Hello and Happy French Friday!
I’m THRILLED to be sharing this memoir today by a good friend and inspriring-all-round-human. Jane Bertch’s The French Ingredient is a story I always knew was going to be told, as soon as I walked through the doors of the fabulous La Cuisine Paris cooking school back in 2011 (of course it was a macaron-making class!).
Fast forward to 2012, when I co-organised a week in Paris for a small group of Francophiles – they took a class at La Cusine Paris every day (read all about it here!) and many of them still talk about it over a decade on (including my mum, who remembered this week fondly – we spoke about it not so long before she died in January).
Over the years, I returned again and again to La Cusine, taking many of their classes and jumped onboard their virtual offerings when the pandemic halted travel in 2020. I’ve been constantly inspired by Jane’s journey as a female small business owner in France and was so excited to hear the memoir I always told her she should write (“there’s got to be a book in here somewhere”) has finally seen the light of day!
From the publisher:
When Jane Bertch was seventeen, her mother took her on a graduation trip to Paris. Thrilled to use her high school French, Jane found her halting attempts greeted with withering condescension by every waiter and shopkeeper she encountered. At the end of the trip, she vowed she would never return.
Yet a decade later she found herself back in Paris, transferred there by the American bank she worked for. She became fluent in the language and excelled in her new position. But she had a different dream: to start a cooking school for foreigners like her, who wanted to take a few classes in French cuisine in a friendly setting, then bring their new skills to their kitchens back home. Predictably, Jane faced the skeptical French—how dare an American banker start a cooking school in Paris?—as well as real-estate nightmares, and a long struggle to find and attract clients.
Thanks to Jane’s perseverance, La Cuisine Paris opened in 2009. Now the school is thriving, welcoming international visitors to come in and knead dough, whisk bechamel, whip meringue, and learn the care, precision, patience, and beauty involved in French cooking.
The French Ingredient is the story of a young female entrepreneur building a life in a city and culture she grew to love. As she established her school, Jane learned how to charm, how to project confidence, and how to give it right back to rude waiters. Having finally made peace with the city she swore to never revisit, she now offers a love letter to France, and a master class in Parisian cooking—and living.
This book is special to me – not just for the personal connection with the author and La Cuisine, but because it paints a really realistic picture of what it’s like to move to France – it’s not all champagne and chateaux. Having moved to Paris in my early 20s (well before La Cuisine was even dreamt of) and – gasp – pre-Internet so you had to, you know, figure stuff out for yourself!) where I lived for over 5 years and, more recently, having purchased a house in South West France, I am all too familiar with the trials and tribulations of #lifeinFrance
Jane originally moved to Paris for a job in finance, and even though it looks like the ideal setup, she outlines so many ways that moving to another country can be challenging – from the language to subtle social do’s and don’ts, there are so many ways one can feel alienated even if, on the surface, it looks like a dream situation.
Opening La Cuisine in 2010 was Jane following her real dream – tough enough in her homeland of the US but presenting sometimes seemingly insurmountable challenges in France. Though I knew some of the stories from the early days, I enjoyed this deep-dive, realistic look at what it’s like for a foreign entrepreneur to start a business from scratch in France.
Jane writes with a sense of humour (which she retains despite everything!) and it’s obvious that she is truly passionate about France and life in Paris, yet determined to face challenges in her own way – respecting local customs and ways of doing things but also bringing a little bit of that US “can do” attitude to jostle for position with the French “non”. Jane faces so many challenges, administratively but also finds herself and her school up against an Icelandic volcano which grounded travellers in Europe, terrorist attacks and a global pandemic which halted travel to France over the course of a number of years, La Cuisine remains not only in business but thriving. You’ll marvel at the little school that could and at Jane’s perseverance. A fascinating look at behind the scenes of a life that many dream of.
A MUST read (and La Cuisine is a MUST VISIT if you’re in Paris and even remotely interested in food!)
__________
Disclosure: I received an advance e-copy and hard copy of the book from Penguin Random House. I am not receiving any compensation for reviewing the book. Neither the author nor the publisher reviewed this post prior to publication. All opinions are my own. FULL disclosure: Jane is a good friend but I wouldn’t share a book here that I didn’t recommend 100%.
Publishing date: April 9th 2024!
Pre-order The French Ingredient on Amazon (this affiliate link should bring you to the Amazon store in, or closest to, your country). For free worldwide shipping, buy it on Blackwell’s. To support your local Indie bookstore, purchase on Bookshop.org.
Please note: This post contains affiliate links. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. This means that if you click over and purchase something, I will receive a very small percentage of the purchase price (at no extra cost to you). Thank you in advance!
_________
Buy my books! In the French kitchen with kids and French Food for Everyone: le goûter (after school snacks), le dîner (dinner) and le petit déjeuner (breakfast) are out now! Click here for details and how to order!
_________
Like this post? Get blog posts delivered to your inbox! Sign up here!