June 17, 2024 • 34 mins
What happens when a barge-dwelling chef with a penchant for adventure stumbles across a hidden gem in the French countryside? Meet Kate Hill, proprietor of Relais de Camont in Gascony, to find out.
Kate shares tales of her life on a barge, and her renovation of Relais de Camont, a 300-year-old farmhouse that became home to her cooking school. In 2022, Kate formally opened the Relais de Camont as a home for creative residents and offers both residency stays and mentored retreats, providing quiet productivity in a serene setting amongst the gardens and canal.
Learn more about Kate Hill and Relais de Camont:
Kate Hill Relais de Camont Creative Residency
Finding France: A Culinary Journey to Gascony (substack.com)
Additional content from Jill’s trip to France:
3 Weeks in France: Travelogue (globaljourneyswithjilldutton.com)
Eating My Way Through France: The French Paradox (globaljourneyswithjilldutton.com)
Want more? Follow Jill's travels, view itineraries, read travel articles, and listen to podcast episodes at Global Journeys with Jill Dutton.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Global Journeys with Jill Dutton, the
podcast where we embark on ajourney through culture and
place, one fascinating story ata time.
I'm your host, jill Dutton, anavid traveler and writer,
passionate about exploring theworld and uncovering the unique
tales of the people I encounteralong the way.
Join me as we delve into theheart of destinations, offering
(00:24):
an insider's perspective throughthe captivating narratives of
individuals who shape theircommunities.
Whether it's chatting with adistillery owner crafting
artisanal spirits, an anglercasting lines in remote waters
or a chef mastering the flavorsof a region, each episode offers
a glimpse into their world andexpertise.
(00:45):
Stick around till the end ofeach episode to discover more
about my travels and writingadventures.
In the meantime, get ready tobe inspired, enlightened and
transported to distant lands on.
Global Journeys with Jill Dutton.
Welcome to this week's episodeof Global Journeys with Jill
Dutton, where I speak withauthor, chef and voyager Kate
(01:05):
Hill.
She's the owner of Relais deComont, a restored farmhouse in
southwest France.
I met Kate in May when I wastraveling France for three weeks
.
The trip centered around awriting residency at Comont with
cookbook author Kathy Gunst.
I was one of three writers whowould spend a week at Comont
taking workshops with Gunst,writing about food and memoir
(01:28):
and relaxing in the Frenchcountryside.
It was there that I met KateHill.
When not writing, we'd taketrips to one of the farmer's
markets, watch as Kate and theresident chef shopped for our
meals and sampled local delightsat the market.
I learned that Kate had spent 25years living on a barge that
was now parked behind Comont.
She renovated the farmhousethat celebrates 300 years this
(01:51):
year and started offeringcooking classes in the large
rustic kitchen.
Over the last 30 years, like me, artists, writers,
photographers, filmmakers, chefsand dreamers have found their
inspiration at Camont, kateHill's 18th century farmhouse in
Gascony, france.
In 2022, kate formally openedthe Relais de Camont as a home
(02:13):
for creative residents andoffers both residency stays and
mentored retreats, offeringquiet productivity in a serene
setting amongst the gardens andthe canal.
It's my pleasure to speak withKate today about her life on
board the barge, her cookingschool, the creative residencies
, the food of the region and hercurrent work titled Finding
(02:34):
France a Memoir in Small Bites.
Kate, thank you so much forjoining me today.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
I'm delighted to be here and getting to talk to you
again, and it seems like it'snot been that long since you
were here.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
It hasn't.
It was just a few weeks ago andI just well, I guess about a
month ago, kate, the week Ispent at your residency at Relay
to Come On.
It was just absolutelytherapeutic and productive and a
week I'll never forget.
So I want to thank you foroffering this space to creative
people.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Oh my pleasure.
It's been very interesting anda very exciting time for me to
see this come to fruition afterso many years.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
I can imagine During one of our conversations you
mentioned living on a barge for25 years and the story behind
that.
