My name is Marie and I’m a graphic designer, writer, translator and food enthusiast. I live in Quebec City, Canada.
I first started FoodNouveau.com back in 2001, fresh out of graphic design school. I wanted to practice my design skills and build my own website – but about what? I had just started working in a software company and was making a bit of money (finally), which I was almost completely spending on cookbooks and magazine subscriptions. I was salivating over them and reading them as if they were novels. Soon I discovered that when I went online, I found many recipes but not many inspiring pictures to go along with them. Being highly visual, I started a website which was really my online recipe binder, where I published my favorite recipes with pictures and short comments.
Over time, I worked more and more, quitting my job and going freelance, while also undertaking a translation degree. As you might guess, I ended up severely lacking in time to update my website. I stopped maintaining it in 2006, right after I founded an industrial/graphic/interior design company with an associate. It didn’t stop me from pursuing my passion for food, though, as from 2005 to 2009 I managed a small cooking school, located in a quaint Quebec City suburb called Cap-Rouge. We first built a model kitchen as a showroom to demonstrate our interior design skills on the ground floor of the ancestral house we called our offices, and it ended up also acting also as a playground for the chefs who would come and teach classes several nights a week. I worked hand in hand with extremely talented chefs to build a new program every season, and I edited, designed and printed class booklets every week.
Since 2005, I have traveled my way around the world with the fantastic guy who has been sharing my life for 10 11 12 years now (that would be Eric). In early 2009, we had the fabulous opportunity to live in Paris for five months. This enchanting experience made me feel a strong urge to work as a freelance again, and recover the freedom to travel whenever I want and wherever I can. Loving writing (as I was doing it on a daily basis for my work and for a couple of personal projects I had underway), it seemed clear to me that the time had come to revive Food Nouveau as a blog in which I would chronicle my many travels, discoveries and cooking experiences.
Food Nouveau is about the deep pleasure to be found in eating, discovering new flavors, experimenting with them and tasting your way around the world.
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Q&A
Are you French or English?
I’m Canadian, born in the French-speaking province of Quebec. My mother tongue is French, and Quebec’s culture is very much influenced and inspired by our French “cousins” (and founders), but also by our North-American neighbors. I believe us Québécois are in a lucky position: we benefit from the North-American culinary creativity and diversity while also retaining some of France’s food heritage (which is probably there are so many great cheese producers over here!).
What does “Food Nouveau” mean?
It is a nice little “franglish” (français/English) wordplay I heard in a song by a New York band founded by two Japanese women, Cibo Matto. I thought it represented my heritage perfectly, while suggesting that I love moving forward, staying ahead of the trends, never settling down and always making new discoveries.
Why do you write in English if your mother tongue is French?
I’ve been reading English magazines and books as far back as I can remember. As a teenager, I spent all the money I earned from delivering newspapers buying fashion and design magazines. Later, as a young adult, I spent all my money buying food magazines and cookbooks. I naturally gravitated toward English publications, not because there weren’t great offerings in French, but because I’ve always loved languages, and I was hungry to master English with the secret hope I’d use that skill professionally later on. It turns out I did become a writer and a translator, so when I started my blog, I decided to write in English because native French speakers are not commonly hired to translate into English or asked to write in English. As such, I wanted to showcase my skills—and to keep on practicing and honing them as well. Languages are like muscles: you must use them, or you’ll lose them.
What is the WordPress theme your blog uses?
I created it. I spent a lot of time looking for a theme that would be a perfect fit for my blog, but something was always bugging me. I ended up building it from scratch and I’m really proud of it. Being a graphic designer, I’m used to creating websites, but working for myself is always hard (I’m a tough client to please!).
Pssst… If you’re struggling with your site or your blog too, I can help! From a simple header to a completely new site, we can work together to make your online presence look like you. Interested? Send me a line and we’ll chat!
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I’m a proud member of…
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For a complete listing of where I’ve been featured as a writer or a blogger, please visit my Press page.
Want to advertise on Food Nouveau? Please visit my Advertise page.
Want to chat about collaborations or anything delicious? Contact me.
Also: Find me on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram and Pinterest.