I needed to go back to a restaurant. I needed to go back to my favorite French places in Los Angeles (Won’t tell you which ones, don’t want this blog to become an excuse to get invited in great restaurants. Then again, if you want to invite me in your restaurant, don’t hesitate. Just kidding… or am I?), I couldn’t do without a cassoulet, a bouillabaisse, a boeuf bourguignon, a poulet Basquaise or even just a nice “jambon-beurre-cornichons baguette sandwich”.

Yes, I did spend hours on Marmiton to get the perfect recipe. Yes, I did try, but I still don’t understand why something that looks so easy on a website took me hours and ended up so different from the original. It wasn’t bad but the boeuf wasn’t really bourguignoned, the chicken had nothing very basquaise, and if some marseillais had tested my bouillabaisse, I’m not sure they would let me walk on the Vieux Port again. I don’t think that Top Chef is in my future. I’ll stick to Rendez-vous d’Amérique.

If these last three months have taught me anything, it’s that I’m very good at eating French food, but not so good at cooking it.

It’s time for things to go back to normal again. Or at least, some things…

I want to let the pros feed me my favorite comfort food. I want to have a table outside, to see people (the one that are six feet away, of course), to hear the sound of a busy kitchen. I want to smile when I see the waiter approaching with my dish. I want to spend great moments at a nice table with my friends or my kids. I want to enjoy my French food made by the ones that really know how to make it.

I know, I know, the chances of going back to the normal we knew before all this are really slim. So I’m ready to jump on anything that can remind me of what was normal before. Food is great for that.

And I want to make you hungry too. That’s why our new episode of Rendez-vous d’Amérique is about Bouillabaisse, Cassoulet and Macaroons. We want you to be hungry again. For food… For life… And you’ll see, our new normal could be really close to the old one…

To learn more about outdoor French cuisine and French culture in America, tune in to Rendez-vous d’Amérique on TV5MONDE USA. Click here for more information.

Exploring cultural diversity in safe, socially-distanced, outdoor and digital experiences, Rendez-vous d'Amérique invites you on a journey to discover Francophone culture in America. Your host on this cultural experience is Didier Allouch - reporter, amateur chef, and a familiar face on the red carpet. Click here to learn how you can subscribe to TV5MONDE USA and never miss an episode!