Ariane Daguin came to the United States for an academic career, but has ended up making a very nice living as a professional Frenchwoman: an ambassador of French culture and a purveyor of joie de vivre. Of course, coming from a great restaurant family in France – her father, Andre, is a famous chef; brother Arnaud is a chef; sister Anne has a patisserie (and yes, all of their initials are AD) – that joyful life takes the specific form of foie gras, charcuterie, and game meat.
When I returned to the United States after three years of restaurant cooking in Paris, Ariane's company D'Artagnan was the most natural place to work: French chefs, four-star restaurants and all the foie gras you could eat. We worked hard, but played harder: Ariane knows that if you're selling a culture, you'd better throw a good party. And she threw the best parties, transporting us all back to France for a day. So, in honor of Bastille Day on July 14th, I talked with her about the five things you need to celebrate properly during the French Fête Nationale.
A young Ariane Daguin ruling the pétanque courts
1. Pétanque
"When you're an expat you try to keep the roots of where you're from," she says. "In France pétanque was fun – but here it becomes francais and so much more important."
Also known as bowls, bocce or boules, pétanque is a languid sport that originated in Provence. Everyone stands in a circle on one side of the court and attempts to throw metal balls as close to the small jack, or cochonnet, as possible. The closest ball scores the point. At her office, Ariane keeps a pétanque court out back, where her French interns will occasionally be found practicing dressed as Musketeers. Really.
"D'Artangan won the coupe for our pétanque tournament twice. After the second time, we went to Restaurant Daniel. We were not dressed appropriately, still wearing our team Musketeers t-shirts. But we invaded the bar, and he was there and trés bonjour."
And by the way, if you are going to play, here's some advice from Ariane: "It is never the best players who win, it is the ones who are best at disrupting their opponents. First you discuss the point, maybe one looks closer than the others? Then an argument starts. You take your time, maybe you bring out the measure... " What could be more French than this?
2. Music
"To have a typical Quatorze Juillet you must have French music, something modern and sympatique. Bobby Lapointe, Joe Dassin and Claude Francois are all old news, but they are very popular with the new generation. Their songs represent the perfect bridge between generations and social layers. Absolutely everybody knows the tunes and the lyrics of their most popular songs. Any new remix of Edith Piaf works too," says Ariane.
Of course, she has an ear for the art. Maybe it's the American in me, but to be honest, French music always sounds like a soundtrack – whether Serge Gainsbourg or MC Solaar, any French music instantly sets a mood. When you hear the sound of a slow, sultry accordion - you instantly think France, no? (Well, ok, either that or Lady and the Tramp, so maybe you'll want to be more discerning.)
3. Picnic
"The food should be pique-nique, meaning things to eat without having to be in the kitchen and cooking." Cheese, bread, charcuterie, salad are all lovely. If you want to bring in that July 4th feel, Ariane advises, "The merguez sausage has become the French hot dog. It should be grilled and served with a strong Dijon mustard in a piece of baguette."
4. Drink Pastis
"Don't drink just anything," Ariane cautions, because what you drink is serious business. For years, Absinthe was the drink of choice for artists, musicians, and regular people alike. After it was banned (ostensibly because of its, er, pharmaceutical properties, but really because the powerful wine lobby didn't want competition), Pastis became the people's drink of choice. Like Absinthe, it's a licorice flavored liquor, similar to sambuca, and like Absinthe, there's a tradition to drinking it. "It is very important to first pour the Pastis in the glass, then add the water and the ice last," Ariane says. "This is important because if you add the ice first it will crystallize and that is not good. It should be cloudy." If you'd prefer wine, "Rosé is ok, because it is hot and is like being in le sud de la France."
5. Dance for liberty, equality, and brotherhood!
The fireworks at the end of the French day of revolution are all on the dancefloor. July 14th, Ariane explains, is when "France had the revolution for Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, so everyone dances together!" French society is divided class-wise, but for Bastille Day, the country celebrates its democratic ideal, and what better way to symbolize that than by eating, drinking, and dancing with people you wouldn't normally socialize with? So grab your Pastis, pique-nique, pétanque set, a little accordian music, and have yourself a little bal populaire!
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The chef's magnificent copper collection
What Melissa Clark learned from Daniel Boulud
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