Paris, France

Restaurateur, Bistro Paul Bert and Le 6 Paul Bert

Singapore & Tokyo

The chance to meet new people

El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, Catalonia, Spain (Recently named the Best Restaurant in the World)

(Laughing) Can I tell you about THREE food orgasms I cannot forget?

First, there was Olivier Roellinger’s before it closed. I swear to you, it was the best turbot fish I have ever, had, in, my, life. Sublime!

The second and third were at Pierre Gagnaire… We were completely full at the end of our meal when Pierre walks in an offers us this saffron cake – which of course I was not interested in after so much food. But, I tried it because it is Pierre offering! I tell you Wendy,  it brought emotions out of me that I can’t even describe.

The third was his langoustine served three-ways at once: raw, grilled and a reduction bisque.

When I would travel with my parents, we always would stop at this little restaurant by the seaside that had been there 50 years or more, you know the kind of place…with the red & white check tablecloths. Every time we opened the door, the smell of cooking hit us in the face… and it just felt like a restaurant – where people would come to be warmed and welcomed.

Michel Picquart – the founder of Astier and Le Villaret – the old devil was a real character, a mentor and a friend that I will never forget.

Sometimes, it depends!

For food…Harry Cummins’ perfectly cooked lotte (monkfish) in an Asian Black garlic, black sesame & shallots sauce at his first pop-up.

For wine, I’ve been in love with Gramenon for 15 years, but now I’m having a wine affair with Eric Pfifferling. In fact, if I could choose a wine I could take with me to the afterlife to share with God, any bottle by Eric would be perfect. Perhaps then God would tell me that paradise really is down here on earth and send me back. 

One Easter Sunday ten years ago, we were at a restaurant having oysters, lamb, and everything you would imagine would be wonderful for that holiday. Then for dessert, they presented Chateaudun sparkling water granité! 

A French bistro in Singapore

Dessert – and a taxi home after a big/long meal!

 Lobster, green radish

Come to see me in person at one of the restaurants on the rue Paul Bert… We are working on a website soon!

French wine can be (but doesn’t need to be) intimidating and overwhelming to sort through. Have no fear; you don’t need to know a 2002 Sélosse from a 2010 Jamet during a short holiday in France. If you are coming for a visit for the first time, the following 5 basic guidelines should help you get what YOU want to drink.

Buying wine with just a budget in mind first, is the equivalent of trying to buy a car with just the dollar amount in mind. That budget can buy a lot of different models from a family minivan to a sporty Mini Cooper. Yet folks go into the sale knowing exactly the style they want: red convertible, leather seats, standard transmission, etc. Buying wine is just as easy once you learn to express which specific style you like drinking. The good news is that expensive – elitist wines are OUT & delicious affordable 25€ restaurant wines are IN.

Once the pressure is off the subject of money, you can express your style! If you only love spicy reds and Chardonnay, or you prefer lighter style wines at lunch & something heavier with dinner or you prefer Australian wines to California …  say so. Your “grape personality” is what you like to drink & is the most important information you can give to the person helping you to suggest a comparable region in France. If you are thinking, “But why is the region important? I like Pinot Noir, isn’t that enough?”

Twenty years ago, my French winemaking friends came back from Napa shocked, “Those Californians are trying to grow Malbec next to Sauvignon!” Their funny reaction stems from the fact that in France, specific grape varietals are grown in specific regions. To their French knowledge, Malbec was exclusive to the hot southern Bordeaux region and Sauvignon restricted to the cooler Loire Valley. It didn’t seem possible that two completely different grapes could grow together in Napa.

It is good to know this because if you are a fan of California Pinot Noir where the weather is hot, the Pinot in France will be a much lighter-style wine to your liking since it can only be found in the cool climates of Champagne, Alsace, Loire and Burgundy.  Just because a grape is Pinot Noir, it will still react differently to various climates, soils, sun, rain and method of wine making.  That pinot grape will taste different in South Africa & Australia too.

Knowing that the French organize shops & wine lists by the region instead of by the grape will help you understand why the sommelier is consistently suggesting a Rhône (for example) when you describe your California Pinot Noir style.

Once you’ve had some practice drinking wine from only one or two regions within your style range, it won’t be any time at all before you will start recognizing specific producers on wine lists and in the shops – like that 2003 Sélosse (Champagne) and 2010 Jamet (Côtes-du-Rhône)!

If I had an euro for every time someone asked me about perfect food pairing etiquette – I could afford to take all of us on that road trip to Tavel in Provence!

Since we are on the subject of French regions, if I am serving a goat cheese that comes from the Loire Valley, I pair it with a Loire Valley wine. Comté cheese is from the Jura mountains, so a wine from that area would be excellent, and so on.

Long gone are the days of rigid rules about white wine with fish & red wine with cheese – because red with fish & white with cheese is a beautiful thing!