Problems with blog distribution and other distractions have kept me from posting much over the last year. I am working on a new distribution app and will be republishing some of my more popular blogs to get the new app launched. Hoping you enjoy what Yogi Bera would call: “It feels like deja vu all over again”
How about Vincent Van Gogh’s favorite farmer’s market as a theme for a wine group gathering. A few of the sub plots to the theme might include:
Great french wine
Farmer’s market ingredients for apps
Music from Don McLean’s “Vincent playing in the background
Van Gogh inspired decorations
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. (Click on the following slide show)
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 19thcentury. 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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