I Got Yelled at By a Fancy French Chef

New Le Salon Meet-up Dates, Plus I was On a Wine Jury in Burgundy, Band Practice Update and What is an Aroma Bar Anyway?

Coucou mes chères et mes chers (Hello my dears),

Quoi de neuf ? Que se passe-t-il ? (What’s new? What’s happening?)

I’m coming to you live from sunny Paris, which is quite a treat at this time of year, when we often do live like mushrooms under a moody and perpetually misty sky. This morning I walked Monsieur B to work and we both delighted in all the little blossoms that are suddenly appearing everywhere on our path.

I have missed you these past couple of weeks, and the moment that I start a letter to you, I am reminded of how much I love and appreciate this community. To those who are new here, bienvenue ! To those who stop by regularly, raconte ! (tell us) what you’ve been up to.

On veut des commentaires !! (We want comments!!)

It’s been almost maddeningly busy—and lots to tell you about what’s coming up!—but first just a quick note for all those who are enjoying our Le Salon creative meet-ups, or those who might like to join us for a magical hour. I’ve just set some new dates, so scroll all the way down for those and make sure to register as I always keep them very small so that we can really connect.

If You Just Want to Laugh at What French People Think of American Food

I wrote this piece last year but wanted to reshare it because they’ve done it again—Picard, the French frozen food giant—has launched their “American Week” which just always makes me giggle. Plus this post has a great recipe for a delicious Spring Pasta.

"Hey USA !" How the French Really See American Food with (Silly) Photos to Prove it

Beaune, France

Why Did a French Chef Yell at Me (in French)?

Last weekend my sweet husband accompanied me to the elegant town of Beaune, right in the heart of la Bourgogne. It’s one of my favorite wine regions, and home to gorgeous tiled roofs and more Range Rovers than I’ve ever before seen in all of France—must be that Grand Cru money!

We spent Saturday and Sunday dining in châteaux and little restos, and driving all over the Côte de Beaune, from Meursault and Auxey Duresses to Savigny-les-Beaune and Pommard. On Monday and Tuesday, I’d be participating on an all-female wine jury—scroll down for more on that delicious experience!

Meursault, France

Château de Savigny-les-Beaune, France

I’d done a lot of research for our happy jaunt, and even prepared a spreadsheet of our planned activities, leaving plenty of time for just having fun, but accounting for our reserved meals and the times when I had to report for my tasting panel duty. You should’ve seen how happy the very organized Monsieur B was when he received an individual calendar invite from me for each restaurant I’d chosen. #winning

But Karen. Chefs Love You. Why Are They Yelling at You?

The first night in Beaune we went to a little restaurant not far from the place where we were staying, which by the way was a lovely, simple and very well-priced Airbnb that I recommend. The restaurant didn’t look like much (it felt like someone who wears big red glasses had decorated it to match, and I didn’t like the tables), but the food and wine and the people were all lovely. I’d checked in when we’d arrived, and we’d spent about three hours there eating and chatting with the owners and trying some nice apricot liqueur at the end.

So imagine my surprise when, after we got home near midnight, I found an email that had been sent at about 8:30pm asking in what can only be described as an unfriendly tone, “Vous venez ?” (Are you coming?)

The message came from a personal email—but one I thought I recognized as that of the guy I’d reserved with from the restaurant where we had just eaten. I assumed he just hadn’t caught my name, so I tossed off a light-hearted note about how I’d been the American in the corner drinking the apricot liqueur. And then I went to sleep.

When I awoke the next morning there was another message waiting for me, et cela n’était pas du tout gentil (it wasn’t nice at all). Also, can you spot the grammar errors? Je dis ça, je dis rien (just sayin’) 🤭

As we say in Ohio, “Golly!” It took me awhile to figure out what had actually happened, but I sure was insulted when I saw this here message, surtout (especially) because he didn’t say Bonjour, which is one of the worst things you can do. Also at the end, he didn’t wish me any kind of day, such as “bonne journée” or “bon week-end,” which is just plain rude.

And then there’s the way he used the imperative, as if he were a mean boss talking to an employee. It’s simply not normal in French to be so direct with a complete stranger who may also one day be a client. The whole thing has a “for f**k’s sake” tone, even though it’s not in there literally. Below is the translation if you want to know. Si tu t’en fiches (if you don’t care), just keep on a-scrollin’ for Girl Power Wine Tasting!

“You did not go to the right restaurant. You obviously went somewhere else. I refused a bunch of people to save the table, all for nothing. We have only 20 seats so it’s really annoying. So, next time, try to remember the address and the name of the establishment where you reserve.”

Dear Chef, Maybe You Should Put the Name of Your Restaurant in Your Email!

As a person who (for years) ran the doors of a number of notable restaurants in NYC, I understand the frustration, and I felt bad even though he was mean to me (don’t get me started on chef behavior!). But when I went back to look at our email correspondence, I found not one detail of his restaurant, not in the message, nor in his signature. They don’t even have a website. And the email address itself was simply a personal email, with no phone number or name of the establishment.

Did I write him back? Bah OUI ! Was I polite ? Always. But let’s just say once he heard my argument, there were no replies. In the end, it’s sad because I really wanted to try his place. It looks lovely, but if he’s putting any of that dark energy into the food, I’m not sure.🤭🤐👨🏻‍🍳

Who Runs the (Wine) World? Girls! 🍷

As many of you know, wine is a passion for me and I’ve been studying it (and enjoying it) for a good long time. As a matter of fact I just wrote a cute piece about 10 wine-related social media accounts to follow if that’s your kind of thing.

