Someone's In The Kitchen With Claudia

Claudia and me in the kitchen

As promised, you've got me, Priscilla, writing a post today. If you've been keeping up on our adventures, you know that we reconnected on the first day in Paris, with our friend and chef, Claudia Cabri. Claudia is a Canadian who moved to Paris twenty-some years ago for art school and never left. She runs a popular food stall called Babbaluscio, in the covered market, Marché Beauvau, in our neighborhood. On Thursdays, Claudia takes online orders from customers and then is a whirlwind in the kitchen for the next two days preparing beautiful and nourishing food. When her new menu came out on Tuesday, I took one look at it and remarked to Tom that it was incredibly ambitious! I messaged Claudia straight away to let her know I was available to help her in the kitchen if needed. Early Friday morning, we got a message from Claudia taking me up on my offer! As it turns out, she was going to be shorthanded that week. Lucky me, I worked Friday and Saturday and I had a ball!

Again, you don't read about these opportunities in the guidebooks. How fortunate to be allowed to assist a gifted chef and friend in her kitchen at one of the oldest covered markets in all of Paris! I chopped rhubarb and strawberries for compote, formed veggie balls, washed and peeled carrots for Claudia's famous carrot salad, peeled and sliced pears and figs for strudel and washed a few pots and pans in between. On Saturday, Marie, a young college student and a family friend, also assisted in the kitchen, and the three of us prepared, cooked, and packaged a ton of lovely food! I will not be hired as a sous chef anytime soon, but as Jimmy Stewart says, I was a steady worker. Claudia is the Queen of creative food and it shows by the constant stream of customers all day long.

​This is our last week with Claudia before she heads off to her Italian island south of Sicily for a month of rejuvenation, painting her beautiful designs for pottery, harvesting capers and perhaps some menu planning for customers eagerly awaiting her return. Merci, Claudia! Until we meet again!

A customer collecting his order