I'm hoping you can share alittle bit about that
adventurous lifestyle and whatit was that brought you to
France and to living on a barge.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Well, it's always funny because people want to
know the beginning of things andI said I didn't know.
At the time when I did this, Iwas in my mid-30s and had been
traveling quite a bit at thattime and loved to travel.
I'd been a yacht chef in theCaribbean.
I traveled across Africa in anold army truck with a bunch of
(03:50):
younger people.
I was just sort of in full mode, adventurous, you know, going
off and discovering about myselfand the world.
And out of that came the ideato buy a canal barge with my
boyfriend at the time.
We would run the canal barge,much like the charter yachts
(04:11):
that I had worked on, he hadworked on and set in France, and
so that kind of became a goalthat we put our collective heads
together on how we would dothis.
And I went back to SanFrancisco.
After Africa, I got a jobrunning an art gallery downtown
San Francisco.
It was the early 80s.
(04:34):
There was a lot of excitementand money going around at that
time.
People were buying art likecrazy and I did very well, both
financially and with the ideathat what was really important
to me was not to invest instocks and bonds and startups,
but into the things that youlove and want to have in your
(04:54):
home.
And so for me that acceleratedthe goal to find a barge, which
I did in Holland in themid-1980s and buy the boat and
she's an 85-foot, antique Dutchchild that I would then sail
(05:16):
with my friends south fromHolland until I got to the very
farthest part I could get intoFrance, which is where I am
right now, and I ended up sortof stumbling along into this
region of southwest France anddiscovering how much it felt
like home to me in the sense ofit's a very productive
(05:38):
agricultural area.
The climate is very much likeNorthern California or Oregon.
It's actually the same latitudeas the Willamette Valley in
Oregon.
It can be that rainy sometimestoo, and I just sort of kept
coming back here.
I travel on, I come back, Itravel on, I come back.
And then a friend told me aboutthis lovely ruin, literally
(06:02):
without a roof.
The things had fallen down onthe old stone 300-year-old
farmhouse on the canal, as if Ineeded something new to do, and
I ended up buying this piece ofproperty, a couple acres on the
canal, so I had a place to parkmy boat, because I love the
(06:22):
quiet countryside here, to parkmy boat, because I love the
quiet countryside here, and thatwas where I really started to
discover and learn what I woulddo over the next 30 years.
So here we are.
Wonderful.
That was in a nutshell, rightright, it was a conclusion of
(06:43):
that sort of decade of traveling, so that by the time I had
lived on the boat for severalyears, I was running charters, I
was taking people discoveringthe area so I could introduce
them to the wineries, theArmagnac, a seller to the food,
the markets, all the wonderfulrestaurants, the wonderful
(07:07):
restaurants.
And I got more and more seriousabout cooking at that time, and
that's when I started mygastronomic tours and cooking
school at the kitchen at Comontand I transformed the ruin into
a cooking school.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Oh, that's amazing and I can picture it now, you
know, I mean, but what a treatit would be to have a cooking
lesson with you like that,because we're going to talk
about that rabbit with prunesthat you made.
It was just so, so divine.
But so let's see here youtalked a little bit about the
barge life because, you know, asyou know, after the writing
(07:37):
residency, I spent a week on theCanal du Midi with the barge
cruise and it was justfascinating to me, after seeing
your barge and seeing thedifferent ones docked along the
way and each one was so uniqueand had, you know, was
reflective of theirpersonalities.
And can you just briefly touchon, I guess, what it was like to
(07:57):
full-time live on a barge?
Speaker 2 (08:00):
I mean and yeah, I think that you know the one of
the interesting things.
So I still own the boat.
I'm actually in the process ofgiving her a little final coat
of fingernail polish, so we can.
so she's up for sale in thesummer, but I found that the
(08:20):
living in the barge Well, therewere two things going on.
One was this idea that I couldhave a place to settle down.
I'm in my late 30s, my mid-late30s, and I want to get my teeth
into something, do somethingsubstantial.
But I didn't want to stopmoving.
I'd love to travel, as I saidearlier, and for me this was
(08:40):
like I became the escargot.
