Many people talk about escaping the rat race and living somewhere different but, despite their best intentions, it remains a hopeful ideal and not something that will ever happen. American food writer Susan Herrmann Loomis was determined to make her own dream come true and, with the help of her husband, she set up home and cookery school in the small French town of Louviers during the 1990s. So far she has written two memoirs, with recipes, of her family life in France - 2002's On Rue Tatin and its follow-up, Tarte Tatin - and there's a cookbook, Cooking at Home on Rue Tatin, due out later this year. Susan kindly took some time out of her busy teaching, cooking and writing schedule to answer a selection of questions put to her by Bibliofemme's Historian.
Do you think that it's your perspective as an outsider that lets you appreciate the French attitude towards food so much?
I'm certain that has something to do with it, but I must say that the French friends I have appreciate food nearly as much as I do. They may be less curious - that's where my "foreign-ness" comes in.
How do you think that your attitude towards food has been informed by your time in France?
It has been heightened by living here. I'm more demanding of flavour, freshness, and while I never take any of it for granted, I'm simply not interested in eating food (I mean ingredients) that isn't top quality!
Tarte Tatin, like On Rue Tatin, is a document of your family life in a small French town but what makes it really special is the way that you scatter recipes throughout. Why do it this way? Why did you decide to write a memoir instead of another cookbook?
I consider myself a writer who loves food. I have always wanted to write, and my cookbooks have always included a great deal of prose. I had a story to tell, an editor who wanted to hear it, and an itch to do more writerly work!
The house that you live in - and your kitchen - sounds like an amazing place. Did you ever think of putting pictures of it, and Louviers, in the book?
Not really. I think that drawing the pictures with words was what I really wanted to do. You'll see some pictures of it in my latest book, Cooking At Home On Rue Tatin.
What other cookery writers do you admire?
Patricia Wells, Elizabeth David, Julia Child, Laura Shapiro, Marcella Hazan
Your book comes complete with the tagline "Nigella Lawson in Peter Mayle-land." Would these be two writers that you have anything in common with? I don't know either one, but I would say that I have an experience similar to Peter Mayle's, and a passion for cooking/teaching similar to Nigella Lawson.
The story of how you created the cookery school is fascinating. Do you ever worry that people will emulate your hard work and set up their own variation of On Rue Tatin? I haven't ever given it a thought!
Your book is a description of a life that seems like dream fulfilment to most people. Would you have any advice for those readers who dream, like you did, of setting up their own cookery school?
Absolutely. Be patient, persistent, and well-funded!
For more information on Susan Herrmann Loomis and her French cookery school On Rue Tatin check out her website at www.onruetatin.com
