I unleashed six extremely stinky cheeses in my apartment until my nostrils couldn’t take it anymore.
There was no missing the smell, even in the hallway outside. “Whoa,” said more than one person as they stepped into my apartment, most clutching wine for the sake of courage as much as for pairing. I’d assembled these friends (maybe former friends, now) as human guinea pigs with one purpose: To find the very stinkiest cheese. Submitted for our approval were seven assertive, pungent, and occasionally quite freaky creations—provided by Murray’s Cheese and curated by Elizabeth Chubbuck, the Greenwich Village–based cheese purveyor’s senior vice president of sales and marketing and, as far as my nose is concerned, a diabolical dairy-wielding sadist. (A very nice sadist, but still.)
Food is at the heart of French culture – it is quite literally the bread and butter of their way of life. Clotilde Dusoulier, a French food writer based in Paris, knows just how important it is. She’s passionate about the fresh, wholesome foods that have influenced her lifestyle and career; she writes about it on her blog, Chocolate & Zucchini
We got the chance to speak with Clotilde about French food and culture, her writing, and the importance of learning to cook. Keep reading to find out more!
SIGNATURE: When did food become such an important part of your life? Did you always know you wanted to be a food writer?
CLOTILDE DUSOULIER: I grew up in a French family where fresh, seasonal food was important, but we didn’t make a big deal out of it. It’s only as a young adult, when I moved to California after graduating, that I took stock of my culinary heritage, and became fascinated with food, and what it says about us. I started to cook with increasing passion, as a creative outlet and a way to reconnect with home.I always knew I wanted to write, and I stumbled upon food writing specifically when I decided to start a blog in 2003 to share my passion for cooking. I realized it was a topic that inspired me endlessly, and allowed me to connect with others in a genuine and meaningful way.
Chef and author Clotilde Dusoulier
“My mission is to give my readers fresh ideas that keep them excited and motivated to cook on a day-to-day basis.”
CD: It’s a toss-up between a baguette and a croissant! Both are iconic products of French baking, and neither is as beautifully crafted as they are in France, and in Paris specifically (pardon my Parisian bias). On my food walking tours, we spend time discussing and appreciating what makes a stellar baguette and croissant, where to buy
SIG: If someone were traveling to France for the first time, what would be the first thing you recommend to eat?
CD: It’s a toss-up between a baguette and a croissant! Both are iconic products of French baking, and neither is as beautifully crafted as they are in France, and in Paris specifically (pardon my Parisian bias). On my food walking tours, we spend time discussing and appreciating what makes a stellar baguette and croissant, where to buy them, and how to recognize them.
SIG: How does food impact French culture? What are some traditions that have stood the test of time? [ . . . ]
YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE French to know what à la mode means. Even at the humble American diner, where Gallic influence is usually limited to French fries and French dips, desserts are tagged with the term. Pies, cakes, and even pancakes and waffles can come crowned with a scoop of ice cream: in other words, à la mode.
American menus were once replete with such wording. Meaning in the fashion in French, à la mode is a relic of a time when elite diners worldwide used coded terms from classical French cuisine. Today, that system of naming has all but vanished outside of France and French restaurant [ . . . ]