Instead of a backpack, I had mywhole house with me and at 85
feet, she's pretty, that's a lotof room.
It's also a big boat to drive,and so I mastered driving, being
the captain of the boat as wellas the chef, so that
occasionally I would hire acaptain or I would hire a cook,
(09:05):
depending on how my season wasgoing in those days.
But I found that the idea thatyou could travel with your home
on your back and go anywhere,and I did do a couple very long
trips.
In 2001, I returned to Hollandand made a long.
It was like an 18-month sojournto go from here in southwest
(09:28):
France back up to northeastHolland where the boat boat was
built originally in the 1800s.
And I would return later thenext year in 2002.
So I did enjoy that kind ofbohemian lifestyle that you
(09:48):
could just pick up and go oneday, except that I had this
little house on the side of thecanal to always come home to,
and eventually I put down myroots here through the anchor
ashore.
I said I'm home, and we livedon the boat though for 25 years
before I moved off into thehouse.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Oh, my goodness, and so you restored the farmhouse.
Tell me again what year 17.
Oh my goodness, and so yourestored the farmhouse.
Tell me again what year 17?
, 1724.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
So she's 300 years this year.
My goodness.
We had a birthday party inAugust, so you saw it was a good
time to do that.
And the renovations?
Yeah, the renovations startedliterally with putting a roof
over the kitchen, or what wouldbecome the first kitchen.
Because there was no roof,everything had collapsed in, you
know, the tiles and the raftersand the beams.
(10:37):
And so when I started to clearthat space with you know, I had
friends that came over, and onefriend in particular we were
shoveling wheelbarrows andwheelbarrows of rubble out into
what would become the driveway.
Oh my gosh.
And I always remember Johnsaying let's hose it out.
I went oh my God, it's going tomake mud because there was so
(10:59):
much dust and dirt in this room,and he turned on the hose and
squirted, and then we saw redunder the dirt, and red was the
terracotta tiles, the original100-year-old tiles that were
there still intact.
They look gorgeous.
Some of them are in their kindof model.
(11:21):
But we cleaned it up, we washedit out.
More rubble, more dirt outside,and then there was this
beautiful red tile floor, andthat gave me the impetus to
continue on and restore thewalls and the roof.
And there was no plumbing,there was no electricity, there
(11:42):
was nothing in it.
It had been.
The last time anybody had livedin this farmhouse was over 100
years ago.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Oh goodness, and it's just spectacular.
I mean it's rustic andcomfortable and I mean it just
was.
So you've got the perfect spotfor this residency, and I
actually had people alreadyasking me how they can come, so
we'll talk about that too, butso you had been teaching the
cooking classes then in 2022.
(12:09):
Is that correct?
You formerly opened Relay toCome On as a home for creative
residents.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Yes, well, of course, just before that, we had the
dreaded pandemic which meantthat nobody could travel.
So, between you know, 2020,everything you know got on
lockdown in terms ofinternational and local travel,
and I moved all my cookingclasses online, like a lot of
(12:35):
people did, and for two years, Iset up my cooking classes so
that people could either Zoom inand do them live and they could
download the videos.
I did over 70 videos which I'mstill sitting on and saying what
do I do with these now?
So I would keep reaching out tothe world.
And when I concluded and Ilooked at what I had done, I
(13:01):
felt, in a way, I had puteverything I had been teaching
for so many years on the classicGaskin cooking.
I did it in this concentratedtime period and then I felt sort
of like I just put a ribbonaround it, tied it and said
ta-da, and, being this age, Ifelt it was time to get off my
(13:25):
feet like I've been doingteaching and look to see how
else I could live my life here,as I wanted to go forward in the
future, at 70, rather than youknow, rather than retiring, what
did I want to do next?
And that's where the idea thatI had in the back of my mind,
(13:49):
always entertained, havingpeople come and stay and very
creative people.
I've had a lot of journalistsover the years, I've been
featured in lots of magazinesand newspapers and TV, and so I
thought why not just invite thiscreative set that would allow
me to dedicate my time towriting, which was what I
(14:14):
started.
