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A burner flame went out this past weekend. When a call from an RTL journalist asking Eric for assistance with a reportage on chef Paul Bocuse and his influence outside of France comes in, you know that it was an important flame. The culinary world is in mourning as one of its greatest masters has left us. At age 91, Chef Paul Bocuse lived a life and career, that many dream of, but few will attain.<\/p>\n

Paul Bocuse\u2019s influence and renown stretched far beyond his restaurant, L\u2019Auberge du Pont de Collonges<\/a> also simply known as Paul Bocuse in Lyon. Some referred to him as the Pope of French gastronomy.<\/p>\n

My very first French cookbook (en fran\u00e7ais), was gifted to me by my French host family over 20 years ago. They knew I loved to cook and wanted to offer me a piece of French culinary history. It was the \u201cCuisine des regions de France<\/a>\u201d,\u00a0 by Paul Bocuse – a culinary Tour de France. While I never got through all the recipes, there were a few that I did try and the book has never left my possession.<\/p>\n

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I was already a fan of the city of Lyon – it\u2019s architecture – it\u2019s cuisine. The city had long held the title of the culinary capital of France and while today, some may argue that that title has moved on to another French city, no one can deny the influence the city still holds, thanks in part to chef Bocuse. With Lyon, being only 2 hours drive from Uz\u00e8s<\/a>, it is a pretty easy trip to make when the desire hits us.<\/p>

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I was 3 months pregnant with our son when I met Monsieur Paul.<\/a> Eric thought it would be a great idea to take me to his original restaurant in Lyon for my birthday. I joke that it was more a gift for him than for me. At that stage in my pregnancy, only just having regained any sense of taste and basically feeling stuffed all the time, the rich classical French meal that was in store for me was maybe a tad too much. But how can you argue with a chef, enamored with another chef? You can\u2019t! I didn\u2019t – I just went with it. And I have no regrets.<\/p>\n