Tell us all about your blog
FrenchKidsEatEverything.com is a blog about food and France, family and parenting. It has recipes, tips, and ideas inspired by the French approach to kids' food, and also by the 'good kids' food movement' here in North America (I'm a Real Food Advocate for the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation). It combines food politics analysis with personal anecdotes about France, food and family.
The French Kids School Lunch Project is one of my favourite parts of the blog: I post weekly school lunch menus from towns and villages across France. These are three or four course, scratch-cooked meals provided to all school kids (vending machines are banned, and kids don't bring lunch from home), served in the 'school restaurant' (the name says it all). Kids get 2 hours for lunch, which is part of their 'taste training'; for example, they are not served the same dish more than once per month. Amazing vegetables (beet salad, carrot salad, endive, leeks), all kinds of fish, interesting cheese (which is where they get their dairy—not from milk) are featured, as are things we'd consider a little exotic—like beef tongue. The amazing thing is that these lunches (which are organized locally, with no subsidies) cost on average $3 per day. It's really food for thought about how well we feed our kids.
PS: I am NOT an advocate of French parenting, and the blog is about stimulating debate rather than proposing one 'right' way to do things. We're just too diverse for that to work. It's more of a 'food for thought' exercise.
What inspired you to begin writing about food?
The general source of inspiration was the contrast between kids' food culture in France and North America. Now, I'm not arguing that they are 'good' and we are 'bad'. France isn't perfect, and we have lots of great food here (and budding foodies too). But the French example does have many lessons to teach us: for example, their willingness to ban vending machines and fast food in schools, implement a soda tax, and control food marketing to kids. Another great example is the 'taste training' they do at home, in the classroom, and in the lunchroom—helping kids to get over (or, even better, prevent) picky eating.
There is also a very specific moment of inspiration, when I first got the idea for the book. The year after we came back from France, a senior manager at my younger daughter's daycare told me that "kids only eat pasta and crackers", and also told me that all of the good food I suggested we serve to the kids would "just be thrown out." That's when I thought of Maya Angelou's lovely saying: "When you know better, you do better." And how better to share what I knew than writing a book.
Describe your favorite food memory
Warm, home-made apple strudel, fresh out of the oven. My mom made it every Sunday, and I can still smell it. Yum.
Cook or bake-which one? Either, both, and why?
Cooking every day, baking if I have time (usually once a week). I cook every day (and do all of my own groceries—no mean feat when you work full time and have two young children). It's become one of my favourite activities—it de-stresses me (which is quite funny considering how I used to view food, as French Kids Eat Everything explains, our year in France transformed my eating and cooking habits just as much as my kids). Baking is something I love to do, but we usually eat fresh or stewed fruit for dessert, and when I'm busy I prioritize cooking rather than baking.
What is the best thing you've ever eaten? Where did you eat it?
Hmmm, good question. The first family dinner I had in France with my then now-husband (then new boyfriend) was a revelation. How could food taste this good and be so easy to prepare? I have too many favourites to whittle it down to just one, so I'll mention two (both are recipes in the book): (i) the smooth, creamy fish soups that are eaten in both northern and southern France (the Breton version, less well known than bouillabaisse, is called cotriade), and (ii) French-style chocolate mousse, which has only three ingredients (dark chocolate, eggs, and just a little bit of sugar). It changed my mind, forever, about how to define a 'good' dessert.
We ate the meal at my in-law's house—in the sunshine, on the terrace (the French love eating outdoors), with ivy climbing the stone walls of the cottage behind us. (Yes, I'm feeling slightly nostalgic as I write this!).
Share your favorite recipe!
This is one of our family’s favorite recipes. Tomates farcies (stuffed tomatoes) are both filling and fun. The tomatoes are hollowed out and stuffed (in this case, with a savory ground beef mixture), and then baked to perfection. The farce peeks out of the tomatoes in a coquettish sort of way, and children love lifting up the tomato “hats” to see what lies underneath. Served with something that can absorb the delicious juices (rice and couscous are our favorites), this is a complete and easy tasty meal.
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