Food Bloggers Unplugged

I'd like to thank Susan from A little bit of Heaven on a plate for starting this lovely game of interviews and Julia from Eat healthy but tasty for tagging me!

The idea is to answer the questions below and then to tag 5 other food bloggers.  C'est parti !!!

1. What/Who inspired you to start a blog?

Last year, my friend Fabienne from Lost in London insisted that I should start a food blog about my recipes and all the places  that I like in London. I wasn't really sure about it. I didn't know if I would have enough time for the blog. 

But in the last days of June 2011, I won a cake design contest for the London Wildlife Trust's 30th anniversary, so I decided to start Food For Thoughts. 

Being a garden designer, I just wanted to have some fun and designed a cake combining my two passions (biodiversity and cakes). I was really surprised to win this contest and had to face quite a challenge : I had 12 days to organize myself and bake a cake for a hundred of guests!!! So I started the blog as a diary, destined first to my friends who supported me. Everything went really well and since then I continued blogging about recipes, events, and places that I liked in London.

2. Who is your foodie inspiration?

I don't think I have a foodie inspiration. I discovered Jamie Oliver 3 years ago. I like his approach of cooking : everything is about feeling, a pinch of this, a tablespoon of that, and lots of improvisation. I watch lots of cooking TV shows during  the weekend and since this summer, I spend a lot of time on food blogs!

3. Your greasiest, batter splattered food/drink book is?

My recipe notebook ! I'm currently in the process of rewriting it. I don't usually use or even own cooking books. I prefer to browse the net to find new recipes. And I have a pile of pieces of paper with recipes written on. Some of them dating back to my teenage years! But I must admit that in the recent weeks it seems like I started a collection of baking books...

4. Tell us about the best thing you have ever eaten in another country, where was it, what was it?

I think I will always remember my holidays in Italy, 8 years ago, with my friend Lise. We spent two fabulous weeks in Milan and in Como, discovering beautiful places and eating wonderful simple products. The juiciest tomatoes, the tastiest chicken cooked by the mama with olive oil, delicious prosciutto paninis, fantastic pizzas and amazing gelato! Oh my, I'm hungry now!

5. Another food bloggers table you would like to eat at is?

Well, I met some food bloggers last week at Vanessa Kimbell's Let Make Christmas and I'll be happy to meet them again for coffee or lunch. And I love Joudi Kalla's food at Baity Kitchen : I'm sure it should be really nice having a lunch at her table!

6. What is the one kitchen gadget you would ask Santa for this year (money no object of course)?

A whole new set of pans! Professional ones please!! With lids! Not very glamorous but essential.

7. Who taught you how to cook?

I think I learn by myself. My mother and father cook a lot too, but not the same things. My mother is more about the everyday cooking but when there's a special occasion, my father likes to spend all day long in the kitchen. He makes his own charcuterie, smoked salmon, foie gras, bread, pâtisserie... You name it, he tried it! My grand father worked in a bakery and my grand mother used to bake the most wonderful rhubarb pie and apple beignets. Maybe the love of cooking is genetic !

8. I’m coming to you for dinner. What’s your signature dish?

For dinner, are you sure... Well, if you can make it a bit earlier I'd be happy to prepare a lovely afternoon tea for you : sandwiches, scones, jam, choux buns and a wonderful Victoria Sponge, all homemade. But if you insist to come for dinner, I have a golden roast chicken for you, stuffed with pork, mushrooms, shallots and a splash of madeira.

9. What is your guilty food pleasure?

Pasta. Pasta. Pasta. And sushis !

10. Reveal something about yourself that others would be surprised to learn? 

I started learning Japanese when I moved in London 2 years ago.

Now to pass on the challenge to 5 other food bloggers...#foodbloggersunplugged

@VanessaKimbell - Vanessa Kimbell
@completedelish - Annalise
@jaxies - Jackie Lee
@BaityKitchen - Joudie Kalla Anagnou

@cacahuete - Fanny Zanotti