The American Woman Who Teaches the French How to Cook French Food

CNN
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For many people, the thought of moving to France usually conjures up dreams of romance or – since it’s a land of Michelin stars and café culture – food.

American Jane Satow has found both. What’s more, in a country known for its contempt for foreign cuisine, she’s also found work teaching locals how to cook.

Satow, 56, left her home in Virginia two decades ago to start a new life in the idyllic Provence region of southern France.

Coming from a family of farmers with a passion for the kitchen, she worked in the catering industry before moving there, and her love of food fuelled her ambition to one day move to the French region renowned for its Mediterranean menus as well as its vast fields of bright purple lavender.

“My first job was in restaurants and I ended up working in a few fine dining restaurants (in the U.S.), which sparked my passion for good food, wine and cooking,” she tells CNN.

Satow attended a cooking school in Colorado, where she took a course in French cooking techniques and joined a “really nerdy weekly wine club.”

Eventually, after a brief stint in Chile, her British husband’s job forced the couple to move across the Atlantic, and in 2005 they moved near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, a picturesque town south of medieval Avignon, where they raised three children.

“Moving to Provence was a dream come true for me and I haven’t regretted it since,” she says.

The marriage did not last, but after the divorce she decided to stay.

“I really love my adopted country and even at the risk of being left alone, although I have many dear French friends, I was absolutely certain that I would stay in France.”

Satow met her new “handsome” French partner, Christophe Daumas, in 2019 at a salsa class and says he literally “knocked her off her feet” like a fairy tale.

She credits Daumas with helping her realize her long-time desire to share her knowledge about food with others.

“Since I arrived in France, I had been dreaming of opening a teaching kitchen and eventually, with Christophe’s support and encouragement, I started looking for a place where I could buy a dedicated space where I could offer cooking classes.”

In 2019, Satow found a neglected 17th-century townhouse in the historic center of Saint-Rémy, but had to put the renovation and opening of the school on hold during the pandemic.

Though she was disappointed, she admitted that she used the time to come up with new recipes and test old ones in her new kitchen.

Her venture, La Cuisine Provençal, finally opened in 2021. She says she now has customers from all over the world, mostly tourists coming to Provence for the first time, but also locals.

In winter, when there are fewer tourists, we offer activities aimed at the French, such as preparing a Christmas meal from A to Z and foie gras four faces (in four ways).”

Satow holds title of residence, a kind of French green card that gives her the right to reside and work, and now, after almost 20 years of living in Provence, she plans to apply for French citizenship.

She initially had trouble learning the language, but now she speaks French fluently.

She still lives in the country house she shared with her ex-husband in Egalières, a village 12 kilometres (about 7 miles) from Saint-Rémy, which she also rents out to holidaymakers in the summer.

When the house is full of guests, Satow moves to her old house in Saint-Rémy, where the “kitchen” is located.

“I was very lucky to buy this terraced house before the COVID-19 pandemic, because since then property prices have increased by about 30% as many Parisians have subsequently started buying second homes in Provence,” she says.

She paid €200,000 (about $222,000 at today’s exchange rate) for the 85-square-meter historic townhouse and spent another €60,000 renovating the 30-square-meter kitchen on the ground floor and two bedrooms on the upper floors.

“It was a dream come true and I never imagined we would be such a huge success,” she says of her cooking school venture.

“Christophe made me think that moving to France was my destiny. He helped me realize my dream of starting a cooking school by doing all the renovations himself – as he is a contractor. It was truly a labor of love that we poured our hearts and souls into. I honestly don’t think I could have done it without his support.”

He says he prefers to teach authentic local cuisine with a few twists.

“For me, it’s important to pay tribute to the local Provençal cuisine, which has developed over hundreds of years and is still prepared by locals in their homes.”

Satow admits that she initially feared that, as an outsider, her attempts at classic French cuisine would be rebuffed.

“When I first moved to France as an American, although a lover of good food, I was completely intimidated by French chefs and couldn’t imagine competing with them.

“I’ve learned so much since then, mostly on my own – cooking and reading hundreds of recipes, learning lots of tips and discovering French regional dishes, taking lots of cooking classes over the years in France and tasting wines at domaines.”

The French, he says, are passionate about food. It’s their favorite topic of discussion, and whether you’re at the butcher’s or the cheesemonger’s, they’ll tell you what their favorite dish is with whatever you’re buying that day.

She describes herself as a traditionalist who likes to stick to classic French cuisine, but with a touch of nouvelle cuisine, characteristic of French culinary culture.

“It’s important to me, meter of value (make relevant or allow to shine) local traditional recipes which I have clarified a bit.”

La Cuisine Provençal offers group cooking classes in English and French for up to 50 participants and also hosts private dinners.

Only fresh ingredients from a 50-kilometer radius and local farmers are used. They also use a lot of local olive oil and very little cream or butter.

Satow feels fortunate to have access to amazing lamb, fresh Mediterranean fish, and farm-raised, grass-fed poultry and meat. She says the French take great pride in raising their cattle, with the animals often grazing Provencal herbs which grow naturally and add flavor to meat and cheese.

Her signature dishes include lamb Provençal with roasted tomatoes, guinea fowl with creamy chanterelle sauce and fried green beans, and sea bass aioli The beurre monté style (in butter), fried zucchini flowers and cup of white wine (chicken with white wine and cocoa beans).

One of her must-have dishes is raw vegetables with traditional Provençal anchoïade, as well as a “wonderful” raw vegetable dip made with homemade garlic mayonnaise and pickled anchovies.

Other dishes he teaches include fresh grilled sardines on toast with garlic, roasted red peppers and parsley, and steamed cod The beurre monté style with fresh thyme.

Her eggplant caviar is very popular among guests – it contains baked eggplant, baked garlic, the best local extra virgin olive oil, lemon, salt flower from Camargue, freshly ground pepper and fresh basil.

“I took those recipes and refined them, using the nouvelle cuisine and chef techniques I learned in the U.S., as well as adding my own personal touches,” she says.

For example, Satow blanches green beans for four minutes, then sautés them in garlic and olive oil to add some color and flavor, giving them a slightly more cooked-through appearance than al dente.

To make her special ratatouille, she sautés each vegetable separately, because each requires a different cooking method—lightly brown the zucchini and squash over high heat in a light coating of olive oil, slowly roast the tomatoes separately in the oven to enhance their flavor, fry the eggplant over high heat until nicely browned, and lightly char the red pepper and onion.

“Then I mix all the vegetables together and add a little wine vinegar, salt, freshly ground coarse peppercorns and lots of fresh basil.”

Apart from good food and romance, living in the south of France has other advantages.

The cost of living is much lower than in the U.S., Satow says. For example, fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as specialty items such as French cheeses, cold cuts and wine, are much cheaper.

Saint-Remy was an easy choice, he says.

“It’s very charming and has a unique light. I fell in love with the countryside, the olive trees and the lavender fields.”

But the beginning was not that simple.

In addition to the language barrier, she had to face a number of bureaucratic obstacles and overcome some cultural differences.

“A bureaucratic challenge was having to provide proof of residence to open a bank account, for example when we had just moved to France and did not yet have permanent residence.

“It was a little difficult… it just took some time.”

According to Satow, the biggest problem for foreigners, especially Americans, is the French tendency to say “no” right away before considering whether something can be solved.

“Perseverance, a positive attitude and the desire to find a solution are essential,” he adds.