Cooking Comme les Français- Madame Sportif

When I got married I registered for every kitchen appliance and gadget under the sun- and I received them too! As an avid foodie and cook (and being an American) I was under the impression that you need to have high-end pots, specialty gadgets and various other accouterments in order to create the perfect meal. Cooking with Madame Sportif last week, I realized that I have been cooking under a grand delusion.

In Madame Sportif’s simple kitchen, we made our lunch (tarte aux poireaux, pear gratin and coconut macaroons) with the simplest of cook wear and appliances. Both the tart and the gratin were baked simply in two nonstick cake pans (!). What about the specialty tart pan with the removable bottom? What about the perfect oval gratin dish? To cook the leeks, she used a simple, inexpensive pot. I’m not even sure what it was… aluminum perhaps? It certainly was not the very expensive copper pot that I absolutely had to have. For the gratin topping? We used a whisk- not the massive Kitchen Aid that was sitting in my kitchen next door.

The meal we made turned out beautifully and there was not much to clean up. (Not that Madame Sportif had me clean up, but this is what I observed.)

In America we live in an absolute consumer’s culture. For cookware we love our William Sonomas and Sur la Tables. We love to buy various gadgets like cherry pitters and apple peelers, specialty molds and specialty pots… but do we really need all of these things to create a delicious meal? Not really. Come to think of it- Madame Chic’s kitchen was extremely minimalistic too- there was nothing fancy going on in that tiny space- but the meals it produced were heavenly.

The French would rather save money on all of those glorified kitchen gadgets and spend their hard earned money on buying quality food instead.

Now the mood has struck me to go declutter my kitchen...


The painting featured above is entitled Kitchen Stuff by Malka