Fabulously Delicious: The French Food Podcast

French chef, celebrated cookbook author, and Australian television icon Gabriel Gaté joins Andrew on Fabulously Delicious in this first of a two-part conversation — tracing his remarkable journey from a childhood in the Loire Valley, the Garden of France, to apprenticing at a Michelin-starred restaurant, working in the kitchens of London's Berkeley Hotel, and eventually becoming one of the most beloved French food personalities in Australia.

Growing up in the Loire Valley, Gabriel shares vivid memories of a childhood shaped by homegrown vegetables, a family vineyard, and a grandmother who had cooked for some of France's finest households — with her sister working for the Rothschild family in Paris. He talks about what it meant to apprentice in a serious French kitchen in the 1970s — sixteen-hour days, whole pheasants with the feathers still on, making puff pastry and champagne sorbet from scratch, and being locked in the attic at weekends so you'd be fresh for service.

Gabriel also opens up about working in Paris at the three-Michelin-star restaurant of Alain Senderens — a visionary chef who pioneered the science of food and wine pairing — and what it was like to cook at the Berkeley Hotel in London, where the Queen was a regular guest and Perry Como and Ray Charles would come in after their shows for caviar and smoked salmon.

Part one of this conversation is a love letter to classic French cooking, the discipline of the brigade kitchen, and the food culture of the Loire Valley that shaped one of Australia's most cherished culinary voices. Tune in next week for part two, where Gabriel discusses his television career, his passion for French seafood, and the shows that made him a household name in Australia.

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My book Paris: A Fabulous Food Guide to the World’s Most Delicious City is your ultimate companion. This is a new 2026 update for the book and you’ll find hand-picked recommendations for the best boulangeries, patisseries, wine bars, cafés, and restaurants that truly capture the flavor of Paris. You can order it online at andrewpriorfabulously.com 

For those who want to take things further, why not come cook with me here in Montmorillon, in the heart of France’s Vienne region? Combine hands-on French cooking classes with exploring charming markets, tasting regional specialties, and soaking up the slow, beautiful pace of French countryside life. Find all the details at andrewpriorfabulously.com

You can help keep the show thriving by becoming a paid subscriber on substack where you'll also get fabulous extra content. Every contribution makes a huge difference. Join here at Substack , Merci beaucoup!

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French food markets, Provençal cuisine, and the magic of seasonal produce take centre stage in this episode of Fabulously Delicious, as Andrew is joined by Solveig Coulon — a Provence-raised, Paris-born Frenchwoman who loved food markets so much she created her own in Sydney. Solveig is the founder of Le Marché, a French food market on Sydney's North Shore bringing together French bakers, cheese, saucisson, truffles, croissants, crêpes, raclette, macarons, and artisan producers — a little slice of France just fifteen minutes from the Harbour Bridge.

Growing up in the village of Vence in the south of France, Solveig shares vivid memories of Provençal market life, Mediterranean food culture, and the strong Italian and North African influences that shape the cuisine of the region. From hunting for fresh black truffles at the Grignan truffle market to her aunt's legendary cooking and family stories stretching back to a great-great-grandmother selling handmade goods at Parisian markets in the 1920s, markets are quite literally in Solveig's blood.

Solveig and Andrew also explore what makes French markets so distinct — the philosophy of seasonality, the joy of buying direct from the producer, and why the French relationship with fresh food is unlike anywhere else in the world. They compare the market culture of Provence, Paris, and the Loire Valley, and discuss why Australians have such a deep love affair with French food and culture.

A trained lawyer turned events producer, Solveig's journey — from organising Chanel catwalks in Paris to founding a French food market in Willoughby, Sydney — is as fabulous as it sounds. Le Marché trades every second and fourth Sunday of the month, and is the North Shore's most deliciously French way to spend a Sunday morning.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

My book Paris: A Fabulous Food Guide to the World’s Most Delicious City is your ultimate companion. This is a new 2026 update for the book and you’ll find hand-picked recommendations for the best boulangeries, patisseries, wine bars, cafés, and restaurants that truly capture the flavor of Paris. You can order it online at andrewpriorfabulously.com 

For those who want to take things further, why not come cook with me here in Montmorillon, in the heart of France’s Vienne region? Combine hands-on French cooking classes with exploring charming markets, tasting regional specialties, and soaking up the slow, beautiful pace of French countryside life. Find all the details at andrewpriorfabulously.com

You can help keep the show thriving by becoming a paid subscriber on substack where you'll also get fabulous extra content. Every contribution makes a huge difference. Join here at Substack , Merci beaucoup!

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Burgundy wine is some of the most celebrated — and complex — wine in the world, and in this episode of Fabulously Delicious, Global Wine Advisor Preston Mohr breaks it all down. From Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to the region's 100-plus AOC appellations, Preston explains what makes Burgundy unlike anywhere else and why its terroir is a lifetime study in itself.

We explore the fascinating history behind Beaujolais and Beaujolais Nouveau, the legendary Hospices de Beaune charity wine auction, and the story of how Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, shaped the region's wine landscape in the 1400s by banishing the Gamay grape and replanting with Pinot Noir.

