster, weaver, angler and red gurnard, lightly seared and given "just a touch" in the oven.

"Incredibly beautiful, insanely good," Bourdain proclaims. 

Then it's on to the main event:  "A broth so intense it requires over ten kilos of rock crabs and various bony tasty little fishes to make just one kilo of brown, gloriously brown, magical liquid. Dorade and dentelle, steamed over seaweed water...saffron potatoes...and then finally that magical brown broth."

"This is unbelievable," says Ripert....high praise from the man widely regarded as the top seafood chef in New York.

"I had the inspiration to make this bouillabaisse when I was a child," Passedat tells his two fellow culinarians. "On those rocks, when I was with my knife opening the mussels, eating the mussels. In my cuisine there is no cream, no butter, it's not traditional at all. Just based on the fish. It's my way of thinking, my cuisine here...Provencal."

Another day, over lunch with crime writer Cedric Fabre, Bourdain asks: "Why is this such a fertile ground to set a crime novel?" Fabre talks about the city's rich multi-cultural make up and its deep North African roots.

"In Marseille there's a very poor area and a very rich area," he says. "The difference between those two areas is the worst in France...so that makes an interesting city. When we write a crime novel, we write about those differences...so that's interesting. 

The adventure continues outside the city too, as the chefs hit the road in a 1972 Citroën Maserati. They head for the gorgeous old village of Lourmarin in the Luberon, about 90 minutes from Marseille, where they pack a picnic from the Friday market stalls and spread out to eat on the grounds of an ancient chapel.

Over lunch, Bourdain asks Ripert a classic Bourdain question: "You know Martha Stewart pretty well...give me an honest answer. In a street fight, could she choke me out?"

"I think if she goes to the dark side, I think so," Eric says. "I think so too," Bourdain comes back. 

Then he gets philosophical, asking Ripert, a Buddhist, if he ever worries that his next life won't be anywhere near as good as this one. 

"No, I have good karma from my previous life!" Ripert tells him, while slicing and salting tomatoes.

But Bourdain presses him. "What if the worst case scenario happens? Your next life is going to probably suck! The best case scenario, in your next life, maybe if you would be if you get to sit in a sub shop in Asbury Park, New Jersey. More likely, you'll end up a mime! A diseased, itinerant mime wandering the streets scrounging for money. I'm just saying how much better can it be than this? Enjoy every minute of this now, Eric, and pray, pray, pray that this is it and the end of the day they roll you into a hole in a ground and you're diet for worms! Because if you're right and there is a next life, you're fucked my friend."

"You're a desperate case," Ripert tells him.

Back in Marseille, the guys are invited to dinner at Chez Georgiana, where chef/owner Georgiana Viou hosts a monthly meal for her women chef friends. There are so few women running professional kitchens in Marseille that they fit around a small dinner table (although three were absent that evening). 

"Marseille is not an easy city," one of women says. "It's not a museum, a Disneyland, you know. Everything is kind of dirty and complicated. But when you are in Marseille, you have the fantastic light and the sea...you can have the best fishes...yes you are home...I mean, it's just like being home."

For the group, Georgiana--who was born in Benin and came to France via Nigeria and London--whips up a beautiful beef tartare with apple and celeriac, topped with botargo (also known as bottarga or poutargue, it's salted fish roe). "Counter intuitive, but truly amazing and delicious," Bourdain deems it.

"I'm coming from Paris and I used to cook with butter and cream," Georgiana explains. "Today I can't imagine my cuisine without olive oil, without vegetables, without seafood, without spices..."

The botargo is a good idea, Ripert says, better than anchovies.

"If you want you can do it at Le Bernardin and you can call it Georgiana's Tartare," she tells him with a laugh.  The meal moves on to a main course of pieds paquets, which Bourdain calls his single favorite Marseillaise classic, "a dish which encapsulates everything I love and believe in about food." 