After the online courses, Istarted to publish my newsletter
, my blog, on Substack, anddecided that if I could only do
one thing, what would I want todo would be writing.
So I thought, well, surroundmyself, but you know, you want
to cook, you invite cooks toyour house, learn to surf, you
(14:38):
go to Hawaii, but if you want towrite, invite writers and
editors.
And so that was the beginningand the first season.
And, yeah, in 2022, we had somewonderful, talented sometimes
sometimes food people, sometimesnot and I've had amazing people
from all over the world whohave all kinds of wide, diverse
(15:02):
creative genres, from writers,of course, to filmmakers, to
textile artists, to painters,all kinds of people.
So it's been very exciting andinteresting for me.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Oh, wonderful, and you know.
Speaking of travelers, I'mcurious you know what about
Gascony?
You know makes it a uniquedestination for travelers?
For myself it was.
I know it's renowned for itsculinary traditions and I'll
never forget the experience ofvisiting the farmer's markets
with you and watching you shopand and purchase the local
(15:35):
produce and the rabbit and theduck, and you know items that
were, that were incorporatedinto the menu or that you know
that seasonal the asparagus, thestrawberries, the tiny
artichokes.
I, I cannot stop thinking aboutthose tiny artichokes, those
little purple artichokes.
But so you know, and yourrabbit and prune stew, we're
going to hopefully get togetherat some point and you share that
(15:59):
recipe for my travel cookbook.
But so my long-winded questionis how does food play a role in
the experience that you offer?
Relay to come on.
But also, you know what aresome of these aspects that are
an important part of the areaand the region.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Yeah, thank you for asking that, because I think
that in the early days I sawthat this area was so untouched
by tourism that if I, you know,if I told people that I live,
you know, the nearest town, just15, 20 minutes away, is Agen.
That's where our big trainstation is.
It stops between Bordeaux andToulouse.
(16:36):
It's only like an hour and ahalf to either Bordeaux or
Toulouse, two big cities, buthere I call it the black hole of
France.
There was no tourism going on,but it was exactly the France
that people wanted to discover,fronts that people wanted to
discover.
And so, whether it's in mybarge years or if it was in the
(16:57):
sense of doing gastronomic toursor then the cooking classes,
food is a huge part of theculture of Gascony because it's
a farming area and if you thinkabout it, where's some of the
best food that you, whether it'slike something as simple as you
know corn on the cob, summer,you go to places where it's
(17:17):
grown.
You don't go to New York Cityto have corn on the cob, you go
to the country or the Midwest,or places where it's, you know,
in season.
And here the unique thing aboutthis area and the department
that is Harb makes up part ofGascony.
Gascony is an old name for thisbig kingdom that doesn't, or
(17:41):
duchy, that doesn't existlegally or you know on a map
anymore, but what it is?
It's a culture, and so thediversity of food grown in this
region makes it so remarkable.
So chefs and restaurants andthe farmer's markets are.
(18:02):
I'm spoiled because I don'trealize how special they are
until I go away from the otherbrands.
Not only are our prices reallygood, but I got bought today.
I went to the market today atLavardac and I bought a big bag
of vegetables from one of thefarmers that I know and it was
like I could barely carry it andput it in my backpack and it
(18:26):
was six euros, you know, for allthe vegetables I could eat for
the whole week.
So I said that you know, ifyou're a cook, this is a great
place to be.
And how that fits into theresidency is although when
somebody comes as a, you came ona retreat where everything was
organized for your group and wedid prepare meals, but when
(18:49):
people come on their own for twoweeks for a solo retreat
residency, they're responsiblefor their own food, but we go to
the market together and I givethem clues, help them out, but
occasionally, you know, we'llsit down and have a lunch
together.
But there's a productivity andan awareness of the seasons,
(19:09):
because this is all aboutfarming here.
So this week it's mid-June,it's been cooler and rainier in
the last six weeks than we like,but everything is.
I mean there's everything fromstrawberries and artichokes, and
the asparagus are aboutfinished.
