About

My name is Raphaelle. I am a girl and I am French.

A few years ago I moved to Amsterdam, and became an expat with all the things that come with it. I can’t really explain it but there is something stirring inside of you soon as you leave your country. You compare all cultural things between your home country and the new one. And part of it, is food and cooking.

The Dutch way of cooking & eating is very different from what I grew up with. Here food is meant to keep you going: lunch will keep you working till the end of the day and diner is at 6pm so you can go do something else in the evening.

I was raised in quite a different way. Cooking is a way to express yourself, be creative, explore and show your family how much you love them. Eating is more than just eating, it’s about sharing quality time with your loved ones.

To be quite honest, it’s probably due to the “culture shock” that I started experimenting in the kitchen. I had to fill the gap, and my first goal was to “food-initiate” my boyfriend and then his family and my Dutch friends.

To encourage you, I created this blog and kindly asked my boyfriend Dennis to participate in each of the post.

Dennis grew up eating barely anything out of the classic Dutch kitchen, so French cooking presents some challenges (think about blue cheese…). In “The Dutch boyfriend’s opinion” column he will share his tasting-experience, his view on the cooking process and finally he will rate the dish.

Good luck with trying new things !

Cheers,

Raphaelle

28 thoughts on “About”

    • Hi Francesca,

      Thank you for your lovely note. Weird though about the following button. There should be a following button on the up left hand corner (well that’s were I see it in my browser ; ) ). Let me know if you have it, if not I will have a more in details look to solve this problem ; )

      Reply

  4. Great blog concept! I too am an expat (now living in Sweden, but raised in Australia)… I have found that culture, climate & seasonal differences (eg Christmas in winter) have all affected the way I cook/eat/entertain here, but desire to share food with others in a warm and casual manner (what I grew up with) has not left me 🙂 And it sounds like your sensibilities have not left you either. Looking forward to following your journey 🙂

    Reply

    • Thank you for your lovely note, it feels really good reading that you have been through the same cultural step than I. Leaving abroad is a great experience and you get to learn so much from it! So glad you shared your thoughts : ) Can’t wait to read more from you.

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  7. Hello Raphaelle, thank you for dropping by my blog! It’s lovely to be able to read your “About” section and to learn a bit more about the person behind the comment. I love the inspiration behind your blog and I wish you all the best as you continue your delicious journey in your new home!

    Bon courage!

    Stephanie

    Reply

    • Merci Stephanie! Je viens de me rendre compte que tu parles aussi Francais alors autant en profiter. Merci pour etre venue faire un tour su mon blog egalement. Raphaelle

      Reply

    • Hey Mila,

      Thanks for passing by 🙂 Really nice of you to say as well! My favourite cooking season of the year is coming up so you cna expect more recipes on the blog soon. xxx – R

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  11. Unfortunately you are right about Dutch food culture, but I am one of the exceptions. I actually host big dinner parties with 16 friends at a time to try and impart some of my love for food and wine.

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    • It’s awesome and sounds like a lot of fun. Your friends are very lucky! And I didn’t meant to be rude regarding the Dutch food culture – it is more that experience a culture chock 😉 I am sure they are more exceptions and to be honest I have the impression that this is slowly starting to change and that Dutch people are starting to cook a bit more.

      Reply

      • I was not offended at all — I agree with you about the general Dutch food culture and just wanted to point out that there are some small patches of green grass in the otherwise dry desert 😉 I hope the new food market in Rotterdam will turn out to be a success. The problem is that good quality produce is regarded as a luxury item here, and often more expensive than in Italy or France.

  12. That’s exactly what I think too! A lot of things are considered like a luxury here so it’s either you buy the crappy food from the supermarket or you spend double amount of money on good quality product (which is so different indeed than in France..).

    Reply

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