Welcome to All Things French!

I can say this easily. When I listen to Laurent speak English, he makes it sound great. I have never heard "our language" spoken so eloquently. that said, I am not an eloquent person whatsoever. nor do I wish to be. see, I've already stopped using proper punctuation.

this blog is dedicated to amongst most things, food lovers. for most of my life I had not eaten exquisite food unless I had worked in that restaurant. such was the life of a paycheck to paycheck person who loved food and yes, worked in the food service industry. what I didn't know was, that I was a career entrepreneur who used the flexibility of the food industry to support my "habit", but that is another story.

French food. have you truly eaten any of it? yes? where? when? please lets not talk about fries either as pommes de terre frites, but more commonly pommes frites, patates frites, or simply frites, is French.

Wikipedia has a good history of fries article.

http://fleur-de-sel.weebly.com/ here is where you can experience French at its best locally and for more than reasonable prices. this literally undiscovered gem sits in a "destination only" location. I have driven right past this spot for almost 2 decades not knowing it was there. who knew Post Falls hid such treasure! less than 2 minutes off of exit 7 off I-90 in Idaho.

as someone who had spent decades in the food industry, I know quite a bit about food, service, cooking, but then I realized, not about the industry itself. how did it come into being? how long has it been in existence? you must know our country is not too old to begin with and of course our ancestry stems from Europe.

while wars and history are not my strongest subjects, okay not even close, the revolution and our history have much in common hence. food. yum. what a wonderful piece of life that ties so many binds into our relationships of life.

I am currently reading about France and its food history. who knew there was so much to learn when it comes to cheeses, champagne, food, cooking, restaurants, and so much more.

my life changed in the later 90's when a business I started as an independent contractor (sales rep) resulted fairly quickly into seven figures. this was done so from having nothing too. I had never been to vegas and soon was finding myself down there on business as we were in the seminar industry. to this day, vegas to me is great meal and a good show. the hotel I first stayed at has a French restaurant in the front of it. a classic one at that. the food was what I always thought French food would be. more than off the hook.

skipping forward to today. my business ventures progressed into my own ventures with incredible results by most persons standards. I have seen several continents and over 25 different countries. flying from 1997-2007 I eclipsed 1 million miles in the air. I tried French food in the Caribbean, south America, Italy, and all over the united states. mostly NYC and Vegas. corporate tax evasion took this adventure into my own "misadventure" for the last 3 years.

I am now out of prison and living in a halfway house. in doing so we must all get a job as part of our "programming". Laurent was kind enough despite my past felony to give me a chance at rebuilding. his generosity with his staff and food is practically legendary. he cooked us some treats and asked me what I thought. I couldn't help it. as I am eating this exquisite version of "foie gras", which I have eaten not only in the big city restaurants earlier mentioned, I have ordered it in and cooked it at home many times. as I was eating the food, (Foie Gras Panna Cotta) that was paired expertly with homemade rhubarb preserves, I thought I was rich again. it took me back to all the times I had eaten in NYC and vegas and all over the world. of course it delighted my taste buds to no end at that moment especially after a 3 year absence of real food and prison diet. I would not wish that upon anyone.

cheers to Laurent and his lovely wife Patricia who grace us with their love and mastery of food, service, and hospitality. ultimately it is a cheers to us who are able to celebrate culinary delights so modestly so close to home. if you have not eaten here, now is the time to come join us before it becomes a missed opportunity.

Stay tuned as we will discuss all things French in its history and present soon.

Au revoir. le plongeur. (please feel free to comment or question about this wonderful place)