I saw one bunch today at themarket.
The artichokes are almostfinished, those little ones, but
(19:34):
the tomatoes are coming in.
Everything you'd want for aratatouille, the courgettes, the
apricots and peaches,strawberries calming down now.
So that seasonality that Irespond to as a cook is somehow,
(19:55):
I think it feeds into people'sawareness that when they're here
that they see over a coupleweeks a rolling of the senses,
and so if you're a painter, oryou're a painter even without
making it a deliberate project,you're going to be affected by
(20:17):
that.
You're going to see that thecorn that is in the field next
to to the house, uh, is, wasfour inches when you arrive and
now it's like 18 inches just inthat week and a half time.
And I think it's that kind offecundity of the earth and the
seasons that somehow infiltrates, and of course it's in my own
(20:42):
garden, which surrounds thehouse and our common areas, so
people get a sense of that andsomehow that infuses into their
life and their work without itbeing an obvious thing.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Mm-hmm, fabulous Go ahead.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
I'm sorry, I was just going to say you know, I do
like to be able to introducepeople to the food of the area,
so I also want people to havetheir space and their time and
distance, like I have my own forworking.
But there's a nice point ofcoming together at that big
round table out in the garden.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
Yes, yes, wonderful.
On Substack you have aserialized book Finding France,
a memoir in small bites.
Can you tell the listeners alittle bit about that, who might
not be familiar?
And you know what is Substackor you know, I mean, how did you
?
Speaker 2 (21:35):
It's all pretty new, isn't it?
You know it's only.
Substack as a platform forwriters and other creatives has
only existed for just a fewyears, maybe five years.
I jumped on board three yearsago and right away took what was
my blog or what I would writean occasional newsletter on my
(21:59):
website, and I moved it over,moved my subscribers to my
newsletter over onto thisplatform called Substack, and
it's basically whatever you wantit to be.
There's very serious politicalwriting, there's writing about
tech and AI, there's all kindsof genres and there's a big food
world.
Lots of writers, everybody fromRuth Reichel to Michael Woolman
(22:24):
, to chefs and important people,paul Bertulli they all had
started their.
I think people refer to them asnewsletters originally.
But when I jumped on and Irealized that this was a
wonderful platform for me towrite because I could publish
all the time, I didn't have totry to put a book proposal
(22:44):
together, sell the book proposaland two years down the line, if
you're lucky, you might have abook come out.
I could write every week orevery two weeks or whatever I
wanted to do.
And in setting that up, Iworked with a woman, sarah Fay
on Writers at Work on Substack,who taught about serialization
(23:07):
how to serialize a novel or howto serialize a memoir and I
thought that's exactly what Iwanted to.
I had never figured out how toportray in a memoir where I
didn't feel like you're justlooking back at the past.
So I wanted to explore, in whatI would call finding France,
(23:30):
how I found France as a cook,how I found France wherever I
was, and the lessons I learnedhere about cooking could be
applied to you, could be appliedto some kid in inner city
Chicago, could be applied tosomebody living in New Zealand,
that they could look at wherethey were and take the tenets of
(23:51):
good French cooking not justthe style of cooking but the
approach to food.
And so I wanted to see how didI learn that?
And so I started to write lastSeptember, so I'm more than
halfway through now.
I wanted to make it like a year,over a year, to write about how
I discovered, on arriving bybarge into this part of France
(24:15):
and discovering the food and theway of eating and the way of
cooking.
And so every month I writestories.
I write portraits of people whohave been my mentors and
teachers and recipes.
I include recipes as well andsome vintage Kate portraits that
(24:37):
I found, which I think arehysterical, to see me in 19 or
in 24 in Africa, or cruisingdown the boat with my hair in a
ponytail in my bag.
Oh well, you know now, and sothen, for me too, it was another
way of learning.
Continue to learn, mm-hmm.
Learn to cook.
How did I learn to become thecook I am today?
(24:58):
Oh, that's so interesting.
I'm respected for myunderstanding of gas can cooking
and the products, and, ofcourse, it was living here and
learning about the ingredients.
