Raise your glass of bubbly and wish Mireille a very Happy Birthday! Peachy Deegan and everyone at Whom You Know wish you a wonderful day Mireille! To all our readers: Please celebrate by drinking Champagne and pre-ordering The French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook! We Highly Recommend it.
Happy Birthday Mireille! In your honor we are re-running your Mover and Shaker pieces as you are one of the very best, and your most recent book review.
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Internationally best-selling author Mireille Guiliano was for over 20 years the spokesperson for Champagne Veuve Clicquot and a senior executive at LVMH as well as CEO of Clicquot, Inc., the US firm she helped found in 1984 and was its first employee. Her first book, French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure, became a runaway best seller around the globe in 2005. She followed up this book in fall 2006 with French Women for All Seasons: A Year of Secrets, Recipes and Pleasure. In both, through her personal stories and illustrations, she espouses living life to the fullest by embracing quality, sensitivity, seasonality and pleasure while maintaining a healthy equilibrium.
Mireille recently completed her third book, entitled Women, Work & the Art of Savoir Faire: Business Sense & Sensibility, a guide (with plenty of stories) for women in business, based on her experiences and years at Veuve Clicquot, and it has been highly recommended by Whom You Know:
In September 2008 Hilary Swank's production company bought the film rights to French Women Don't Get Fat; the plan is to make a romantic comedy with Mireille's famous French lifestyle message. The script is being adapted and should be ready soon. Stay tuned!
One of the few women who have reached the top echelon of the wine and spirits as well as luxury goods industry, Mireille is credited with growing Champagne Veuve Clicquot's top image and overseeing a remarkable pattern of double digit growth in the USA year after year after year. She wrote the initial marketing plan, and under her leadership, Veuve Clicquot's market share in America grew from less than one percent to more than 25%. Her casebook strategic approach to positioning and growing ultra-premium brands is often cited and followed in the industry.
Mireille has been called a champion of women in business, belongs to the Committee of 200 and works with groups promoting business opportunities and education for women. She frequently presents nationally and internationally on business topics, especially related to the luxury goods sector, as well as on wine and gastronomy.
A sought-after guest on radio and television in the USA and abroad, Mireille has appeared on Oprah, The Today Show, CBS' The Early Show, NBC's Dateline and CNN, among many national broadcasts, and has been profiled in The New York Times, USA Today, TIME, Newsweek, The Robb Report, Business Week, Travel & Leisure, Food & Wine and dozens more. For years she has also contributed articles on food, wine, travel and lifestyle to a wide range of publications, including Town & Country and The Quarterly Review of Wines.
A native of France, Mireille grew up amidst cooks, chefs and restaurateurs in provincial France and was educated in Paris, where she studied French and English literature at the Sorbonne and languages at the Institut Supérieur d'Interprétariat et de Traduction. Mireille holds the French equivalent of a master's degree in English and German and a certification as a translator/interpreter. She also has a command of Italian and several other languages. She currently resides in Manhattan with her husband, Edward, president and CEO of New York Institute of Technology, and makes frequent trips to their homes in Paris and Provence for business and pleasure...always pleasure.
Mireille is passionate about food and wine and cites breakfast, lunch and dinner as her favorite pastimes. The sound of corks popping truly is music to her ears. We are so pleased to present her as our latest Mover and Shaker!
Peachy Deegan interviewed Mireille Guiliano for Whom You Know.
Peachy Deegan: What is your first memory of Champagne?
Mireille Guiliano: It is described in French Women Dont Get Fat. I was in elementary school and was taught how to hold the glass properly by my parents' friend and bon vivant, a famous architect in Reims, and had my first teaspoon-size sip which spoiled me for life!
How has living in America changed you?
It made me discover pumpkin pie. What a shame it's only served around Thanksgiving! Of course it has sensitized me to language and culture and perhaps given me a keener critical eye and perspective with which to view my world locally and globally.
What makes a corporation successful?
The talent of its people for sure. Good leadership and management are part of that. Excellent work and a staff who live the brand bring about a successful difference. And they create a winning corporate culture.
In this economy, how do you think the luxury goods market is faring?
