Your cooking host

About your host… and cooking. My name is Gilles and I’ll be your cooking host. I was born and raised in Marseille, France, and moved to the Aix en Provence area in 1994 after a 4 year stay in southern California. I acquired my love for cooking from my Mother and Grand Mothers, through watching, practicing and tasting in their kitchens. During my youth, I had the chance to spend most of my free time with my cooking role models in different parts of Provence. By the Côte Bleue near Marseille, I use to wait on the docks for my father and uncles to come back from fishing, to start preparing a Bouillabaisse or a Bourride along with its accompanying Aïoli with my mother. Near Sisteron by the foothills of the Alps, with a bunch of kids, we would eagerly await for the arrival of the streetfood merchants to come to the village.

My paternal Grand Mother used to make the most exquisit Gigot d’agneau -leg of lamb- with an olive oil potato gratin, Frisée lettuce with garlic and some local goat cheese. My maternal Grand Mother in Nice liked to take me to the food market on Cours Saleya and together we would cook fried zucchini flowers, stuffed vegetables and the very local sweet onion Pissaladière tart.

Since then I have instinctively worn the chefs hat at home, lovingly preparing meals for my family and friends. I would now like to pass some of my knowledge and experience on to you during a genuine provencal day all about cooking, food & wine. One of my favorite french Chef had those words that I deeply relate to: « On ne peut pas faire de cuisine si l’on n’aime pas les gens » Joël Robuchon, 2013 (You cannot cook if you don’t love people)