Preston also shares practical wine tasting tips for beginners — how to look, smell, and taste — plus honest advice on what to spend on a bottle, why local wine almost always pairs better with local food, and whether it's worth shipping wine home from France.

An American who knew from the age of eight he would one day live in Paris, Preston eventually made it happen in his early twenties and has now called France home for over eighteen years. He is currently Global Wine Advisor at Vivante, the world's first immersive digital wine tasting platform, where tasting kits are shipped globally and every wine featured is organically or biodynamically produced.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

My book Paris: A Fabulous Food Guide to the World’s Most Delicious City is your ultimate companion. This is a new 2026 update for the book and you’ll find hand-picked recommendations for the best boulangeries, patisseries, wine bars, cafés, and restaurants that truly capture the flavor of Paris. You can order it online at andrewpriorfabulously.com 

For those who want to take things further, why not come cook with me here in Montmorillon, in the heart of France’s Vienne region? Combine hands-on French cooking classes with exploring charming markets, tasting regional specialties, and soaking up the slow, beautiful pace of French countryside life. Find all the details at andrewpriorfabulously.com

You can help keep the show thriving by becoming a paid subscriber on substack where you'll also get fabulous extra content. Every contribution makes a huge difference. Join here at Substack , Merci beaucoup!

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What is it about the baguette that makes it so fundamentally, passionately French? In this episode of Fabulously Delicious, Andrew is joined by food journalist, author, and YouTuber Katie Quinn to explore the deep culture, history, and law surrounding French bread — from the humble baguette to the sourdough loaves that helped shape modern bakeries.

Katie shares the fascinating story of Poilâne — the legendary Paris bakery founded on natural fermentation — and how Apollonia Poilâne took over at just 18 years old. They dive into the Décret Pain, the 1993 bread law that defines what a boulangerie actually is, the strict rules around a baguette de tradition, and why the French felt strongly enough about their bread to legislate it.

The conversation covers the Paris baguette competition and its incredible prize (supplying bread to the Élysée Palace for a year), baguette vending machines, the global reach of the baguette from Vietnam's bánh mì to Indian restaurants, and what to do with leftover bread — including croutons, breadcrumbs, and pain perdu.

Katie also shares practical home bread baking tips from her time staging in Paris boulangeries, explaining how humidity, temperature, and atmosphere affect your dough — and why adjusting your water temperature on a cold day can make all the difference.

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Support the show

My book Paris: A Fabulous Food Guide to the World’s Most Delicious City is your ultimate companion. This is a new 2026 update for the book and you’ll find hand-picked recommendations for the best boulangeries, patisseries, wine bars, cafés, and restaurants that truly capture the flavor of Paris. You can order it online at andrewpriorfabulously.com 

For those who want to take things further, why not come cook with me here in Montmorillon, in the heart of France’s Vienne region? Combine hands-on French cooking classes with exploring charming markets, tasting regional specialties, and soaking up the slow, beautiful pace of French countryside life. Find all the details at andrewpriorfabulously.com

You can help keep the show thriving by becoming a paid subscriber on substack where you'll also get fabulous extra content. Every contribution makes a huge difference. Join here at Substack , Merci beaucoup!

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French macarons are one of the most iconic and technically demanding creations in French pâtisserie — but what separates a macaron from a macaroon, and why do professional pastry chefs use Italian meringue while most home baking recipes use French meringue? 

In this episode, Andrew is joined by pastry chef Molly Wilkinson, a Le Cordon Bleu graduate who spent years working in Parisian pastry shops — including making 1,500 macarons a day on a professional macaron station.

Molly walks us through the fascinating history of the macaron — from its Italian origins at the court of Catherine de Medici, through the regional variations still found across France today, to the moment Ladurée introduced the filled version we know and love in 1850s Paris. She also explains the difference between French, Italian and Swiss meringues, which produces the best macaron shell and why, and what the colour of a macaron shell actually tells you about its flavour.

You'll also get Molly's expert tips on getting perfect shells at home — from why powdered food colouring is better than liquid, to the right way to store macarons (hint: the freezer is your friend), and which flavour Molly considers the ultimate macaron. Plus, Andrew shares the story of Montmorillon's own unique version of the macaron — the almond-based speciality from his home town.

Molly Wilkinson is a pastry chef, author of French Pastry Made Simple, and teacher based in Versailles, France, just five minutes from the Château de Versailles.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

My book Paris: A Fabulous Food Guide to the World’s Most Delicious City is your ultimate companion. This is a new 2026 update for the book and you’ll find hand-picked recommendations for the best boulangeries, patisseries, wine bars, cafés, and restaurants that truly capture the flavor of Paris. You can order it online at andrewpriorfabulously.com 

For those who want to take things further, why not come cook with me here in Montmorillon, in the heart of France’s Vienne region? Combine hands-on French cooking classes with exploring charming markets, tasting regional specialties, and soaking up the slow, beautiful pace of French countryside life. Find all the details at andrewpriorfabulously.com

You can help keep the show thriving by becoming a paid subscriber on substack where you'll also get fabulous extra content. Every contribution makes a huge difference. Join here at Substack , Merci beaucoup!

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