MY FRENCH HEAVEN

A lovely Summer tradition of the French countryside

On or around the date of the Summer Solstice, every year, in the French countryside, villagers light up a big fire in a field and dance around it until the last flame has gone. We call this « Fête de la Saint Jean » or « Saint John’s Feast” in reference to Saint John the Baptiste.

That is where “Joie De Vivre” starts… I think…

I find that doing things slowly (when I can) is very therapeutic. Especially cooking. It is conducive to staying in the now.

A lot of what we call “Joie de vivre” has to do with living in the present moment.

20 tips to improve your food photography

Shoot hungry. I know it will sound strange, but food photography is like fashion photography. You have to like/want/DESIRE your subject in order to take great sensual shots! They talk about “food porn” don’t they? Shoot at an angle (about 45°). It’s nice to have at least a few tri-dimentional shots in a series Tilt…

Craving seafood!

PR Director for one of the grandest resorts and golf courses in the South West of France called Château des Vigiers near Bergerac. He invited me to visit him so we could discuss the culinary tours I offer. He may want to introduce said tours as well as my Food and Lifestyle Photography classes to his guests…

Chateau Lynch-Bages: the genuine care, vision and legacy of a very special family

Mr. Cazes joined us for dessert. He is the owner of Lynch Bages and he is Kinou and Marina’s dad. He owns 3 châteaux in Bordeaux (including Ormes de Pez pictured somewhere here as well) and several other properties including one in Provence where he produces his own olive oil.

The real Willy Wonka

There I met the owner of the oldest and most renowned chocolate company in Bordeaux: Cadiot Badie

From Cap Ferret to the Dordogne – Mimi and Gabriella’s visit to My French Heaven

As you all already know, my greatest pleasure in life is to share everything I love about France with my guests and my friends.

My dear friend Mimi (Chef Mimi Blog) came back to visit me last week and brought along one of her dearest friends, Gabriella.

All we did for a week was eat and drink and laugh. Oh we laughed so hard… When people ask me what I do for work, I just tell them I don’t actually work… They always look at me and smile (you know, the “oh poor thing” smile. The suckers think I’l kidding. The joke’s on them ;0)

A late celebration of Spring

It seems a little late to celebrate a season that will be over in a matter of days, but I found some photos of my first picnic of the year and thought I would share them with you.

Martin and the invisible moon

We had a four day weekend this past week and my friends Quitterie and Laurent invited me to join them at their beach house in Cap Ferret. Cap Ferret is located on the coast, West of Bordeaux. It feels a lot like the Hamptons without the crazy ass mansions…

About thoughtfulness

I have never been superstitious, but I truly believe in the awesome power of thoughtfulness. And therefore, this one tradition I love! On the French labor day (May 1st every year), you will see many people with little flower stands on the side of the roads, selling lilies of the valley… It is said to…

The awesome power of greed and gluttony… and story telling

It’s quite simple really, if you want the people you love to get together (come together), all you have to do is promise to give away presents and really good food. Loads of it. An orgy of food! You can cut through people’s ego and pride quite easily – “Oh, I don’t know if we…

My French Heaven can be hell… but chocolate always helps!

Cadiot-Badie in Bordeaux. Best chocolate for chocolate therapy!

Spring wedding in My French Heaven

French wedding

It’s all in their eyes…

I will be adding a special page soon with some of my favorite photos from last year. The first page will show a few of the portraits I like the most. I know that you may have seen most of these pictures, but I thought I’d share anyway. Have a lovely weekend everyone!