Poached pears might be one of the easiest French desserts to serve. The preparation time is short, and you can create quite a variety of combinations. It’s a simple dessert to master and can be easily altered to suit your tastes. To better understand where the dessert “Poris Belle Helene” …

One of the most endearing and favourite of all Provencal dishes is Petits Farcis, or stuffed vegetables, also known as lu farçum in the Niçard (Nice) dialect. They are the perfect and easy family meal that can be served hot, cold, or warm, and everyone loves to eat them. Petits Farcis …

The holidays call for rich dishes full of flavour and lots of love. This quick and easy Christmas soup is packed full of sweet earthy flavours that you can pair with duck confit or shredded pork rillette (or even no meat at all, for the vegetarians!). Chestnuts are highlighted in …

Confusingly, the word tian has two meanings: it is both an earthenware dish and whatever you are preparing inside of your tian. Every French person I know has their family favourites. This tian was ours. It is super colourful and will be the star of any meal. Confession Time. I …

Mille-feuille (pronounced meal foy), or thousand layers, is a rich dessert of several layers of crispy crunchy puff pastry layered with a pastry cream filling and/or fruit. In my version, I layered lemon curd, whipped cream, and ripe strawberries. If you do not have strawberries use other berries or even …

Although not typically Provencal, quiche is definitely French. You find variations of this savoury tart in most bakeries, grocery stores and many lunch menus. The Quiche Lorraine is indeed the classic version, originating from the northeastern region of France. Any quiche recipe starts with eggs, cream, and (usually) cheese. After …

If you could pick your last meal – what would it be? For my last meal on Earth, I would select a dish that is both humble and classic. I would choose a duck confit. There is something utterly delicious about obscenely crisp duck skin mixed with succulent duck meat. It …

This past weekend I made my favourite dessert of all time; a seductively simple warm chocolate tart that I first encountered at Joel Robuchon’s restaurant in Paris many years ago. It is a rich and decadent dessert, with a silky-smooth custard-like chocolate filling that truly has no peers. The first …

Learning to cook traditional Provencal dishes with the legendary Gui Gedda is no exception. If you are lucky enough to find a copy of his culinary masterpiece Cooking School Provence you will glean wonders from the man that chefs around the world refer to as the Pope or Marcel Pagnol …

A French Christmas Yule Log Of all the culinary treats that grace the French Christmas table, nothing inspires more child-like joy than a rich, chocolate Bûche de Noël. Real yule logs, the kind from living trees, have had symbolic significance to the French for centuries. Until the late 1800s, it …