Huguette Caren’s Cookbook: vintage Provençal cuisine
A nostalgic wind full of Provençal flavours is blowing through Cotignac with the release of the book Des plats qui chantent et qui racontent Lou Calen (Dishes that sing and tell the story of Lou Calen) designed by Huguette Caren. A true ode to Provence and its culinary heritage, this collection of recipes not only invites you to get busy behind the stove, but also opens a door to the fascinating history of Lou Calen, the legendary hotel that has left its mark on generations.
Event: Book release, meeting and booksigning session on Saturday, 21st December at the Lou Calen Bookstore.
68 traditional Provençal recipes
In this book, Huguette Caren generously conveys her love for Provençal cuisine. From traditional recipes to favourite dishes, it shares much more than just know-how: it perpetuates a living cookery heritage, rooted in the soil, local aromatic herbs and the warmth of the South.
“Let’s carefully preserve these sensory delights that Provençal herbs bring us,” she writes, inviting the reader to appreciate the patience and generosity that will bring these recipes to life. Each page is a celebration of culinary art, but also of the Provençal art of living: that of family eating around a table, filled with laughter and generous dishes.
Dished that sing and tell a story
This book is more than just cooking instructions. It tells the story of a passionate woman and a unique place. Huguette Caren is not a chef trained in a culinary school, and yet, she was able to transform Lou Calen – a former holiday home for young girls who were wards of the nation – Into an essential hotel-restaurant in Provence.
In 1971 Huguette acquired Lou Calen, thanks to an opportunity offered by the sisters of Saint Vincent de Paul. As soon as it opened, the hotel became the haunt of lovers of Provençal cooking and renowned French celebrities. Joe Dassin, Huguette’s close friend, even spent his wedding night there in 1978, while Mme De Gaulle stayed there for more than a month one summer.
The hotel’s reputation grew thanks to these French celebrities and international stars, attracted in particular by the neighbouring Miraval recording studios. Artists such as Pink Floyd, Henri Salvador and Brigitte Bardot frequented Huguette’s table, helping to solidify Lou Calen as a Provençal living legend.
Serge Lama, Joe Dassin et Huguette Caren à Lou Calen en 1978
The legacy of Lou Calen, a legendary place
For Huguette Caren, Lou Calen has always been much more than a hotel-restaurant. It was a place for people to meet, to share experiences together, a space where flavours became memories. With this book she hopes to extend this adventure, by sharing her best recipes and her even better anecdotes.
This is a true declaration of love to her native Provence and to Lou Calen, now resurrected by Graham Porter, who brought this legendary place back to life by renovating it and reinventing the hotel for new generations.
In this book Huguette also pays tribute to the people who have marked her career, notably Benoit Witz, the talented chef of the Jardin Secret restaurant, who has drawn his inspiration from her recipes to reinvent them with a modern touch.
A book for lovers of Provençal living
Des plats qui chantent et qui racontent Lou Calen is not just a collection of recipes. It’s a dive into the story of a passionate woman and an extraordinary place. Whether you are a budding cook, a lover of gastronomy or simply curious to know more about this Provençal legend, this cookery book will delight your taste buds as much as your imagination. Through each dish, a piece of Lou Calen invites itself into your home, ready to perpetuate its history and its magic.
So, are you ready to make your kitchen sing? Come and see Huguette Caren at Lou Calen’s bookstore on Saturday 21st December for this cookery book release!