Towards the end of the show, the chefs are invited to an al fresco lunch at a sea-front cabanon that's been in the same family since the 1940s. First comes panisse (chickpea fritters) with aïoli, then Mediterranean sea snails with anise and wild fennel, followed by fresh grilled sardines marinated in lemon and olive oil. "Perfect happiness," Bourdain says.

"So when are you retiring?" he asks Ripert over lunch.  

"As soon as possible, seriously!" Eric says, looking out to sea...and clearly enjoying the sunshine, the company,  the meal, the whole scene.

And when are you going to come back?  

"I don't want to leave!" Ripert says. "People come from all over Europe, spend hours in their car to be here. My grandparents and my uncles used to have that lifestyle, but I forgot about it. Now I'm remembering."

"[You could] open a chain of cynical surf-and-turf restaurants and cash out in two years," Bourdain tells him.

Ripert replies: "If it is to be here, yes...I will do it."

Whether you know Marseille well or have never been, this is a terrific hour of TV filled with interesting characters, rich history, beautiful scenery, fantastic-looking food and of course lots of off-kilter, off-color Bourdain humor.  But when he proclaims his love for the city and its people, you get the feeling that it's genuine. And Ripert appears to be every bit as besotted.

"I could retire here," Bourdain says.  "That's sort of the measure of a place for me, if you start thinking thoughts like that. Like that must be nice, I could live there, just me and my watercolors, puttering..."

"I could retire here too," his friend tells him.

"Life is good," the chefs agree with a laugh. "Life is very good in Marseille."

The Marseille episode of Parts Unknown first aired October 4 at 9 pm ET/PT in the US.  The show was also syndicated to Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. 

You can now see the full episode online here and read more about it on the CNN site here.

You can follow Parts Unknown on Twitter and Facebook...

Follow Bourdain on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram...

Follow Eric Ripert on Twitter and Facebook...

See Bourdain's last trip to Provence on my blog here...

And read about the huge food market that Bourdain is building on New York's Pier 57, see the recent New York Times article here.

Best of France This Weekend in NYC

This weekend, Times Square in Manhattan will be transformed into a huge French marketplace called Best of France.

The September 26 and 27 event is organized by the non-profit group of the same name, whose purpose is to promote the image of France and "French expertise and savoir-faire" abroad. The event is presented in conjunction with Atout France.

Entrance to Best of France is free, but tickets must be purchased for special events such as the VIP Opening Night Reception and the Grand Wine Tastings presented by top NYC sommeliers. 

Event exhibitors and programs are organized by themes: Cuisine, Lifestyle, Travel, Fashion, Culture, Technology and Innovation.  

The list of exhibitors and sponsors includes Air France, Back-Roads, Club Med, Clarins, Croisi Europe, Delta, Diptyque, Galeries Lafayette, Laguiole, Lancome, Le Boat, L'Oreal, Moulin Rouge, Parfums de France, RailEurope, Sofitel, Tartine et Chocolat, Valrhona, YSL and many more. The cities of Cannes, Lyon, Toulouse and Paris will be on hand, as will regional tourist offices (Bordeaux/Aquitaine, the Rhône Alpes the Midi-Pyrénées, Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, etc.) and the islands of Martinique, Guadeloupe and Saint Martin. The full exhibitor list is here.

At the Inauguration on Saturday at 11 am (Broadway between 46th and 47th Streets), 130 French and American kids will be unraveling huge US and French flags. Following the two national anthems, they'll also unravel the largest “marinière” (the iconic striped, knitted sweater) in the world. How large you ask? It's  22' long by 44' wide.

The show highlights are listed here. On the Culinary Stage all weekend, chefs--including Christian Tetedoie, Eric Kayser, Michel Bras and others--will be doing demos.

On the main stage (Times Square at 46th St.), Francophone singers and French artists (such as 16 Moulin Rouge dancers, a first in NYC) will perform. Other offerings include art exhibits, a French book store, book signings, fashion shows on a 45-foot runway, a kids fashion show casting call, live demos by French craftsmen making artisanal products, a French market and "bistro areas."

Volunteers are still needed and can compete to win a trip to Paris; info on volunteering is here. 

