Cassoulet confessions:
an evening with sylvie bigar, Vincent Francoual, Morgan Baum and Lynne Rossetto Kasper
Join us for an evening dedicated to cassoulet — one of the staples of French country cuisine!
This event is for Alliance Française members and invited guests only.
Panel discussion with Sylvie Bigar, Vincent Francoual and Morgan Baum
Moderator Lynne Rossetto Kasper
Cassoulet tasting- made by our very own Chef Raymond Espuche!
Ticket price: $60 - price includes entrance fee, Sylvie Bigar’s book and cassoulet tasting.
Cassoulet Confessions is an enthralling memoir by award-winning food and travel writer Sylvie Bigar that reveals how a simple journalistic assignment sparked a culinary obsession and transcended into a quest for identity. Set in the stunning southern French countryside, this honest and poignant memoir conveys hunger for authentic food and a universal hunger for home.
In Cassoulet Confessions, Sylvie travels across the Atlantic from her home in New York to the origin of cassoulet – the Occitanie region of Southern France. There she immerses herself in all things cassoulet: the quintessential historic meat and bean stew. From her first spoonful, she is transported back to her dramatic childhood in Geneva, Switzerland, and finds herself journeying through an unexpected rabbit hole of memories. Not only does she discover the deeper meanings of her ancestral French cuisine, but she is ultimately transformed by having to face her unsettling, complex family history.
Sylvie’s simple but poetic prose immerses us in her story: we smell the simmering aromas of French kitchens, empathise with her family dilemmas, and experience her internal struggle to understand and ultimately accept herself.
Sylvie Bigar was born in Geneva, Switzerland, and lives in New York City. Her writing has appeared widely, including in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Food & Wine, Forbes.com, Saveur, Bon Appetit, Edible, Departures, Travel & Leisure, and National Geographic Traveler. In French, Sylvie has contributed to Le Figaro, Histoire magazine, Le Temps and FrenchMorning.com
Vincent Francoual is a highly renowned chef with roots in Southwestern France. He’s spent his entire life in kitchens, from France and Italy to Le Bernardin in NYC and Un Deux Trois in Minneapolis. He started his own restaurant, Vincent a Restaurant, on Nicollet Avenue which ran successfully for nearly 15 years. Most recently he’s been the Executive Chef at Minikahda Country Club. He just opened Chloe by Vincent, a new casual French restaurant in Downtown Minneapolis created by with Restore Restaurant Holdings and restaurateur Erik Forsberg.
Co-Owner of Clay Coyote Pottery, a small pottery shop in Hutchinson, Minnesota, Morgan Baum designed a new modern, handmade cassole for people who are unable to travel to the village of Mas-Saintes-Puelles to get one from Poterie Not Freres, the oldest pottery in the South of France which is the only place in France where the cassole is still made by hand. In fact, the cassoulet gets its name from the cassole or casserole that’s used to cook this classic dish – a deep, round, earthenware vessel with a narrow base and slanting sides that flare out to a wide top that maximises exposure to the oven’s heat, thus helping to form the cassoulet’s signature crust.
Lynne Rossetto Kasper is an American food writer and radio journalist. She was the founding host of the American Public Media program The Splendid Table, whose targeted audience is "people who love to eat." The weekly program features a series of interviews with chefs, restaurateurs, and wine experts. In 1993, Kasper won the James Beard Cookbook of the Year Award for her book The Splendid Table: Recipes from Emilia Romagna, The Heartland of Northern Italian Food. Her radio show has won the prestigious James Beard Award on two occasions: in 1998 for Best National Radio Show and 2008 for Best Radio Food Show. There is also a tomato variety, a hybrid of Matt's Wild Cherry and Black Krim, named after her.
Merci à nos sponsors !
Since their founding in 1985, D'artagnan has remained dedicated to putting only the finest meats on the tables of American gastronomes. At the vanguard of the farm-to-table movement, they are the leading purveyor of foie gras, game meat, organic poultry, pâtés, sausages and smoked delicacies in the nation.
Bourget Imports is a specialty wine distributor located in Eagan, Minnesota. Established in 2004, their goal has always been to be the leading distributor of premium wines in the region by offering their clients exceptional value and service. They achieve this every day in their unparalleled customer service and extensive knowledge of our producers and products. They support their customers with education, events, tastings, marketing support, and showcase their selections by bringing the cultural experience and stories they have collected in their travels, and translate them to their own food and wine scene.
Merci for your generous sponsorship of our cassoulet event!
Registration below.
Please note that you will need to create a free account on afmsp.org to register to the event (creating an account doesn’t mean you are becoming a member)
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