Well, at least for two days at the Palais des Congrès in Beaune, it was only des dégustatrices (female wine tasters) blind-tasting wines and spirits from all over the world for the Concours Mondial des Féminalise. I was delighted to be among other delightful and knowledgeable wine women accepted onto the jury, and the experience was a lot of fun.

We each had a little desk, a tablet, a spreadsheet listing some info about each wine we’d be tasting. In each salle (room) we had three groups of tasters, but no one was allowed to communicate about the wines during the tasting periods.

Scenes from the 2024 Féminalise wine competition in the beautiful city of Beaune, right in the heart of Burgundy. Being on a wine jury is not as easy as you think, and yes, tu dois cracher (you have to spit) !

I tasted an average of 22 wines per 2-hour session, and an overall total of just under 100 wines over two days! We were given the region, the appellation, the millésime (vintage) and any “special” designation such as Premier Cru or Grand Cru, plus a note on the sweetness or dryness. Other than that—no info on the producer or the specific grape profiles. That was the only sad fact for me, as we weren’t shown the bottles after the fact. I would’ve liked, for example, to know who made the excellent Hungarian reds I tasted from several vintages.

Every day around noon, Monsieur B would pick me up and we’d go eat lunch together! Burgundy was where we took our very first trip together just after we’d met in 2021, so it’s a special place for us, and I can’t wait to go back again.

Scenes from our Burgundy days in the Côte de Beaune, which were largely rainy, but lots of fun!

Get in on the Creative Fun at Our Next Le Salon Online Meet-ups!

Who, you? If you’re someone who wants to reignite a spark for a project that’s dear to your heart, or if you just want to try something new, or just give yourself time to work on something you’ve put away for awhile, you simply must join us! We started doing these “creative co-working” events about a month ago and they’re magically delicious. Some words folks have used to describe them: “a godsend,” “fascinating,” and “just what I needed.”

How Does It Work?

C’est vraiment facile (It’s really easy). You register for the event, which lasts sometimes one hour, sometimes an hour and fifteen minutes (you’ll see this detail on the event page). You show up with whatever you want to work on—we have painters, musicians, composers, poets, performance artists, writers, knitters—you name it!

We start with a nice opening conversation, then set a timer to work. At the end of the session, we chat again and say how it went. All agree, it’s amazing. If you’re interested, you can learn more and register here—they’re still free! But if you do want to come, choose your time and sign up soon, as I keep the group small for real connection and inspiration.

French Jazz Band Practice Update

As the great Astrud Gilberto puts it, “Dibla doo ba, ba dee ba dee ba dee da!” If you don’t know what I’m talking about but you’re intrigued by the idea that I auditioned for a Jazz Band in Paris without ever having sung with live musicians, start here! Spoiler alert: they accepted me and I felt like I just won a Grammy!!

Anyway, this weekend I’ll have my first “official” répétition (rehearsal) in a music studio in central Paris with the whole group, and we’ll work on sixteen songs (mainly jazz standards and bossa nova) in preparation for a few upcoming gigs. See, I’m a real musician now—I say words like “gigs” ! 💃🎤🎶

Am I incredibly nervous? Eh oui ! But am I gonna smash it anyway? Je vais faire de mon mieux ! (I’m gonna do my best!) I hope with all my heart that this inspires you to go for something you want, even if it’s scary. No matter the outcome, you are a total badass for even trying.

Alright Now, What the Heck is an Aroma Bar ?

Well, if you’ve gotten this far, you deserve a little extra treat. While we were in the Burgundy region, we stopped into the Musée des Climats de Bourgogne, which is in Beaune. If you want to know what a climat is, here’s an article, and let’s just say Unesco is involved.

The museum is a super high-tech and multi-sensory experience that has films about how all the famous parcels of land en Bourgogne have been named over the centuries, lots of info about grape variety lineage, interactive digital maps of the terroir and aspects—you know, alllll that wine nerd stuff.

But my favorite part was the Bar aux Aromes (Aroma Bar) a corner of the museum designed to help awaken your olfactory senses and to see how different perfumes may appear in the wines of the region. This installation was made entirely of fresh ingredients under glass, with a wide opening where you stick your nose and inhale to understand groupings of aromas—fruits frais et agrumes (fresh fruits and citrus), vanille et bois de chêne (vanilla and oak), la famille fermier et petit lait (dairy, whey), and even fleurs (flowers) and more.

Le Bar aux Aromes, Le Musée des Climats de Bourgogne, Beaune France. I wish I could scratch-n-sniff this for you—it was such a great tool for understanding how we perceive smells in certain wines!

As someone who grew up in an apartment in Ohio, completely divorced from all my senses, the fact that I can recognize smells in wine now is strangely meaningful. I remember my first wine tasting as a restaurant server, when an expert said, “This wine smells like violets,” and I didn’t even know what violets smelled like, so I just looked down at my paper and tried to be invisible. How the times have changed with much study and practice and enjoyment!

Coming La Semaine Prochaine (Next Week)

I’ll be sharing a bit about celebrating my third wedding anniversary in Paris, plus why we have to move out of our apartment (!) and how I’m managing some new work and still trying to keep to my creative agenda.

Excitingly, I’ll tell you about how I’ll soon be descending into the legendary caves (wine cellars) of the Plaza Athénée with a world-famous sommelier.

Wish me luck for band practice:-) I’ll be singing in Portuguese, Italian and English.

OK lovelies, merci d’être venu(e)s (thank you for coming).

Your presence here means so much to me. I hope that this weekend and in the coming week you can be very sweet to yourself and maybe even take yourself on a creative date—just do something wonderful and joyful, just for you. Small or big doesn’t matter. You deserve it.

Bon week-end et bisous bisous 💋

Karen