Jane Bertch’s The French Ingredient: Making a Life in Paris One Lesson at a Time is a love letter to Paris told through food, friendship, and the hard-won lessons of starting over in a new culture. As someone who has lived abroad, it felt like reading a friend’s journal. I saw my own expat journey reflected in her story: the excitement, the frustrations, the longing for home, and the moments of joy.
Routines vs. Revelations
One of my favorite passages is when Bertch admits she walked the same route through Paris day after day, too intimidated to turn off course. Later, she realizes she had been just missing the Jardin du Palais-Royal, one of the city’s most elegant gardens.
That detail hit close to home. When we moved from one Porto neighborhood to another, I kept going to Norte Shopping out of habit. Only months later did I realize we were within walking distance of one of Porto’s most famous shopping streets, Rua de Santa Catarina. I passed near it almost every time I went to Mercado do Bolhão for fresh produce. Like Bertch, I was so locked into my routine that I missed what was right in front of me.
A Memoir That’s Also a Guide
The French Ingredient is more than a personal story; cultural insights and travel tips are packed within it. Bertch explains the three ways to say oui (from a formal “yes” to the more casual “ouais” to what she calls the “inhaled oui”), the unspoken rules of pouring wine at dinner, and why you should never expect your plate to be cleared before everyone at the table has finished.
Every chapter ends with a tip or astuce. Tips for navigating the manners of Paris are seamlessly woven in throughout. As a reader, you’re entertained, but you’re also learning how to move through Paris with a bit more grace.
When Meals Mean More
For Bertch, her cooking school, La Cuisine Paris, and food became the passion that rooted her in Paris. It was her big reason to stay, a business that gave her a sense of belonging, even when so much else about expat life felt uncertain. “It was proof that I belonged, that I could make a life for myself in the city I’d fallen deeply in love with.”
At her school, Bertch, her business partner, and the chefs she hired help tourists gain a deeper understanding of French food and life. “My foremost objective was to give our clients an experience, a souvenir (which in French translates directly to ‘memory’).” She does the same for readers of her book. Bertch writes about Mont d’Or, “the king of winter fromage,” and how seasons are marked by what shows up at the market—the arrival of strawberries and asparagus in late spring, for example. There are several reminders of the importance of slowing down, savoring, and taking the time to be present with whomever you’re dining, drinking coffee, or a glass of wine with.
The Weight of a Holiday Meal
The pumpkin pie I baked for our first Thanksgiving in Portugal.One of the moments that stayed with me was Bertch’s story of trying to celebrate Thanksgiving in Paris. Turkeys were nearly impossible to find in late November, and when she finally tracked one down, it felt like a military operation. She wrote about the sacred cans of Libby’s pumpkin expats carried across the Atlantic. It doesn’t matter how carefully you roast fresh pumpkin; it’s not the same. Food is never just food when you’re far from home.
Reading that, I was right back in Portugal. Our first year abroad, we celebrated Thanksgiving three times in the Algarve, surrounded by other Americans who understood what the holiday meant. Even so, getting a can of Libby’s Pure Pumpkin was next to impossible. I tried baking pumpkin pie with roasted pumpkins, but it turned out disappointing. Relatives brought cans of pumpkin with them when they visited us in January, so we baked up Chris’s favorite dessert then. Celebrating Thanksgiving as Expats in Portugal.
The second year in Porto was different—we hadn’t found “our people” yet. I cried through the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. At least the pumpkin pie was better. During our summer trip back home, we bought a few cans of Libby’s Pure Pumpkin and brought them to Porto.
Why Travelers Will Love This Book
The French Ingredient will inspire your next Paris trip. Bertch takes you to the legendary cookware shop E. Dehillerin, to the pretty Café de la Paix, a place Oscar Wilde and Émile Zola frequented. She describes flea markets where bargaining is expected, and a pâtisserie where tradition goes back to the 1700s. Reading these pages, I wanted to book a flight, not just to see Paris again, but to experience it through her eyes, with a deeper understanding of its rhythms and rituals.
The French Ingredient is funny, honest, and endlessly practical. It will make you want to savor your coffee in a ceramic cup, ask what cheese is in season, and maybe even take a cooking class at La Cuisine Paris. I know I want to!
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