The public is invited to enter to win a week in luxury rental in Chamonix (with a six-day ski pass) and a week-long French river cruise. Anyone can enter...you don't have to attend the event to win...just fill out the form here.

For all the details, visit the Best of France website here...and follow them on Facebook, Twitter,  Instagram and Pinterest.

Fête de la Gastronomie is Sept 25 to 27

The 5th-annual Fête de la Gastronomie takes place September 25 to 27 and an estimated 10,000 culinary-themed events are being staged across France and beyond. 

There are more than 1000 of them already listed in Paris alone...see a selection of those here. 

The loose theme this year is "creativity and daring" and Michelin three-star chef Anne-Sophie Pic is the honored "patron."  

The Fête was created to celebrate French cuisine in all its forms... and the "savoir faire unique to French gastronomy." Events include community banquets, picnics, tastings, special restaurant meals, farm visits, conferences, street fairs, cooking competitions, dine-arounds and more. 

The initiative is also designed to burnish the image of French food and gastronomy abroad. Last year, 232 Fête-related events took place outside France. 

So what's going on this year? Search the FDLG website for events in your area and check back often because the list is being updated daily. Or, visit your local Tourist Office or their website. (A list of Tourist Offices in Provence is here.)  

Meanwhile here's just a quick taste of events around Provence and elsewhere: 

The Bouches du Rhône department is staging numerous events, many of which you can see on their website here.  

Cassis has its sixth annual Vendanges Etoilées wine harvest festival with 27 top chefs participating. There's a cooking competition at the Port and on the Place de la Mairie. On Saturday and Sunday, there will be a large producers market on the Place Baragnon and a "showcooking" barbecue in the public garden. On Sunday afternoon there's also a picnic. For info, click here and here. 

In St. Remy, the Hotel Les Images is hosting a farm market and family picnic from 10 am to 6 pm on Saturday. Chefs will be cooking, local foods will be available for purchase and everyone can picnic on the grass. Chef Christophe Chiavola has invited some of his best local chef pals to join him, such as Glenn Viel of  L’Ousteau de Baumaniere. Admission is free. For info, contact the St. Remy Tourist Office, 04 90 92 05 22, info@saintremydeprovence.com. 

In the Camargue, the "Marais du Vigueirat" will feature local producers, a farm market, a picnic and activities for kids on Sunday from 10 am to 7 pm. 

In Châteauneuf du Pape on Saturday, there's a harvest picnic at the Domaine Chante-Perdrix, with grape picking, wine tasting and more on Saturday. To reserve, contact the Tourist Office at 04 90 83 71 08. Price: 25€ pp for adults, 15€ for kids under 12. Kids under 5 are free.

In Aix on Saturday, everyone is invited to stop by the Tourist Office for a tasting of local wines (11 am to 1 pm). In the evening (5 to 7:30 pm),  local chefs will be serving up their specialties in small portions and more local wines will be served. The event is free and more info is here. 

In Avignon on Saturday, a dozen chefs will be cooking at the Les Halles indoor food market, preparing dishes around the theme of "land and sea." There will be tasting of course, and plenty of local wine. The event starts at 11 am. For info, click here.

In Carpentras on Saturday (10:30 to 12:30 and 2 pm to 6 pm) three well-known chefs will be doing cooking demos and of course, offering tastes....the info is here and here.

And here's a tiny sample of what's going on elsewhere in France: 

The Burgundy region will feature 50 different "Fantastic Picnics" in châteaux, vineyards, windmills and abbeys and more. For info, click here.  

Rennes will once again host its the "Festival Gourmand" with demonstrations and contests featuring chefs and food producers at the Marché des Lices.

The villages of Alsace are staging a wide range of events...as are the villages of Normandy.

The main website for the Fête is here. To see some of the info in English, click here. 

For the press kit in English, click here. 

You can also follow the Fête on Facebook and on Twitter.

And if you want to stage an event under the FDLG umbrella, there's still time. The contact info is:  01 53 18 85 20, projet@fete-gastronomie.fr.