“I am convinced that there is no contradiction between gastronomy, common sense and health”

I come from an Ashkenazi family, of Polish origin, which was decimated by the Holocaust. My mother, born in France, is the only survivor: her family, arrested during the Vél’d’Hiv roundup in 1942, was deported to Auschwitz. My parents met during this period and moved to the free zone. Of course, all of this had a strong impact on my childhood, their stories, the history of struggles and this idea of ​​defending freedom at all costs. I grew up in the 10^e arrondissement of Paris, and I went to school crossing streets that bore the names of resistance fighters: René Boulanger, Marx Dormoy, Jacques Bonsergent…

“I am convinced that there is no contradiction between gastronomy, common sense and health, you have to eat good products, more fruits and vegetables…”

My parents were not religious, less attached to religion than to Polish Ashkenazi culture, which was expressed in particular through my mother’s cooking: gefilte fish (stuffed carp) which I did not like too much, klops ( meatloaf) or the kneidler broth, which I loved. I was a difficult child in terms of food, I didn’t eat much and I probably liked this dish precisely because it was quite bland. Today, I like colorful, spicy, spicy dishes. But I remain very attached to this particular taste, to the firm consistency of the dumplings in a clear and fragrant liquid.

It’s a traditional dish for Passover, the Jewish Passover, that my mother prepared on all holidays. Like my parents, I am not religious, my wife is Spanish of Catholic origin, but I am very influenced by Ashkenazi Jewish culture. I’m generally interested in cultures and how they interact with each other. But food is deeply rooted in our cultures, cooking remains an exciting means of communication, which allows us to exchange knowledge and stories around the table.

Very early on, I became politically involved and, failing to be able to change the world, I told myself that I could try to change people’s lives. This is how I got into medicine. I worked in Africa, Asia, South America and I quickly realized that curative medicine was not enough, there were problems of prevention, especially in nutrition and public health.

At the time, we learned to cure illnesses, not to prevent them. I met pediatrician and nutritionist Henri Dupin, who became my mentor. He made me work on subjects relating to the evolution of food in societies, poor and rich. This is how I met my wife, also a researcher.

In the early 2000s, I chaired the National Health Nutrition Program at the Ministry of Health and ended up presenting proposals in 2014. The idea of ​​a nutritional logo was retained, it became an endless battle against agro-industry. I am convinced that there is no contradiction between gastronomy, common sense and health, you have to eat good products, more fruits and vegetables… Cherishing pleasure and conviviality is consistent with a healthy food.