That really is the main thing.
So now I'm on that path to beover the next few months to
(25:19):
finish, and all of this isonline, so you can either go to
the app or you go to the websiteand you can put in my link, and
then you can go back and readin the archives what I've
written Excellent, you know,last two years.
Or you could just jump inwherever it's starting, and
maybe I will eventually publishthis as a real book, you know,
(25:44):
as an article or something.
That's another goal, and thenI'll see where we go from there.
I have some ideas to developover the next couple months.
But it's a wonderful way toallow yourself to you know, to
sit down and write and thenshare it immediately with you
know your audience and to seethat audience grow so strongly
(26:06):
has been very rewarding.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
Oh, kate, I'll be sure and share the link to your
sub stack in the show notes aswell.
But you know, finally, realbriefly, I guess I apologize.
I'm just so fascinated by yourstory I don't want to stop.
But you know you offer soresidencies, like I did, where
it's a group that comes in, oryou offer retreats, where
individuals can come and stayfor a couple couple weeks.
(26:29):
So, whether they choose one orthe other, what do you hope
guests take away from their timespent at Relay de Comont?
Speaker 2 (26:37):
When I put the word out there and I was trying to
figure out how do I explainexactly what this is, I just
used a little tagline.
I called it the Relay de Comont, because Comont is the name of
the farm and has been since the1700s.
And it was and did act as arelay, which was an inn for
(26:58):
barges that were going up anddown the canal, where they could
stop overnight and rest theirhorses they were all pulled by
horses or mules and have a mealand then they would carry on.
So the idea that this was aplace that people could rest and
restore themselves and the wordrelay gave birth to that.
And my tagline, which I use,quite simply just said a quiet
(27:23):
place to work.
And that is what I wanted peopleto discover that I wasn't going
to act as the founder of anartist residency, I wasn't going
to judge people.
I tried to look for compatiblespirits that will enjoy and get
on with other people that arehere, but I did want to judge
(27:46):
what people's work was, but Iwanted to give them a space so
they could work.
It is, it's quiet, as you know,it's very quiet.
We're only, you know, 50, 20minutes into a major city, but
it's like we're in the middle ofthe countryside.
You might hear a tractor in thedistance.
Oh, it's fabulous, and you havethese perfectly.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
You know curated workspaces for each writer.
Mine, it just had memories ofEurope, travel, but also my mom.
She sold encyclopedias when Iwas a kid and right next to my
desk was that stack ofencyclopedias.
It was like she was there, youknow.
I mean it was just fabulous.
And then, or you can work outin the gardens with your rose
(28:29):
bushes and the banana tree.
I mean it was just.
I can't even put it.
People are going to have tocome see it because I can't do
it justice.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Yeah, there's a lot of photographs on the website,
so when people go on the websitethey see lots of photographs of
the room.
We have three bedrooms that aretypically butch for residents.
Each one has a desk or worksurface.
I'm just setting up a newatelier space, so painters or
people that need one, we're alla little bit on a big table or
(28:56):
have that kind of work inside.
Now we'll have a place to work.
It's just outside the room thatyou were my office, outside the
room that you stayed in, with abig skylight and nice bright
room, and I I think that thewhat I've for me, what this has
been so much fun has been to.
(29:16):
I love that people use the wordcurate, but it's like playing
in a dollhouse, like I like toput the paintings.
I love art.
I have all my paintings and Icollect artists and share that
with people.
Books, which I love so thereare books everywhere, including.
I could not give up thoseencyclopedias.
I loved it.
It was just it was so which Imoved in here so that I use them
(29:41):
, like you know, like a littletable next to that desk, and I
want to share those things andhope that they inspire, maybe,
the works of other artists.
Some of my favorite artists orwriters that are around might
inspire somebody in their work.
So it's been that very creativeand it's always moving and
changing.
I always started discoveringsomething new.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
Oh, wonderful.
Well, Kate, thank you forsharing your story and thank you
for sharing this perfect spacefor creative people to get away
and spend time in France.
