Anne de la Forest, a former journalist turned popular cook and Airbnb host in Paris, has created her dream lifestyle teaching cooking classes at her home in Paris.
“I needed to do something from my home and not just from my computer. I rent a room on Air BNB, people eat at my table, take cooking, they come to eat on my rooftop. I’m quite comfortable because I don’t have to move. I love being at home. People come to me, and I meet many different kinds of people. I wanted to share my home with people and have a global connection.”
Like many American women, I’ve always been curious about Parisian women. Is it true they are more sensuous, passionate, and mysterious? The moment I met Anne de la Forest, a former journalist turned popular cook and Airbnb host in Paris, I knew that she had “It”.
Her pace was slower and more deliberate than my own. She swept her long blond hair up casually in a ponytail, and she was unapologetically natural. When she expressed herself, the laugh lines around her eyes and mouth made her that much more alluring. She had this air that seemed to imply, “I’m a grown up and am totally comfortable with that.”
Anne used her journalistic background and passion for cooking to pen a book on the history of French Fries, and for a few years, she was even known around Paris as “Miss Fries”. When Airbnb approached her about teaching cooking classes in her home to tourists, Anne was able to make the transition financially out of the office and into the kitchen.
“I didn’t realize that something was missing, it just happened,” said Anne. “I wanted to change my job. When I stopped to think about it, I didn’t travel, I didn’t go to different places or to see my friends, I would go to my kitchen and I would cook. I remember there were two days I was just cooking every day for myself and I thought, ‘I feel so well when I’m cooking’.”
Her home, which has a breathtaking view of Montmartre from the balcony and was built in the 1800s, is a special place and one she likes to share with others. Visitors can rent a room at Anne’s house, in addition to learning how to cook. I was so intrigued as to what Anne’s home, her new career, and her city all meant to her. What I learned after spending an afternoon with Anne is that her love of cooking and food and Paris were all closely intertwined. She was the perfect guide to Paris, and we never even had to leave her kitchen.
Anne's Instagram: anne_iscooking
Website: www.anneiscooking.com
“Food in Paris, it’s so trendy. Paris is mad really. People in Paris are just mad for food. I think there are maybe 20 new places opening every day, 30 places closing every day. It’s really electric, the food business in Paris.”
“I take my guests all around to shop and to learn how to make a ham and butter sandwich. I show them how to make the butter and the bread. They meet the baker and the butcher. I’m a chef and cook and I’m a Parisian. I give advice on how to cook things really simply. I’m really excited to share my good cooking and good eating.”
“I’ve always loved to cook. My mother is from Lyon and my father was born in Brittany. I think it’s in my blood. I know that there is good food and the good way to eat.”
“Before, I was a journalist working at a press magazine for 20 years. I didn’t want to be a journalist anymore, though, I needed to do something deeper, more that agreed with me, so I just started to cook, and I started a blog. The real thing was that I knew I wanted to do something else.”
“When I don’t feel very good, I have to cook, especially I have to make a dough. I love the way it feels--the flour and butter. Have you seen the movie, Julia and Julia? I love that movie.”
“I can say it works, to be able to live from your passion. It’s just great. You only have one life. It can be very difficult too though. You’re alone. You have to find the money and customer.”
“I have this deep pleasure to walk in Paris and to stop and have a pastry. After I’ve been somewhere else, I know even more that I love this city (Paris). It’s old but electric. I love the noise. I like anywhere the atmosphere of the city. If it’s too quiet, this scares me.”
“It’s been a complicated year in Paris. Last year (2016) there were less tourists. We hear that people think Paris is like Syria. One month ago, a guy booked an experience, and he sent me a message, saying he was so sorry, he said he wanted to come but said, ‘I’m too scared with my daughter.’ And I thought, ‘He is in the U.S. where everyone has a gun, so he’s more in danger in his country than in my mine’. Paris hasn’t been safer than it is today because there are police and army guys everywhere.”
“I needed to do something from my home and not just from my computer. I rent a room on Air BNB, people eat at my table, take cooking, they come to eat on my rooftop. I’m quite comfortable because I don’t have to move. I love being at home. People come to me, and I meet many different kinds of people. I wanted to share my home with people and have a global connection.”