I have no professional training in cooking as such. In fact, I started my career in IT [Information Technology] as a Database Designer and a Software Engineer! But I’ve been cooking on my own since I was about twelve years old.
I moved to Paris, France in 1986, and lived there until 1993. I traveled throughout Europe and North America for quite a few months in ’93, before moving to the UK at the end of that year to set up my own company [a strategic IT consulting company]. I then lived in London for about 13 years, and in Liverpool for over two years before returning to my homeland, the beautiful province of Québec in Canada.
That’s me, the EpicureanPiranha, glass of wine in hand, sharing a wonderful meal with my friends and former colleagues in the beautiful city of Nantes, located on the Loire Estuary near the Atlantic coast. They share my love of good food, and they had invited me out for a memorable dinner at one of Nante’s many fine restaurants.
I traveled extensively around Europe during that time, discovering beautiful places, people, cultures, and of course, their wonderful foods and cooking methods! I have the most wonderful souvenirs, and thousands of photos – alas, there were no digital cameras in those days, so these are all sitting in boxes and suitcases, mostly unclassified! I will get to them some day … but in the meantime, I will share with you more recent photographs of Europe that I’ve taken over the past few years.
Having been away from Canada for so long, I have few photos of this lovely country, but I plan on taking many in the future!
Sometimes I wonder if there are many people like me who read cookbooks as they would a novel! I can’t pass through a bookstore or shop that has interesting cookbooks without browsing through them intently so as to find a new specimen, despite having hundreds of beautiful cookbooks in my collection. In fact, I’ve acquired some fabulous cooking volumes from all over Europe and North America, many of them from fine restaurants dedicated to me by the chef. I also own a few very old, prized volumes, which I’ve acquired from my family or old bookshops. These have been a great source for both learning and inspiration ove the years. As you will discover, I love making all sorts of foods, from savoury to sweet, and from all over the world! ♥ I must admit, however, that I have a special fondness for gorgeous, rich cakes, anything Italian, and spicy Asian foods ♥
Blogging and WordPress are completely new to me. I finally decided to make use of the web space I’d been paying for for some time, and set about designing this blog at the end of April 2010 with the help of a customizable template I purchased. I have to admit it took me some time to figure it out, but within a week I had a look which I liked, and had published my first article. I hope you enjoy the design and the cool navigation and search features ♥ [find out more about this under the heading 'Finding What You Want' which you'll see under the FAQ button; you'll find the FAQ button on the top Navigation Bar under the logo at the top of each page].
I do all of my own photography. Though I am not a professional by any means, photography is one of my passions and I’m finally doing more of it! All the food you see on this website was prepared by me [unless otherwise mentioned] and if it was a main course, it probably disappeared into my tummy [and quite probably those of family members or friends] very soon after the photos were taken!
Please view my Licensing policy if you are interested in using any of my work. Thank you!
Currently using:
Canon EOS 60D
Canon EF-S 18-135 mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Hoya UV(c) filter
Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM
Hoya UV(O) filter
Canon EOS Rebel XSi [ie: Canon 450D depending on where you live]
Canon EF-S 18-200 mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Sigma UV filter
Sigma DG C-PL polarising filter
Canon PowerShot SD 1400 IS (tiny & easy to carry around all the time)
For some of my older photos:
Canon PowerShot A95
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Hello,
Thank you for a really wonderful Foodie website.
I can’t Ping because I have no idea what that is ;-)
It seems as though we are kindred spirits in many respects and I was interested to read that you have friends in Nantes, which is where I am at present.
I have looked at some of your recipes and I was very happy to discover that your methods are broadly the same as those which I have learned myself. For me, that is encouraging!
I look forward to discovering more of your delightful creations. The mark of a great cook, or chef, is someone who creates wonderful dishes. I can’t hope to do that myself.
My thing is to try my level best to follow a Michalak, or Raymond Blanc recipe and do it justice. I have recently, FINALLY!, got the Macaron story sorted, and now I’m working on a rather complicated Pierre Herme Neutral Glaze recipe which forms part of a Glacage miroir au Chocolat “Hyper brillant!”. Gelatin seems to be the magic ingredient. We will see!
If you have not seen it already, there is another excellent website created by a Swiss-Italian, François-Xavier, called FXcuisine. I am sure that you will love it.
Thank you very much again. This website is a gem!
Hello Black Dog !
What a lovely message to read! Thank you so much for your encouragement and compliments – it means a lot to me!
I am so sorry that I have made you wait all this time for a reply. The truth is I decided to embark upon a new career in Real Estate, and since January 2013, I haven’t had much time to create recipes or write culinary blog articles (although mine are always quite short as you may have noticed!), let alone take photos of things I do make and find the time to process them.
However, since that time I now have a fabulous new white kitchen with so much more room to work and where everything is super organized, so I will be getting back into publishing what I make, even if it may be slow at first! I do have lots of recipes and photographs I’ve never had the time to publish because I had no time to write up the recipes and create the blog articles, so watch out for some of these soon!
Naturally, I know all the chefs you’ve mentioned (except for François-Xavier whom I plan to look up – thxs for the tip!), and have acquired several of their cookbooks (I have a huge library to inspire me!). What you’re doing is the perfect way to learn. Eventually, you’ll find that you’ll want to try something on your own, and discover you’ve created a terrific recipe!
I had the pleasure of finally visiting Nantes in 2010 – I’d travelled there several times for work, but had never really visited before. It’s a beautiful little city and I loved the architecture of the historical buildings. And what a great foodie heaven! I really enjoyed living in Europe. Am now back in Canada, living just outside of Montréal, Qc, since end of 2008.
Take care and hope to hear from you again !
~ marie, the EpicureanPiranha
Coucou Marie !!
Votre Blog est délicieux !!
Vos plats font rêver !!
J’aime les bons mets..
Là j’ai un vin cuit Mas Amiel, 15 ans d’âge, titrant à 16°, une oeuvre d’art !!
Je suis ravie, cher Drecci :-) Et quel beau vin pour accompagner un dessert au chocolat noir!