How does one begin to find the great family of food lovers? In little steps that grow to be giant when looked back upon. One of these steps, not long after I had discovered a copy of MFK Fisher lurking in the bottom shelf of my parents’ bookcase, was the viewing of Mireille Johnston’s remarkable food series, A Cook’s Tour of France.

In one great scene, Mireille, whose name means Mary of the Sun, walks through a green luscious field in Provence. She says “You wouldn’t believe this but I’m standing in a field of fresh basil. This is true paradise to me” I can’t really explain what mysterious electrical vibrations must have started at that phrase but they have haunted me since. What was basil, and why did it fill the writer’s mind up with ecstasy?

The combination of elegance, wit and simplicity that Mireille brought to each of her tours, the warmth she exuded, and her undeniable love of food was like a summons to me; a ringing of bells, and, to be dramatic, a personal cry to my heart.

It is with great happiness that I have found this series again. Merci Mme Johnston. Merci infiniment.

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John Whiting’s Obituary is an excellent place to start for more information on Mireille Johnston.