Some are doing well, many are not. The larger companies on the whole are the ones doing better--they have the financial resources to stay the course and use this period of economic adversity as an opportunity, especially to increase market share against weaker brands. Also, the larger firms are international brands so can capitalize on the newly found cravings for luxury goods in China and to an extent Russia. For most luxury brands it is getting ready for the post recession, though I doubt we'll ever go back to the excess of the turn of the century. Still the best will grow, the rest will go.
How is the movie of your first book coming along? Will you be in it?
Well, there is real time and Hollywood time. It's a work in progress and quality takes time. Apparently it is moving along routinely. The script continues to be worked on and now directors are being considered. Let's hope the message is delivered with humor and beauty. Unless the script takes a strange turn, a major (but not the main) character is based upon me, so I will be interested in seeing who will play the role when we get to that stage.
We agree that walking is great exercise and we practice what we preach; what do you tell Americans that don't believe it is "real" exercise?
I am doing my best, literally daily, to convince people that walking is the healthiest movement (followed up in my opinion by swimming and biking), and in our 21st-century life we all need to move. Plus it's free. Besides what it does to your waist down, that you can do it anywhere, at any time, for any length of time, in street clothes, is very appealing. And it can be much more than that: I welcome it as meditative--I leisurely use the time to plan my day, dream, enjoy the beauty of the city or county, and relax. A multiple win, don't you think?
What or who has had the most influence on your pursuit of excellence?
My mother, my husband, a few teachers in high school and grad school, and via the printed page the Greeks starting with Aristotle who defined excellence a few thousand years ago. Basically he said excellence is not an art but a habit. So I say, practice, practice, practice. You don't have to be a genius to do excellent work. Also, my first US boss who had a sign on his desk "Don't take yourself seriously but take your work seriously" (a practical American way of putting things in perspective).
What is your favorite place to be in Manhattan?
My home for the pleasures and comfort and the magnificent view of my adoptive city. I am fortunate to have that.
What is your favorite shop in Manhattan?
Well, that depends on my mood and needs, but La Maison du Chocolat is certainly always appealing.
What is your favorite drink?
Water, water, water and, bien sur, Champagne and red Burgundy in moderation.
What is your favorite restaurant in Manhattan?
It changes, but Jean-Georges, 11 Madison, Scarpetta, Mirimoto just to name a few top spots where quality is of paramount importance, service superb, and where no one invited to them ever turns down my invitation. It is a treat to be able to go to these restaurants.
What is your favorite Manhattan book?
Checkbook?
What has been your best Manhattan athletic experience?
Walking in the West Village and along the Hudson River. Though, I volunteer that perhaps once a year I go to a New York Knicks basketball game and enjoy the spectacle and athleticism.
What is your favorite thing to do in Manhattan that you can do nowhere else?
Walk on the High Line on a fine summer evening or fall Saturday.
What has been your best Manhattan art or music experience?
I love the theater, Broadway and off Broadway, jazz at the Village Vanguard, as well as dance. particularly the small troops at the Joyce Theater, where, for example, I've been a fan and supporter of Eliot Feld Ballet Company since I moved to NYC.
What do you think is most underrated and overrated here?
Noise pollution is underrated (as in being underappreciated for just how much unpleasant, intrusive noise there is) and the subway is both underrated and overrated.
Other than Movers and Shakers of course, what is your favorite Whom You Know column and what do you like about it?
Reviewing the site to consider my response, the obvious winner is the site itself...that it is there period in all its glory with all its columns...and even advertisements. You never know when you need someone to clean your upholstry.
What else should Whom You Know readers know about you?
I am the person in my books.
How would you like to be contacted by Whom You Know readers?
Through my web sites mireilleguiliano.com, fwdgf.com and/or Facebook.
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“Cooking is pleasure and an integral part of what is called “l’équilibre alimentaire,”
a balanced approach to eating.”
—Mireille Guiliano in the French Women Don’t Get Fat Cookbook
We love love love love our Mover and Shaker Mireille Guiliano:
We loved her first three books:
Since we are in baseball season, if you think of the first three as a triple, you can think of this as a home run! Book number four by Mireille makes even the least enthusiastic cooks among us excited about food preparation! You won't need the encouragement for the eating part with these recipes...as her first book, French Women Don't Get Fat, was genius in the realm of philosophy and ideology, this is its twin in the realm of real-life execution! We have reviewed over 100 books, but this is the only one that has received its own countdown meter (see top right.)