I mean, it was just perfect, sothank you so much.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Oh, it's been my pleasure.
Jill, Thanks for inviting me on.
I'm really glad that you cameand got to experience this
firsthand for yourself.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
I can't wait to come back.
Oh yeah, people never come once.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
No, no so yeah, people never come once.
No, no, so well, thank you verymuch and I hope you enjoy the
rest of your day.
Thank you, bye-bye, okay.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Bye-bye.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
Welcome to Global Journeys with Jill Dutton, the
captivating travel podcast thattakes you on an extraordinary
adventure around the world.
I'm your host, jill Dutton, andI am thrilled to be your guide
through the mesmerizing tapestryof cultures, landscapes and
experiences that await us.
Global Journeys with JillDutton is more than just a
(31:02):
travel podcast.
It's an exploration of humanityitself.
Through the power ofstorytelling, we illuminate the
lives of the remarkableindividuals we encounter along
the way, whether it's throughthe eyes of a fishing guide, a
distillery owner, a mixologist,a historian, chef, or even a
farmer.
Each person we meet adds a richlayer to the narrative of
(31:25):
culture and place.
In this podcast, we embark on atransformative journey where
the focus goes beyond thetypical tourist attractions.
Instead, we dive deep into thehearts and souls of the places
we visit, uncovering the hiddengems and untold stories that
make each destination trulyunique.
Join me as we venture off thebeaten path, seeking
(31:48):
authenticity, connection and adeeper understanding of the
world we inhabit.
Together, we'll unravel thetapestry of cultures, one story
at a time.
Although my writing careerbegan in the late 90s, when I
created and launched a wellnesspublication called Evolving
Magazine, since 2015 I've workedas a travel writer on a mission
(32:09):
to seek out the locallycelebrated foods, liquor trends,
outdoor activities and storiesof those I meet along the way.
My work has been published inWine Enthusiast, afar, woman's
World, first for Women, insider,road Trippers.
Modern Farmer Chilled Magazineand many more digital and print
publications.
(32:30):
Modern Farmer Chilled Magazineand many more digital and print
publications.
I'm also the creator of GlobalPlates the People we Meet, the
Food they Eat a syndicatedcolumn.
Creating this podcast is thenext step in my journey of
sharing the stories of thepeople I've met along the way.
So pack your curiosity, leaveyour preconceived notions behind
and let's embark on globaljourneys with Jill Dutton, where
(32:51):
each episode promises toinspire, educate and awaken the
wanderlust within us all.
As we travel on this excitingpodcasting journey together, I
invite you, our incredibleaudience, to be a part of it.
Share your own travel stories,insights and recommendations
with us of it.
Share your own travel stories,insights and recommendations
(33:12):
with us, whether you have ahidden gem in your hometown or a
dream destination that hascaptured your imagination.
We want to hear from you.
Your suggestions will helpshape the future episodes of
Global Journeys, with JillDutton guiding us towards
extraordinary locations andexperiences that deserve a
spotlight.
Remember, this podcast is notabout just the host or the
guests.
It's about the collectiveexploration and discovery that
(33:33):
unites us all as wanderers inthis vast world.
So reach out to us through ourwebsite, social media channels
or email and let your voice beheard.
Send your suggestions to me atjill at
globaljourneyswithjillduttoncom.
I can't wait to hear from you.
Until next time, may yourtravels be filled with endless
(33:55):
curiosity, open-heartedencounters and transformative
adventures.
Safe travels, fellow explorers,and keep wandering.
Welcome to Global Journeys with Jill Dutton, the
podcast where we embark on ajourney through culture and
place, one fascinating story ata time.
I'm your host, jill Dutton, anavid traveler and writer,
passionate about exploring theworld and uncovering the unique
tales of the people I encounteralong the way.
Join me as we delve into theheart of destinations, offering
(00:24):
an insider's perspective throughthe captivating narratives of
individuals who shape theircommunities.
Whether it's chatting with adistillery owner crafting
artisanal spirits, an anglercasting lines in remote waters
or a chef mastering the flavorsof a region, each episode offers
a glimpse into their world andexpertise.
