I enjoyed very much this journey through the Provence: beautiful landscapes (Plateau de Valensole, Digne, Moustiers Sainte-Marie, the Verdon Gorge, Aubagne, the mountains, and Marseille) and nice encounters.
Let's begin with the cuisine of Provence: I appreciate very much the humoristic comment of François Tessari about the bouillabaisse: the garlic and the onions came from Central Asia, the eggplant came from India, the tomatoes and peppers came from Central America and the zucchini came from the south of North America and then became the typical dish of Provence. Lydie Bel prepares every Sunday the bouillabaisse for her family and each family has its secret recipe.
The people of Provence enjoy very much eat in the open air: the picnic is a tradition of the families,Meva Muetton tells that the picnic brings memories of the moments on the beach. It's a moment of friendliness: Christian Chauvin (also called Calou) lives in an area of cabins near the sea and prepares every weekend melted goat cheese with a touch of pastis and herbs for the visitors.
The Provence cuisine is a tasteful cuisine: the Michelin star chef Jany Gleize says: "to taste better the food you have to smell: So Jany goes to the market and smells all the vegetables and fruits. He organizes cooking workshops: the dish of the day will be lamb meat prepared with garlic and savory.
Besides Olivier Bagarri (Université des Senteurs" explains that Provence has a rich biodiversity ( the encounter between the Alps and the Mediterranean sea): Olivier goes with Tahchka Sofer to the mountains to find aromatic plants: besides we now that the pastis is made with about 60 differents plants.
Another important food are the truffles: in Aups (Haut-Var) Philippe de Santis collects truffles: he explains the difference between the summer truffles used as spices for uncooked vegetables and the winter truffles (very expensive) used in cooked dishes: his brother Morgan manages a hotel-restaurant where the guests can taste many different dishes with summer truffles. To find the truffles Philippe goes to the oak forests and a dog helps him to find them.
In Marseille the Michelin star chef Gérald Passedat (Le Petit Nice) meets every day the fishermen at the port and buys fresh fishes: but also he meets often André Gouiran , a sheep breeder and buys sheep meat and sheep cheese for his restaurant.
Besides Laurianne Collange is a culinary guide in Marseille, she visit with the visitors the Libanese bakery (pita bread) and several spice shops at the Vieux-Port of Marseille.
I enjoyed also the zoom about Camille Lablee, the young sheep shepherd who will travel with 1.200 sheeps to the Alpine pasture (transhumance) and take care for them for 4 months.
I enjoyed the encounters of Sophie with Véronique Aveline and her family (the restored country house, the tapenade, the excursion to the Verdon Gorge , the canoeing on the Verdon river and the picnic), with Paolo Chabot and his family (the lavender fields, the essential oil of lavender), with Jean-Pierre Boyer (the grocer), with Marion Ravel Ravel in Aubagne (the pottery and the "dîner insolite " at the Font de Mai), with Jean-Gabriel Yung (the drone experience), with Olivier (La Table de l'Olivier) who delivers bouillabaisse, with Anne Garabdian, the culinary journalist (the Notre-Dame de la Garde church, the chocolate shop of Sylvain Depuchaffray, the visit of the Museum of the European and Mediterranean Civilisations) , with Vincent Eliot (La Tisanerie du Père Blaize) and with Ludovic Turac (another Michelin Star) who delivers picnic baskets and shares with Anne and Sophie one of these baskets: very nice encounters with very kind French men and women.