We have said it once and we will say it again: if you could get the same feeling from reading a book that you do from drinking champagne, you get it from Guiliano's books. Her charming style that boasts both creative simplicity and nutrition that will keep you in the classiest of designers' small sizes is achieved through recipes that will brighten your life, revive your spirit and to be direct, keep Americans in the shape they deserve to be in, or if they aren't that way, to get them in that shape! We ascribe to her Water and Walking mentality (p. 267) and now are happy to know more about the actual recipes she loves and promotes.
If you are in your country house with ten burners on your stove or in your tiny Manhattan apartment, there is something for you in the French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook. If you are a vegetarian or if you worship at the House of Del Frisco's, there is something for you in this work of art. If you are a size 2 or a size 12, this is for you. No matter what your sex, race, color or religion is, you eat, so you need this book. The secret to success in the French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook is that it holistically looks at food as your friend and celebrates it: the difference being that the food in this book is pure, exquisite and natural. It will invigorate your mind and spirit in addition to your body.
We love how it is organized by meal-breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc. It is interchangeable and versatile and will be appreciated by the pickiest of eaters. We are not going to give away the fabulous recipes because we of course encourage you to buy the book, but here are a few that are especially enticing:
Breakfast
*Soft Scrambled Eggs
*Magical Breakfast Cream
*Tricolor Omelet
*French Toast Edward Style
Lunch
*Magical Leek Broth
*Haricots Verts Salad with Peaches (just Peachy!)
*Ratatouille (oh, this is how you make it!)
*Everything from Under the Sea
Dinner
*Roasted Carrots and Pumpkin with Herbs
*Sweet Potato French Fries
*Tuna with Green Sauce (A bit Irish?)
There are many, many more that we love including the seafood selections. Now that we look at our list, we see there are a couple of "Magical" items-this book will make you a Sorcerer or Sorceress in the kitchen!
The seafood has its own chapter. Now when you read Peachy's Picks and see us ordering seafood and champagne, you know where we get our inspiration from, although admittedly we were like this before meeting Mireille. The extra vote for it does count!
Seafood Star Recipes Include:
*Salmon with Endives and Oranges En Papillote
*Sea Bass with Sweet Spices En Papillote
*Cod with Fennel
Our favorite chapter begins on page 241: "Once in Awhile A Little Champagne." The chapter devoted to our favorite magic in a bottle could not be written nearly as well by anyone but Mireille Guiliano. You really cannot learn from a better teacher on the subject matter on "the foaming grape from Eastern France." From vintage to house to harvest, your flutes will be singing and hitting all the high notes of champagne intelligence upon completion of this passage. The Art of Opening a Bottle we recommend in particular! You do not want to be the daft American who's cork goes flying across the room. Turn the bottle, not the cork. Best of all, this chapter includes recipes that you can make with Champagne. If Peachy Deegan is not drinking Champagne, she would like to be eating it! There are exquisite ides here such as Scallops Maison Blanche, and much more. Peachy Deegan does not trust anyone that doesn't drink Champagne and eat Chocolate (strange, we know, but people that don't enjoy these do exist) - and the reverse is true too. We definitely trust in Mirelle's culinary opinions!
Moderation is the key to success, and this is the Gospel of Mireille. We know firsthand that she also loves chocolate (that headlines the chapter on desserts), but she is diligent about the origins of food. If more people just listened to her common-sense advice - like read the label! - indeed there would not have to be signs on the beaches that read "Keep Our Beaches Beautiful." It is beautiful to eat well and treat your body with respect! This means reading and using The French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook. For everyone that LOVED French Women Don't Get Fat, this is a play-by-play on how to succeed so your health will hit a home-run.
The signature illustrations are a perfect accompaniment to Mireille's recipes from the Food Gods and her musings. Though many have a cliched opinion of thinking that cookbooks must be illustrated with photography, they would be wrong in this case and the illustrator R. Nichols successfully portrays the message creatively and intelligently.
We predict this will be another #1 New York Times bestseller, and Whom You Know highly recommends The French Women Don't Get Fat Cookbook by Mireille Guiliano. Although we are Irish, this makes us want to be French!
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The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the French Women Don’t Get Fat books offers a long-awaited collection of delicious, healthy recipes and advice on eating well without gaining weight!
