In her interview, Viviane explains how she avoids being in a cooking rut. She also gives us amazing recipes, such as her Green Gazpacho Chilled Cucumber Soup. It’s perfect for summer!
Tell us more about yourself, your site, and your family.
Food has been my passion every since I was a child, growing up on a French tropical island in the South Pacific. When I moved to the United States, I first had a career in fashion, but after a timely “mid-life crisis” I turned my attention full-time to my deepest joy: creating and sharing food!
Seasonal vegetables, fruits, and herbs are my muses. I love to shop at local farmers’ markets, but I also have a small vegetable garden, which brings me endless inspiration. My style of cooking is rooted in those seasonal foods and I love to create recipes that are fresh, exuberant, gourmet-yet-simple.
My love of ingredients extends to wines as well. So when I decided to launch my e-magazine, Food and Style, I went back to school to get an advanced certificate in wine. That knowledge now allows me to pair unique, handcrafted wines with my recipes. Today, I live in Piermont, NY, a lovely Hudson River village just north of NYC, with my musician husband, Marc Farre, who is my best and most willing taster.
When did you start learning how to cook? What encouraged you to start?
Basically, I’ve been obsessed with cooking since the age of six. Two years later I began preparing my family’s meals, perched atop a stool! Unfortunately, my own mother loathed cooking, so I took refuge in my grandmothers’ kitchens. Both of them were great teachers, and both had infinite patience for my endless questions and inquisitiveness.
Do you make any of your grandmother’s recipes for your family?
I do create recipes inspired by my grandmothers. For example, I used to love making crêpes with my maternal grandmother. I would help her make hundreds of crêpes every year for Mardi Gras! In fact, I created this recipe for crêpes with strawberry compote with my sweet grandma in mind.
Crepes with Strawberry Compote
What are your absolute favorite foods?
Everything! Except pickles (I have no idea why that is)!
But here are four dishes I adore:
1. Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Garlic Confit and Baby Arugula
2. Green Gazpacho Chilled Cucumber Soup with Yogurt and Fresh Mint
3. Baby Kale Salad with Purple Carrot Ribbons, Kumquats and Sesame Vinaigrette
4. Roasted Beet Linguini with Fresh Tarragon and Caraway
And I couldn’t live without making a batch of this fresh homemade ricotta every week… which my little nieces absolutely love!
What advice would you give to someone in a cooking rut?
Focus on love. Making recipes that you and your family love to eat… But also try out new things once in a while. That joy, of renewal and rediscovery, should spread to your kitchen in no time!
Who do you admire in the culinary world?
I admire all creative chefs. But, like many cooks, Julia Child will always have a special place in my heart.
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