Hi there,

I’m Marie, a French Canadian living abroad in Spain, for more than 15 years now, with my German husband and two kids.  I’m a self-proclaimed “FoodOlic” because I find it challenging to spend a few days without creating something new in the kitchen or discovering new flavours, techniques, ingredients – anything related to food.

This is why I’ve called this food blog: “Foodaholic,” or more precisely, the way a French speaker would pronounce it “FoodOlic.” Like most French”ies”, the airy h‘s are too difficult to pronounce in English, so we pronounce the vocal louder instead. I’ve used the capital letter “O” and cut the “h.” Result “The FoodOlic.”

I grew up in a small coastal town, Baie-Comeau, in the North Shore region of Quebec, Canada. A far, far away place where -30 C° (-22°F) in winter is the norm. However, it is a beautiful hidden gem with unforgettable scenery. Living far away didn’t stop my parents from making us travel as kids; for my siblings and me, a 5 hours drive to the next big city was considered a “short trip.” My parents helped us discover the love of the unknown, and food was a big part. That’s when I started my love story with food.

I remember my first croissant in Paris, still fluffy warm and buttery, my first authentic slice of Italian pizza, my first Swiss chocolate bar, my first Spanish churro dip in dark chocolate, and my first Mexican taco; I could go on and on… those were all eye-opening, exotic food for a girl from the North Pole.

As a teenager, I moved out of my parent’s place at 16 to study ‘Infography’ in Montreal, where I lived for seven years. This city is filled with food from everywhere, a great place to experiment with your tastebuds.

Later, I met my partner in Panama and started to live a bit everywhere, from Peru to Colombia, passing by Vietnam, Germany and finally, Spain. In each place, I’ve learned much about their respective cuisines, new techniques, ingredients, traditions, etc.

Right now, we have settled for another gastronomic city: Barcelona! My love for food grew exponentially, so I took a year of introductory cooking training course at Hofmann’s culinary school. I’ve learned a great deal there, from basic mother sauces to traditional Spanish/Mediterranean cuisine and fun extras like ‘sushi making.’

My favourite hobby is picking up a vegetable or any seasonal product from the market which I’ve never seen before and experimenting with it. I usually mix a few recipes, research flavour profiles that fit the protagonist’s food, and create something from it. Sometimes it turns into a “catastrophe,” and other times into a recipe for this food blog.

The FoodOlic recipes are for people like me who want to discover new flavours, switch up their same old recipes and revive their repertoires. I make the occasional “traditional” dish in the ‘destinations’ section; these are recipes I’ve mastered from countries I’ve lived in or have an excellent understanding of.

I hope you’ll enjoy surfing around my recipes!

*If you happen to come and visit Barcelona, Spain, shortly and would like a guide to bring you around to taste some of the best tapas in town, I would be more than happy to help you! Leave me a message in the ‘Contact me’ section with all your info, dates, etc., and I’ll answer you immediately. Maybe even come by for a ‘Copa de vino.’