Mireille Guiliano grew up in a family, as her husband once dryly observed, that was either eating or talking about food. “True enough,” says Mireille, whose bio states that her favorite pastimes are breakfast, lunch, and dinner. “People always laugh when I’m introduced this way, but I do take enormous pleasure in and shape my life around meals.”
Today, we live in a world that often seems fixated on reducing elements of our lives, singularly and collectively, to ten-second sound bites, to single-word or single phrase definitions and explanations. It is an ugly sign of superficial times, Mireille fears. And the lack of connection to food and cooking is what prevents many of us from finding balance, harmony and pleasure. Mireille’s personal philosophy on food and eating healthily isn’t about “dieting” in the conventional sense, but more about eating sensibly and pleasurably. It’s a cry, she claims, for sanity in an increasingly developed world where, ironically, the abundance of food has become a challenge to good health.
Cooking is a reality check for Mireille. And THE FRENCH WOMEN DON’T GET FAT COOKBOOK (Atria Books; $26.99; April 27, 2010)—her very first cookbook—reiterates, expands, and vividly illustrates the principles that guide her eating and allow her to enjoy food and maintain balance and a healthy and consistent weight. For years, Mireille’s millions of fans have asked for more of the meals and recipes she touched upon in her two French Women Don’t Get Fat books, and now with THE FRENCH WOMEN DON’T GET FAT COOKBOOK she offers more than 150 new recipes that are easy, quick, affordable, and delicious.
Mireille Guiliano on eating for health—and pleasure—in our increasingly hectic world:
“I believe in pure and simple recipes. Once in awhile, I enjoy long hours in the kitchen, but mostly a half hour or even less is enough to put three colors of food on a main plate. (Even my mother’s braising and slow-cooking requires little work once the flame is on…the stove does all the work.) I like to taste the pure flavors of balanced ingredients, which often results in small portions yielding high satisfaction. I like variety, which eating fresh foods in season can facilitate as well as the freezer section of the supermarket. I like recipes that make a meal a sensual experience in that it speaks to all five of our senses. And, of course, recipes need to yield food that tastes good (not as obvious as you might think when people and chefs are trying to be original). It is all about pleasure and good health, you’ll see.”
In THE FRENCH WOMEN DON’T GET FAT COOKBOOK readers really will see how easy it is to create wonderful meals centered on Mireille’s mantra: “Minimum effort and stress for maximum results.” Mireille maintains that cooking means connection and is a key to changing your relationship with food and pleasure, and until you understand and control what you are putting in your body, you are merely following a plan without a master: you.
Divided into sections devoted to Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner (not to mention dessert, chocolate, and Champagne!), THE FRENCH WOMEN DON’T GET FAT COOKBOOK also covers such topics as men, women, and children’s health, and the importance of getting kids started on the right track as early as possible. Mireille includes the “must haves” for every kitchen, and offers easy-to-follow sample menus for all occasions—from everyday to Valentine’s Day. By weaving in entertaining stories that reflect her childhood in France, her life in New York, Paris, and Provence, as well as her extensive business travel around the world, she adds a personal and engaging note that many cookbooks lack.
Mireille Guiliano’s vibrant personality leaps from every page of THE FRENCH WOMEN DON’T GET FAT COOKBOOK as she illustrates that it truly is possible to eat for pleasure and health and urges readers to head for the kitchen and cook.
Mireille Guiliano is the author of French Women Don’t Get Fat, French Women for All Seasons, and Women, Work & The Art of Savoir Faire. She is also the former CEO of Clicquot, Inc. (LVMH) and has appeared on countless national television programs, including Oprah, Dateline, and the Today Show, and has been profiled in a myriad of publications, including the New York Times, Time, and Newsweek. Born and raised in France, she is married to an American university president and lives most of the year in New York, Paris, and Provence, France. To learn more about Mireille Guiliano and her work, visit her websites at: www.mireilleguiliano.com and www.frenchwomendontgetfat.com.
THE FRENCH WOMEN DON’T GET FAT COOKBOOK
By Mireille Guiliano
Published by: Atria Books
ISBN: 978-1-4391-4896-9
Pages: 256
Price: $26.99 US / $34.99 CAN
Pub Date: April 27, 2010
