The phenomenal success of French Women Don't Get Fat: The Secret of Eating for Pleasure may have transformed Mireille (pronounced meer-ray) Guiliano into a household name across the country—or rather countries, as her book has now been translated into twenty-two languages. But in discerning culinary circles, the fifty-eight-year-old has been admired as an authority on eating and living well since long before she wrote about magical leek soup.
After all, in her main role, as the president and CEO of Clicquot Inc., the fabled French Champagne house's U.S. subsidiary, Guiliano has spent the past two decades promoting the benefits of great food and wine. Under her leadership, Veuve Clicquot increased its market share in the United States from nearly nothing to about 23 percent.
"Initially I took the job because it allowed me to return frequently to France to see my family," says Guiliano, who lives in New York with her American husband, Edward Guiliano (the president of the New York Institute of Technology), and also keeps an apartment in Paris. Now she clocks in more than 150 days of travel all over the globe every year, having added a vigorous schedule of speaking engagements and book tours to her Clicquot responsibilities. Fluent in four languages, opinionated and curious, Guiliano is what you could call a worldly gourmet. Ask her about the flakiest croissants in Paris or the prettiest vineyards in Italy and the answers you're likely to get are specific, sensible and informed, like the ones below.
What in your book do you think people relate to in particular?
That it's okay to enjoy food and eat everything in moderation and without guilt. They also like that it's about a lifestyle and not a diet, a memoir with anecdotes and easy recipes. I'm simply sharing my experience and some commonsense approaches. Readers welcome the way the book is a reminder and an invitation to embrace a healthy lifestyle.
Who taught you about food and wine?
My mother, father, aunts and cousins, friends, chefs and, bien sûr, my husband, who knew much more about wine than I did when we first met. And still does.
You travel a considerable amount. Do restaurants still hold an element of surprise for you?
If you are curious, there's always room for discovery. Recently I had an amazing tasting portion of a breast of Pekin duck served with scarlet turnips, Fuji apples, star anise and lemongrass and accompanied by the 1995 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Rosé. It was part of an incredible dinner prepared by chef Gerry Klaskala, of Aria, in Atlanta. The whole meal was spectacular, but that course was pure magic.
When you're in a new city, what is the first thing you do?
Walk around the hotel, buy some flowers, see the main sights, visit museums and find a few good restaurants. If I'm on a tight schedule and know I won't have more than a few hours of free time, I have the concierge arrange for a private guide or driver. It is amazing how much you can see and learn and how much more enjoyable a city can become with just a little context. And while the service might cost a few hundred dollars, compared with the cost of the airfare, hotel and restaurants it is perhaps the most cost-effective, benefit-rich expense of the trip. I count it as one of my special indulgences.
Which place most delighted you with the quality of its food?
The Costa Smeralda, in Sardinia. Dishes made with the finest ingredients and freshest herbs, not to mention fruit at its succulent best. With a little luck in the lottery, you could spend a whole summer staying, and eating, at Hotel Pitrizza, near Porto Cervo, and never get bored.
What are some of your favorite restaurants?
They are for the most part located in the countries my husband and I visit regularly: the United States, France and Italy. Putting aside the temples of haute cuisine, we keep going back to places that offer fine food without the extreme price, complexity and length usually associated with a religious dining experience. We return again and again to, say, Fleur de Sel in New York, Le Voltaire and Mon Vieil Ami in Paris, Le Bistrot d'Eygalières in Provence, and Cibreo in Florence, to name just a few.
Do you ever send food back, and is there an elegant way to do that?
Rarely, but long ago at a three-star Michelin restaurant, we ordered a piece of Charolais beef for two cooked medium-rare, and it came bleu, with the blood running all over the dish. After we did a little dance with the waiter, it was sent back for additional cooking. At the end the chef skipped our table when it was his showtime. We never returned, not because of the meat but because of the treatment. If there is an elegant way to send food back (or a bottle of wine), it is to be polite and quietly firm.
You've written about the benefits of cooking with ultrafresh ingredients. Where do you shop in New York?
When I'm in town, I go to the Union Square market faithfully on Saturdays and buy enough to make a couple of meals for the week. I am there at 8 A.M. to avoid the crowds.
Coming from the French market culture, would you ever order food over the Internet?
I've ordered things like almonds from Oregon and oranges from Florida online, but not meat, fish or produce.
Is there anything that you still import from Paris?
Chocolate from Marcolini, walnut oil from Leblanc and clothes from tiny boutiques that I know I won't see on everyone.
Can you find the equal of a Parisian patisserie elsewhere?
Yes and no. First, you go to a Parisian patisserie for certain things only. For example, I love the clafoutis, éclairs and macaroons at Gérard Mulot, in the sixth arrondissement, but would not buy the croissants or brioches. For those I go to Carton, two blocks away. Pastry shops in Vienna come in a close second, although they are totally different.
If you were to open a restaurant, which details would be most important to you?
Opening a restaurant would be the last thing I'd want to do; the work and hours are long and hard, and the staff and customers can be difficult. But I love to cook for people, so if I had exhausted doing all the sensible things in life, I'd embrace the lifestyle of a small and affordable restaurant (ten to twelve tables) in Provence or Italy. Simple food prepared with the best ingredients would be served by happy people in a comfortable and beautiful decor.
Which wine stores do you like?
I am going to get in trouble for leaving out at least a dozen top U.S. shops that I admire, but Sherry-Lehmann, in New York, is a Mecca for depth and breadth of wines from all over the world; Knightsbridge, in Northbrook, outside Chicago, is one of the most appealing shops, with an excellent selection and great service; and Wally's, in Los Angeles, is also a serious wine destination. In Paris, Lavinia, La Grande Epicerie and Hédiard have first-rate selections, as does Peck, in Milan.
How about wineries?
There are also many, but let me pick some that have wonderful wines and are beautiful, since the aesthetic aspect is important to me: Ceretto, in Piedmont; Château La Nerthe, in Châteauneuf-du-Pape; Castello di Monsanto, in Tuscany; Newton, in Napa Valley; Château Palmer, in Bordeaux; Château d'Yquem, in Sauternes.
Is it difficult to pair Champagne with food?
Actually, it's the easiest wine to serve with food, because it's so versatile. It goes with almost anything (except artichokes, asparagus, creamy sauces and chocolate). I love Champagne with pizza, for example: the cool, crisp acidity is a lovely counterpoint to the cheese, oil and bread. I like a golden Champagne at the beginning of a meal, a rosé or full-bodied vintage with the main course (including most meats) and a demisec or sweet Champagne with dessert, especially fruits.
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Favorite quick getaway...From New York by car would have to be Wheatleigh, in the Berkshires, an area I adore, because the service and the restaurant are superb. By plane I escape to Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain, in Arizona, because I love the desert, with all the plants and flowers.
My "secret" places in Paris...A couple of spots in the Luxembourg garden, such as the Médicis fountain early in the day and a quiet corner of the garden near Rue Vavin, as well as the Place Dauphine.
I never leave home without...My iPod, a small bottle of water and some en cas food, in case I run into delays.
My preferred airlines...Virgin Atlantic, Singapore and Cathay Pacific because their caring staffs are focused and deliver top service on any flight, not just long ones.
What's on my reading list...It has to do with my destination. Now it's Yasunari Kawabata for my next trip to Japan; Gérard Oberlé's Retour à Zornhof because I am dying to go back to Alsace; and Io Non Ho Paura, by novelist Niccolò Ammaniti, about a family in southern Italy. I'm always reading books in different languages to keep up with the cultures of the countries I love.
The next travel hot spot...I'd bet on Shanghai.
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