When I look at a map of France, I’m astounded by how much land I still have yet to cover. I’ve hit France’s four largest cities (Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Toulouse), spent time in a few small towns in the South, visited Mont St. Michel and rubbed elbows with the chicest of chic in Deauville, Normandy (the bobo Parisian vacation standby), and stood before the wrought beauty of historic Châteaux in the Loire Valley but have yet to make it the places I’ve long been fantasizing about.

The tranquil waters along the Western coast, the crêpes and butter from Brittany, the luscious wines from Bordeaux, the sweet gâteaux from Nantes and the sands of Nice all have me itching to hop on the next TGV out of Paris. Fortunately, when I’m unable to break free from the trammels of a melancholic Parisian summer (which this is shaping up to be) I have expat bloggers from all corners of France to feed the fantasy from afar.

First I introduced you to Jennifer of Chez Loulou who hails from the Languedoc-Roussillon region and now wave hello to Jamie Schler from Nantes! She’s an American writer and food blogger from Florida who has lived in Europe for the last 25 years – 7 years in Italy, 18 years in France – and has raised two multi-cultural children with her French husband. In 2008 she started Life’s A Feast, a blog that features stories about her life punctuated by international recipes from her kitchen. She also writes a food column for the Huffington Post and the co-founder of the From Plate to Page workshop dedicated to food writing, styling and photography where she is a writing instructor. I knew she’d be the perfect person to talk to us all about food and Nantes!

Describe what you love about France in three words.
Freedom, Food, Travel.

Shall I explain? Freedom: moving to a foreign country allowed me, an American, to break the bonds of societal constraints and be myself. I now have the excuse of “it’s okay, she’s American” when I do something unconventional. Food: really, this needs no explaining. I have discovered the joy of food and the joy of eating. Travel: How amazing to be within a short distance to Spain, England, Holland, Italy…I have had the chance to discover so many countries, cultures and cuisines and even being here 25 years still amazes me!



Château des Ducs de Bretagne

Sales pitch: why should visitors to France make a stop in Nantes?
The food, of course! Nantes cuisine is clean and simple, based on the freshness of her local ingredients: sea scallops, oysters, crabs, strawberries, asparagus, mâche, fingerling potatoes, not to forget Muscadet wine and her fabulous gâteau Nantais! Come for the internationally renowned jazz festival. And I recently discovered the fabulous Canal de Nantes à Brest with such peaceful and picturesque beauty, it is wonderful for an afternoon stroll, a weekend or even a week-long bike trip.

Favorite French treat to eat and favorite French treat to prepare?

It may be impossible to choose! Seafood, crêpes, steak tartare or moules with frîtes, éclairs…how can a passionate food lover decide? I am lucky to be living in a region nestled between the Loire Valley and Brittany which offers me the best ingredients and the best dishes and desserts. I have to say that I love making choux filled with pastry cream and gâteau nantais (editor’s note: see 2nd photo). They are both so satisfying to make and always impressive to serve.

The Erdre during the yearly Jazz sur l’Erdre festival


Most surprising or amusing interaction with the French?
It must be school related! I was a parent representative for my older son’s high school class and I got fed up with listening to the teachers constant complaining about the kids’ lack of interest and passivity. With good old American gumption, I told the room full of teachers and the school’s director that they needed to loosen up and maybe take some of the blame for the problems they were having with the class. I explained that having myself discussed the problem with the students over and over again, they, the teachers, would benefit immensely from actually listening to the students themselves and trying to understand why they were so passive and not doing well and to treat their students as…adults!

Well, you could have heard a pin drop! No French parent would ever question the authority or position of a teacher. They were shocked and not at all please to have an American interloper put them in their place! Happily, the director sided with me and said I was right. I don’t think it changed much but I was proud of myself and proud to have made waves and maybe made one or two teachers reconsider their narrow vision of things.

Dessert shop you recommend in Nantes and Paris?

I haven’t lived in Paris for ages and don’t get there often enough to make a safe recommendation so I will mention two in Nantes (that may be the best in France!): Vincent Guerlais who not only makes incredible chocolate (try his tablette à partager filled with an exquisite caramel au beurre salé) and macarons but the best pastries and sweet verrines in Nantes, if not all of France. I also love the chocolates at Debotté-Gautier, maître chocolatier.

{All photo courtesy of Jamie Schler}

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A wonderful first impression of Nantes! Follow Jamie’s writing on Life’s A Feast (and test her recipes!) and chat with her on Twitter.

Other comments:

Thank you to EVERYONE who left sweet comments on my 2 year blog anniversary post and entered the giveaway! I wish you all could receive the Little Brown Pen set. You still have the weekend to enter, entries close monday.

Also, I’ve enjoyed reading your responses to my survey! Just a note about leaving comments with Disqus: you do not need a Disqus account to post! Just type in your comment in the dedicated box, hit “post to comment” and you will have the option of posting as a guest (where you add your name and email) or with a Disqus, Twitter, Facebook, or Google account. I didn’t realize some of you thought you weren’t able to do so without an account. I hope that is clearer for some!

Have a great weekend – winner will be announced by Monday night!