La Pitchoune: Cooking in France

I have really mixed feelings about this show.

The idea of attending a cooking school in Julia Child's Provence home sounds amazing, and the scenery and surroundings are beautiful. That is where the connection to Julia Child (and it's "Child", people, not "Childs".) starts - and stops.

The cooking school advertises itself as a no-recipe cooking school- other than being shown some very basic kitchen techniques and knife skills, the students are encouraged to be creative and combine ingredients in a free-form way.

I like to make up new recipes and dishes and I am here to tell you NOT EVERYTHING goes well together, including various combinations of herbs and spices. I have learned by trial and error in my home kitchen, as opposed to the privilege of coughing up $8000 (yes, that's correct, $8000) to do the same thing in Provence. (Although the location is gorgeous and more visually appealing than my generic Midwestern suburb!)

Julia Child is referenced and mentioned multiple times, but it seems almost disrespectful to her memory that a cooking school located in her Provence home (and getting a lot of publicity from that connection) makes a point of rejecting and refusing to teach even one her most basic, approachable recipes. If her legacy is to be ignored, why bother mentioning Julia Child at all, other than to give the cooking school and location some cachet?

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade - the participants look like they are having a wonderful time, but if I had already forked over $8000 for the experience I would make darn sure I was having a wonderful time as well.

I love this show- no drama, no stress! I adore cooking shows but don't love the competition factor in some of them, and LOVE travel shows that take me away to awe inspiring destinations. This one hits all the right marks with the simple joy of cooking and sharing food with others in a lovely setting. Definitely worth watching and dreaming about the South of France! I especially love that each episode takes the viewers to different hidden gems around La Pitchoune, wishing we could partake in the festivities. If you love watching shows with things to add to your bucket list, look no further.

Looking forward to more episodes down the line...

I love this show. It's beautifully shot and the characters are interesting. There is no screaming or competition and no one is trying to sell me on why I should be thinner, prettier, or have more stuff.

I love the pacing and the way the show rolls out. Made me feel like I had a week vacation in France.

This is more of a cooking philosophy show than a cooking competition or even cooking education show. You will not be blown away by what the chefs can do, which is great for me. I'm never going to make a complicated Michelin Star meal, but this show made me want to find joy and connection in cooking.

I was inspired to cook twice in a day after watching an episode and I never cook. I always felt like a hopeless chef, but this show gave me hope. If you are looking for the most advanced dishes, you won't find it here. But if you want to feel more hopeful about life and the potential for beauty and beautiful moments as globalization comes to a screeching halt and capitalism falls apart bringing all our institutions with it, check it out.

La Pitchoune: Cooking in France popped up in my feed when HBO and Discovery+ merged. I was intrigued by the title, so I gave it a go!

I should add that I'm not a fan of competition shows (which this is not), and over all not a fan of "reality" tv. The only "reality" tv I tend to watch is the kind that's inspiring, low to no drama, and relaxing. La Pitchoune falls into this category, with its beautiful location, premise and hosts. You can tell that the team at La Pitchoune is really trying to create something special and inspire folks in the same way they are inspired every day by their surroundings. Yes, the school is located in Julia Child's former home, but the show is not about Julia or her style of cooking. Facts and stories about Julia are peppered throughout the show, but it's not the focus. Instead, it tries to focus on the guests and the ethos behind the school.

One of the things I wish we had gotten more of was the backstory of the hosts. It took me a few episodes to connect with them, mainly because I wanted to get to know them a bit more. Nothing invasive, but a bit more about how they got started in cooking and why they landed in France. You get some bits and pieces over the episodes, but weaving the hosts' stories, their "why", into the episodes a bit more would have been nice.

Overall, I enjoyed the show and what kept me coming back for more were the hosts, the ethos of the school and well...France!

I look forward to Sunday nights when I can sit and watch people who love food, who aren't fussy or pretentious, who wear really cool beautiful dresses and cool aprons, in a beautiful setting, cooking delicious food. Because of COVID, I can't fly on a plane and go to France, so this is a way to immerse myself in a world where it's summer, the food is delicious, and the flowers are blooming. There is no competition, it's just collaborative and friendly.

After watching the show, I feel more free to experiment and stretch outside my comfort zone. I have never felt bound by recipes, so that recipe-free thing is not new to me. What is new for me, is seeing the techniques for how to do it better, without having to eat as many failed experiments getting there.

A few things I have learned on the show have been game changers. Watching Kendall make an omelette was like, "oh! It's that easy?" and the next day, I made a fantastic omelette by just doing what she did, the way she narrated.

I am fifty, and I see these two couples as kids struggling to make it. It's clear they must have had help getting there, some kind of backing or support -- I imagine from their parents or something, but these days, I imagine hardly anyone their age can make it on their own. I say good for them.

There are times when I can see that Makenna, a working mom of a young child, is struggling. Anyone with children knows what that's like. How many meals have I made, pushing through, because we have to eat, and either achieved a kind of catharsis where things are better after we ate, or gotten furious and stormed out after calling everyone a bunch of jive turkeys? Being a mom to a young child is a hard beautiful part of life, even if you're in France, working in Julia Child's house. I love that she cries when people leave. It's clear that she loves her guests and her family.

Yes, this show is not about reality for most of us, but I am not digging reality in the United States, right now. It's great to just escape and look at beauty, to get inspired, and to learn.

I love their gorgeous dresses! I love that they're not skinny preachy fitness nuts. I want to sit out on a flower-covered veranda overlooking mountains and charming towns, too. If I can't, it's lovely to watch others do it.