Gourmand Awards ceremony

For the last three years I have been unable to accept my invitation to the gala evening held for the Gourmand Awards ceremony. It was held in Malaysia in 2006 (when Éloïse was a few weeks old), in China in 2007 (Yohann was due a week later) and in Sweden in 2008 (I was back at work but pregnant with no holiday).

Eventually this year, the timing and place worked for me and I was able to attend the event in Paris on July 1st with my husband and our 3-month-old baby Émeric. We took part in the evening alongside 350 other award-winning food writers and publishers from all over the world (selected from nearly 7000 cookbook submissions worldwide).

In addition to being a great opportunity to make contacts, the evening offered some fantastic food, drinks and a play by famous writer Molière at "La Comédie Française", the French National Theatre that was reserved by the Gourmand Awards for the occasion. What a great evening, see some pictures on the right.

Our summer in France

We used the opportunity to spend the cold winter months in the southern hemisphere in France. It was lovely to be together with our families again and for them to see our youngest children for the first time.

The weather was fantastic all the way through with only one rainy day over 2 1/2 months and hot temperatures. We made the most of the sandy beaches and fishing and diving spots located just a few minutes from where we were staying at one end of the "baie de La Baule", one of the most famous beach resort in Europe (and the longest sandy beach) which attracts loads of tourists every year and biked with the kids the whole time.

Thankfully most of our stay took place before the tourists started flocking in (mostly from mid-July) so we could make the most of everything, including enjoying seafood my dad and husband went catching (seabass, oysters, clams, crabs), without having to put up with a crowd. I had plenty of time to study gastronomy at its best and work on my new cookbook, in the best possible conditions. See a slideshow of a few of the photos taken during our stay, including some of the Gourmand awards, above.