“The second of eight siblings, I was brought up with my five sisters and two brothers by parents in love, of whom we were the main project. The sweetness of my childhood is lulled by smells and flavors. My mother, an artist and bohemian, an excellent cook, had no equal in working miracles by accommodating leftovers. She loved tastes, scents, colors, she taught us to recognize what she called “the weeds of the hill”, farigoulette, lovage, savory, spring onion, and other wild rosemary that perfumed the walks of our Provençal holidays.
My father came from a family in Aveyron, and his mother – an extraordinary, invigorating and generous woman – had bought a property near Aix-en-Provence so that he could grow crops there. He planted cherry trees, olive trees, vines, and we were born there. My father had a sort of Epinal image of the family in the countryside and dreamed of being able to feed everyone with the fruits of his labor in the land.
“The memory of my father is also inseparably linked to the smell of chocolate, his passion. » Marie France Cohen
But he soon realized that was not enough, and we moved to Paris. We lived simply, we didn’t travel, we didn’t entertain, the clothes passed from one child to another, but we were raised with the idea that everything was possible, that when we wanted, we could. It was very reassuring and liberating.
The memory of my father is also inextricably linked to the smell of chocolate, his passion. In the back room of the Confiserie de Paris, which has now become a Bonpoint boutique, where we earned a little pocket money by helping to fill beautiful Christmas boxes, this magnificent smell reigned everywhere and permeated forever my memories. Also printed, this tirelessly repeated injunction: “Look, look, look how beautiful it is. »
The taste for happiness, for the beautiful, for the good has made us a family of creatives, artists and epicureans. No big schools here, but a lot of imagination and greed. My whole life has revolved around the table. Because there is not a sadness, not a moment of depression that resists a meal prepared with and for friends! This allows you to get out of yourself, to delight others. But we often lack the time to make recipes that are too elaborate.
Like all working women, I had to learn to reduce my time in the kitchen. And, in order to be able to continue to receive friends, I have developed “dinner-friends” recipes that are quickly prepared, impossible to miss, with tasty ingredients and a guaranteed satisfaction quotient. The golden rule for delighting young and old alike is to use excellent products, know how to season just right and put flavor everywhere. My crudaiola pasta recipe is one of those easy, quick and unmissable dishes that please everyone around a happy and lively table. »