New Cooking Show - An Irish in Paris

Ever heard of Trish Deseine??? Me neither - until yesterday. Born in Belfast but living in France for the last 20 years, she has apparently published already 9 cookbooks. Elle Magazine is calling her the French Martha Stewart. And now she got a show on RTE1.

The first episode was broadcasted yesterday. The show started off with a tour through Paris which of course as the 'Capital of Cookery' made perfect sense. But she didn't lead us to the first class restaurants and hotels but instead to a cookery school called 'L'atelier des Chefs' which offers courses with a difference. They offer lunch break courses where you cook for 30 minutes and you eat for 30 minutes what you cooked. I knew where I would spend every lunch break. Check out www.atelierdeschefs.com for their courses and info. The site is in French but some of the content can be changed into English with the little flag on the top of the page. The lunch course sets you back €17 but seriously...that's what you normally spend on a lunch anyway. I liked the idea....so Brennan's here is a challenge ;-)

The next trip send her to the Rue Coquillere at Les Halles where the oldest cookery shop is located. And oh my God.....it is a treasure chest full of gems...what ever you need for cooking....they'll have it. The shop was founded in 1820 and still going strong. Check out www.e-dehillerin.fr. They have the option of reading the site in English.

Trish then went on cooking some French dishes like Piperade (a stew served with eggs and ham), Souffle au Fromage (the 'cursed' cheese souffle) and a Pot au Feu (a beef and vegetable stew that is served separated into the broth and the actually meat and vegs).

I liked the show and will be watching the next episode next week.

Check out www.trishdeseine.com for more info on her and her books (some of which are only available in French). You won't find recipes on her website. For recipes cooked in the series go to www.rte.ie/tv/trishdeseine/recipes.html