‘I fell in love again’: Guillaume Brahimi on what drew him back to France

Guillaume Brahimi may have called Australia home for three decades, but he is French through and through.

In his rich Parisian accent, the Sydney chef and Guillaume’s Paris presenter declares his devotion to his birth country – rekindled after filming a new SBS series, Guillaume’s French Atlantic – along with his fourth Plat Du Tour (airing from June 29), which features dishes reflecting the Tour de France’s 21 stages.

Guillaume Brahimi has rekindled his love for the French coast in his new cooking show Guillaume’s French Atlantic.

“French Atlantic is showcasing real artisans and craftsmen,” says Brahimi, on the morning after he cooked Nice-inspired Swiss chard and silverbeet tarts for Sydney food rescue restaurant Refettorio OzHarvest.

“There is no faking. That’s what they do. The person who makes the bread makes the bread every day. The person making the cheese makes the cheese every day. These artisans make the world a better place … I’m a very proud French-Australian. But I fell in love again with France, and to be able to share this love with Australian viewers is very special.”

Although he cooks more than he cycles, Brahimi relishes the challenges of Plat du Tour, which takes him from Florence to Nice this year, with the Paris Olympics forcing the alternative finish line. “This Plat du Tour is amazing because it made me go to places I would never go,” he says. “I did a stuffed cabbage in Florence that I was very proud of.”

The five-part French Atlantic explores the regions of Normandy, Brittany, Bordeaux, Pays de la Loire and Pays Basque. While the footage is spectacular, Australians may baulk at his opening statement: “If people were to ask me, ‘Which is the greatest coastline in the world?’ I would say: ‘The French Atlantic.’”

Guillaume Brahimi meets chefs and food producers, wine and cider makers in Guillaume’s French Atlantic.

“Well,” he says, “I thought exactly the same when I was in Perth last week! But the French Atlantic is one of the best-kept secrets. Not everybody will go to the south of France. Here, you’ve got this amazing coast. And all the produce coming from that sea and the land are some of the best produce of France.”

After meeting chefs and food producers, wine and cider makers, and visiting historic sites such as the Impressionist chateaux La Ferme Saint Simeon, where he dabbles in watercolour painting, Brahimi retreats, along with his eight crew members, to the Pays Basque to demonstrate “bistronomy” recipes.

“I love the Basque people,” he says. “I made a lot of friends there and they love sharing food and drinks and stories. They’re not Spanish, they’re not French, they’re Basque. They’re a little bit of a mystery, the Basque … we didn’t have a professional kitchen. We just got a typical Basque house and we embraced living in it – going to markets, inviting people. I thought I was Basque at one stage.”

A passionate supporter of naming rights for food produced traditionally, in specific locations, one of Guillaume’s first stops is a Camembert dairy farm. “The cows eat the grass of Camembert, make the milk to make Camembert, and it doesn’t taste the same if you take these cows 100 kilometres from the town of Camembert,” he says. “And that’s why the French have AOP – Appellation d’Origine Protegee – and I don’t see why we shouldn’t have that in Australia.”

Brahimi encountered many Australians working the farms of France. “Australians are very good at learning,” he says. “Look at the wine industry. Australia didn’t have wine until about 100 years ago, and now it’s some of the best wine in the world. Holy Goat in Victoria is one of the best cheeses in the world.”

Although Guillaume’s Paris is intended for a wider audience than Australia (“With my accent, I can go anywhere!”), Brahimi hopes viewers in his adopted country will be moved to travel and cook.

“This show is about sitting down with a glass of wine and saying: ‘What are we doing next summer? It would be nice to go to Brittany.’ Or, ‘let’s cook that!’ I want to inspire people to discover new places and to share beautiful meals with the people they love.”

Guillaume’s French Atlantic begins on Thursday, June 20, at 7.30pm on SBS.

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