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and managed restaurant dining rooms for over twenty years, lingering in many a kitchen, observing many a chef—in San
rancisco: La Mediterranée, Carta, the Flying Saucer, South Park Café, Bistro Clovis... When I first came to France,
in 1980, I discovered a culinary culture that celebrated fresh, seasonal produce, regional artisanal products, amazing
breads, incredible cheeses, and wines that bring such harmony to a meal... What inspiration! My head and taste buds
were swirling!
Back in my early twenties I became enamored with vegetables, their noble simplicity, the stunning array of color,
texture, flavor and aroma they offer. All rhyming with the seasons, freshly harvested, exhaling the earth. They became
and have remained the artist’s palette of my cooking. When I began to travel in Italy, I made yet another discovery: that
of Italian cuisine. Ah! Who but the Italians know how to give to vegetables, beans, grains, fresh herbs
such a marvelously central place in the dishes that comprise their meals. Such ingenious, inventive culinary spirit!
I've never stopped researching and discovering the vast richness of their cuisine—from Sardinia to Bolzano,
la cucina povera to Harry's Bar.
In 1996, I set down roots in Paris to pursue my photography, making my bread and butter as a translator in the worlds
of film and literature. Morning excursions to the organic open-air markets are a ritual from which I return laden with
an array of seasonal, local produce waiting to be celebrated in the dishes I create and enthusiastically share with family
and friends.
In 2001 and 2002, I had the pleasure of working in the kitchen of l’Osteria, a small Italian restaurant in the Marais district
of Paris, whose Venetian owner and chef, Toni Vianello, generously imparted to me his passion for food and a wealth
of culinary knowledge . More specifically, he taught me the mysteries of risotto, which has since become my passion.
A dish that so artfully offers itself to the splendor of vegetables. I also spent two privileged weeks in the kitchens
of l'Arpège, Alain Passard’s three-star restaurant in Paris‘ 7th arrondissement, where I observed the chef at work
meticulously applying his unique alchemy to vegetables.
And now I'd love to share with you what I have discovered and learned across the years, and teach you dishes that could
grace your table and delight your family and friends.
