The French Ingredient: A Memoir

When Jane Bertch was eighteen her mother took her on a graduation trip to Paris. Thrilled to use her high school French, Bertch found her halting attempts greeted with withering condescension by every waiter and shopkeeper she encountered. At the end of the trip she vowed to never return.

A decade later she found herself back in Paris, transferred there by an American bank. She became fluent in the language, gradually earning the respect of her French colleagues as she excelled in her new position. But she had a different dream: to start a cooking school for foreigners like her, tourists who wanted to take a few classes in French cuisine in a friendly setting, then bring their new skills to their kitchens back home. Bertch faced nay-saying Frenchmen—how dare an American banker start a cooking school in Paris?—real estate nightmares, and a long struggle to find and attract clients.

With perseverance, La Cuisine Paris opened in 2009. The years since have been filled with triumphs and heartbreaks. Several times the school almost closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic and terrorist attacks that kept tourists away. Now the school is thriving, welcoming international visitors to come in and knead dough; whisk bechamel; whip meringue; and learn the care, precision, patience, and beauty involved in French cooking.