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Délicieux's interview



Interview by Laurence Interview by Laurence

We interviewed Délicieux!

Visit the blog: Délicieux_fr.


See profile page and recipes



Hello Délicieux, so tell us...


When did you begin your blog and what inspired you to start it?


I began writing my blog in August 2011...so just over 2 years ago amazingly! Doesn't time pass fast?
I started my blog after I had my 2 children and they grew out of being babies and I found that I desperately needed an outlet for my restless brain! I have always been 'food mad' and fascinated by what other people are eating as much as what I am cooking. So I thought a food blog would be the perfect way for me to express myself, talk about something that I love in the hope that people out there would find it as interesting as I do!

In your wildest dreams, where is your blog going to take you as it develops?


I guess most bloggers dream of being able to make a living out of their blog. Blogging is HARD work, especially food blogging which requires lots of researching, cooking, photographing and then writing on top. I guess what I have found is that I love to write and ideally, I would like to have a regular food feature somewhere in a magazine or paper or online. Perhaps one day a cookbook? I would love to review restaurants - if I could have any job I wanted, I think I would like to be someone who awards Michelin stars! Just think of all the amazing restaurants you would get to visit! Yum.

Are you active in the blogging community? Have you met any interesting people through your blog or has it brought you to new places?


I am indeed very active in the blogging community. In my opinion, it is essential to get involved to have any real impact. I co-host a monthly blogging challenge called Four Seasons Food with my friend Louisa from Eat Your Veg and I also partake in numerous other blogging challenges with every recipe that I post. It gets so many more eyes on your work and offers a great chance to meet other bloggers and form valuable friendships. I must thank Karen from lavender & Lovage for being the blogger who wrote a post about how she got involved in the community which in turn, encouraged me to do the same.
I have also made connections with many other English speaking bloggers based in France and we have a supportive bond. There are so many talented bloggers out there who can offer so much support and encouragement which we all need sometimes.

French cuisine is relatively well known in the UK, but there must be specialities about which we know nothing, what has been the biggest revelation for you?


I am particularly inspired and fascinated by the cuisine from my area here in Gascony. I live in 'Duck & Armangac' country - and I am delighted to do so! I love that no part of the duck is wasted here and there are some unusual but utterly delicious bits that we wouldn't eat in the UK. I love 'Gesiers' (the gizzards) and duck hearts. I have also really taken to veal sweetbreads which are very popular here too. The food from this region is very humble peasant food but is wonderfully flavoursome and seasonal and hearty. Fantastic dishes like Cassoulet and Garbure which prove that food does not have to be fancy or fussy to taste out of this world.

What would be your choice of dish or menu if you had to choose your "last meal ever"?!


What a tough question! I think I would choose a tapas style meal so that I could have lots of little taster plates which would have to include pimentos de padron, razor clams, wild mushrooms, chorizo, chiperones, Iberico ham....oh the list of delicious Spanish morsels goes on and on.
If I could have 2 last meals, I would also have a feast of sushi...to include lots and lots of sashimi.
Just thinking about these two possible last ever meals is making mouth water !!

What is your earliest memory involving food?


I am half Swedish and I have a lot of childhood food memories from there. I remember the smell of cinnamon from my Grandmothers kitchen. I remember her cooking us elk which was delicious, smothered in a creamy gravy with soft buttery potatoes. Also, crayfish parties where we would suck out all the yummy juices from the shells which I thought was great fun! I still cook Swedish food quite a lot. For me it is very comforting and I love the way they prepare their fish and use lots of dill and anchovies in things. It's a wonderful cuisine.

We know how hard it can be convincing certain French people that British food has some strong points, what has been the biggest hit with your new compatriots?


Actually, my experience of the French in my area is that they are very open minded about food. Of course they hold up their own cuisine as the best but they also enjoy a lot of other types of food. The French friends that I have cooked for do always enjoy a roast dinner....the roast potatoes, leg of lamb, roasted carrots - that sort of thing goes down very well. They also enjoy the odd slice of cheddar although it's not that easy to get hold of here.
At the end of the day, Gascons love food....if it is fresh and cooked well, they appreciate it.

Do you have a secret weapon in the kitchen?


Investing in good knives changed my life in the kitchen so I have much to thank them for! Trying to do anything with substandard, ultimately blunt knives is depressing and frustrating in my opinion. Never doubt that it will be money well spent.
My secret ingredient is anchovy. I use them alot, in sauces, in stews, in pasta, in bakes. They add so much depth of flavour without tasting 'fishy'. If a recipe asks for 3 or 4 anchovy fillets....I add a whole tin :)
My final secret weapon is The Flavour Thesaurus by Niki Segnit. It is a fabulous book for a creative cook. I love just finding an ingredient I want to cook with and then referring to the book to see what works well with it and ideas for dishes just start to fill my head. It really is a great companion for a cook.

Which Gourmandize recipe would you recommend? (if none take your fancy add your own and share it with us!)


Veal sweetbreads and pickled aubergine, tomato chutney and sweet and sour parsley by Michel Portos really grabbed my attention. Not only does it use sweetbreads which I think are a wonderful and adventurous ingredient but he has paired them with anchovies and pickled aubergine which just sounds so interesting and delicious! I have some sweetbreads in my freezer so I may give this one a go very soon.

Any last words or message for our readers?


I really welcome readers comments and feedback on all my recipes and the blog, so please do drop by and tell me what you think!



Thank you Délicieux for answering our questions and see you soon!
Published by Laurence - 30/10/2013



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Comment on this interview

Lavender and Lovage

What a fabulous interview Anneli and thanks so much for kind words too; I am so pleased that one of my blog posts inspired you to join the food blogging community. I am an avid fan of your blog as you know, and keep on blogging! Karen

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