We live in crazy times. As we are coming out of self quarantine (Covid Test Results came back negative – yeah!), I was thinking about one of my favorite blogs. Not because it was about a crazy person, (Vincent Van Gogh) but because it reminded me of a beautiful place and a great trip with Susan. Besides, I love the slide show set to the Don McLean song Vincent. (Click on it below)

Send me a comment if it reminds you of a fun trip or travel

Nothing inspires a menu more than great ingredients. There is no place to find better ingredients that a great farmers market. Vincent Van Gogh lived in St Remy de Provence. We went to St Remy to see the setting that inspired so many of our favorite paintings. While there, we happened on a farmer’s market that was truly inspirational. 

Walking through the countryside where Vincent found inspiration for so many of his paintings, you can still see the same settings. The tour does a good job of setting the backgrounds of today, to the paintings of the late 19^thcentury. You can see the field that Vincent painted and the cafe that inspired Cafe Terrace at Night.

Move into the village of St Remy on the farmer’s market day and you can see all kinds beauty. I once got into trouble with my friend, chef Lucien Vendome, by saying he was an artist. We were waiting on our flight in Sao Paulo Brazil. He argued that calling him an artist was a misnomer. Van Gogh painted paintings that would be enjoyed for centuries. Chefs cook food. The food may be pretty to look at, but people eat it and it is gone. Our discussion went on for a while as our flight got delayed. The compromise was that great chefs are somewhere between artisans and artists. All I can say is that the beauty of the ingredients being sold that day in St Remy could make any cook look good.

The irony of this story is that Van Gogh was not a food person. He suffered from stomach troubles and was quoted as saying:  “Perhaps you will not understand, but it is true that when I receive the money, my greatest appetite is not for food …” but the appetite for painting is even stronger.” So here he was in St Remy surrounded by fabulous ingredients, which he did not enjoy. This may also explain the reason he lived in St. Remy was as a patient at the local insane asylum. Fortunately, his doctors encouraged him to paint as therapy for his troubles

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