Christmas is coming and here's something to whet your taste buds: A life rubbed with garlic, the Provençal cuisine of yesterday and tomorrowpublished by Éditions de L'Epure, by Gui Gedda. Book for which the Chef received the La Mazille 2024 Prize in Périgueux last November.
A beautiful life rubbed with garlic, of course, but be careful, with pink garlic, the kind found in Bouches-du-Rhône and the Var. We could also add to this title a life flavored with herbs from Provence! Because the love of Provençal cuisine, at this level, is more than love. Gui Gedda “embodies” this cuisine. This young 92-year-old giant has had several restaurants in Bormes-les-Mimosas. Cooking is certainly a gift, but with the Geddas, it's above all family, it's in the genes.
Yes, for at least three or four generations, it has been a 'poor' cuisine, but a cuisine that had an extraordinary scent. And with my brother, with my brother, and already dad, we wanted to do this cooking a little more advanced, but without revolutionizing anything, without putting cream, garlic or in the bouillabaisse that you see… We wanted to do well while remaining very Provençal.'
His father had a restaurant in Bormes, and of course expected him to take over, but he sent his son to study in Marseille in a palace equivalent to the Carlton of the time, Le Grand Hôtel Noailles, which has disappeared today. And it was there, and therefore a little thanks to him, and having a longing for family and “country”, that he began to write recipes.
“Ah yes, I was feeling blue because really, we are very family. I had a little brother who is 11 years younger than me, I missed everyone, and especially the village of Bormes, which is bloodthirsty, and I was really feeling blue And then one day, I came home in the evening almost whimpering and I thought of my grandmother, when she was playing the wolf paw, and I said to myself. : but why shouldn't I write down his recipe? And from that evening, I saw that, instead of whining, I was writing, I was writing. And that evening, I hadn't thought. to my family, and I was happy to start again in the evening. That's where I wrote my first book. I must have been 17 years old.
Since then there have been so many others, A life rubbed with’ail is his 21st book. And it is not for nothing that he is nicknamed ''The Pope of Provençal cuisine'': this book is a true culinary bible, a tribute to cuisine with Mediterranean flavors, 600 pages long and 500 recipes !
It must be said that ''Le Pagnol de la cuisine française'' really has the art of mixing recipes, traditions, and funny anecdotes, worthy of scenes from Caesar.
Our ''mistralian of the ovens'', another of his multiple nicknames, also likes sharing and meeting people, and they were there. The souvenir photos included in this book bear witness to this. Personalities like Yul Brynner, Deborah Kerr, Jean Seberg, Otto Preminger, Mylène Demongeot, have enjoyed his Provençal dishes.
For Gui Gedda “Provençal cuisine is clever, colorful, tasty, colorful, powerful and digestible.” And what is his favorite dish?
“Right away, I'll tell you it's ratatouille, it's something, It's vegetables, It's really Provence. We use olive oil, there are tomatoes and eggplant, zucchini and onions naturally, because we're talking about tomatoes in general. But if it weren't for the onions, I don't know. For example, if I was told. asks for the greatest recipe in the kitchen Provençal, it would be feet packed à la Marseillaise.”
The famous package feet can be found in A life rubbed with garlicjust like the 13 Christmas desserts that there is still time to prepare!
The simple kitchen of the cabin by Alain Biles, published by Les Presses du midi, because it is full of sunshine, as Gui Gedda says.
The entire interview with Gui Gedda (15 minutes) can be found at the top of this page on franceinfo.fr
Happy reading and happy holidays!
