Culinary Arts & Books | PARIS – PROVENCE Interview with ELIZABETH BARD
-As a child, what did you want to become (profession-wise)?
My first professional dream was to become an archeologist. I was convinced I’d been born in the wrong century. I love old objects and lost worlds, so, of course, I was instantly seduced by Paris.
-In which town did you grow up?
I grew up in Northern New Jersey and spent weekends with my father in New York City.
-Do you think your background has influenced your current culinary arts style? If so, what specific element in your background is most pervasive in influencing your current culinary arts style?
Growing up in a Jewish household, food was always used to celebrate and welcome people to our home. My mother had an eye for presentation, so I love food that is beautiful as well as delicious. The French truly celebrate the beauty of their food; the tomatoes are a masterpiece!
-What inspires you in the job of being an author?
I’ve always been a lover of words, fascinated by their power to solicit emotion and conjure whole worlds out of nothing.
-In which way do you consider yourself an innovative creator?
I hope Lunch in Paris captures something real about what it means to build a life in another culture. I don’t think I’m so much an innovator as a very respectful follower. As an American, I follow generations of women who all came from somewhere else. They learned to cook with new ingredients, speak a new language, and manage a new world. My Jewish grandmother learned to make spaghetti sauce from the Italian ladies she met in line at the butcher shop during the war. I’m so pleased to have finally gotten it all down on paper.
-Do you have any other creative ambitions or dreams to which you aspire?
I have a set of precious memoirs given to me by a grandfather-figure in England. He was a born storyteller; I hope someday I will have the chance to share his story with readers and history lovers.
-Which basic elements of creativity did your family teach you?
My father and I spent a great deal of time in museums together. He taught me to look at things, even things I didn’t like or understand. Those things come back to me, clear and useful, at the strangest moments. My mother taught me to be brave. She told me all my dreams were possible, and she was unselfish enough to let me pursue them, even though they often took me far away.
-How did you get the idea of making this type of food combined with writing this book?
I knew almost as soon as I arrived in Paris that I wanted to write about the rollercoaster of international living and the richness of intercultural marriage. When I sat down to think about the moments that really helped me discover French life, I kept coming back to the dinner table, the markets, and the recipes -- so it seemed natural to structure the book around those experiences.
-Do you have a favorite chef yourself?
I’m more of a home cook: I use basic tools and (I’m embarrassed to say) dull knives. I love finding little hole- in-the-wall restaurants, where someone’s auntie is doing the cooking. The best restaurant I’ve ever been to is a tiny place in Tuscany, run by a wine collector. The pairings were magical.
-Are you ever afraid you will run out of inspiration and creativity in your job?
I’ll always be a storyteller, no matter what kind of job I do. Everyone lives with narratives -- we use them to make linear sense of our very chaotic world.
-What is the most difficult thing in your job?
Writing can be isolating; my computer is my most constant companion. But then there’s the satisfaction of reading over a paragraph, tweaking a word here and there to get the rhythm just right, and realizing you still love the sentences.