(00:45):
Stick around till the end ofeach episode to discover more
about my travels and writingadventures.
In the meantime, get ready tobe inspired, enlightened and
transported to distant lands on.
Global Journeys with Jill Dutton.
Welcome to this week's episodeof Global Journeys with Jill
Dutton, where I speak withauthor, chef and voyager Kate
(01:05):
Hill.
She's the owner of Relais deComont, a restored farmhouse in
southwest France.
I met Kate in May when I wastraveling France for three weeks
.
The trip centered around awriting residency at Comont with
cookbook author Kathy Gunst.
I was one of three writers whowould spend a week at Comont
taking workshops with Gunst,writing about food and memoir
(01:28):
and relaxing in the Frenchcountryside.
It was there that I met KateHill.
When not writing, we'd taketrips to one of the farmer's
markets, watch as Kate and theresident chef shopped for our
meals and sampled local delightsat the market.
I learned that Kate had spent 25years living on a barge that
was now parked behind Comont.
She renovated the farmhousethat celebrates 300 years this
(01:51):
year and started offeringcooking classes in the large
rustic kitchen.
Over the last 30 years, like me, artists, writers,
photographers, filmmakers, chefsand dreamers have found their
inspiration at Camont, kateHill's 18th century farmhouse in
Gascony, france.
In 2022, kate formally openedthe Relais de Camont as a home
(02:13):
for creative residents andoffers both residency stays and
mentored retreats, offeringquiet productivity in a serene
setting amongst the gardens andthe canal.
It's my pleasure to speak withKate today about her life on
board the barge, her cookingschool, the creative residencies
, the food of the region and hercurrent work titled Finding
(02:34):
France a Memoir in Small Bites.
Kate, thank you so much forjoining me today.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
I'm delighted to be here and getting to talk to you
again, and it seems like it'snot been that long since you
were here.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
It hasn't.
It was just a few weeks ago andI just well, I guess about a
month ago, kate, the week Ispent at your residency at Relay
to Come On.
It was just absolutelytherapeutic and productive and a
week I'll never forget.
So I want to thank you foroffering this space to creative
people.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
Oh my pleasure.
It's been very interesting anda very exciting time for me to
see this come to fruition afterso many years.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
I can imagine During one of our conversations you
mentioned living on a barge for25 years and the story behind
that.
I'm hoping you can share alittle bit about that
adventurous lifestyle and whatit was that brought you to
France and to living on a barge.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
Well, it's always funny because people want to
know the beginning of things andI said I didn't know.
At the time when I did this, Iwas in my mid-30s and had been
traveling quite a bit at thattime and loved to travel.
I'd been a yacht chef in theCaribbean.
I traveled across Africa in anold army truck with a bunch of
(03:50):
younger people.
I was just sort of in full mode, adventurous, you know, going
off and discovering about myselfand the world.
And out of that came the ideato buy a canal barge with my
boyfriend at the time.
We would run the canal barge,much like the charter yachts
(04:11):
that I had worked on, he hadworked on and set in France, and
so that kind of became a goalthat we put our collective heads
together on how we would dothis.
And I went back to SanFrancisco.
After Africa, I got a jobrunning an art gallery downtown
San Francisco.
It was the early 80s.
(04:34):
There was a lot of excitementand money going around at that
time.
People were buying art likecrazy and I did very well, both
financially and with the ideathat what was really important
to me was not to invest instocks and bonds and startups,
but into the things that youlove and want to have in your
(04:54):
home.
And so for me that acceleratedthe goal to find a barge, which
I did in Holland in themid-1980s and buy the boat and
she's an 85-foot, antique Dutchchild that I would then sail
(05:16):
with my friends south fromHolland until I got to the very
farthest part I could get intoFrance, which is where I am
right now, and I ended up sortof stumbling along into this
region of southwest France anddiscovering how much it felt
like home to me in the sense ofit's a very productive
(05:38):
agricultural area.
The climate is very much likeNorthern California or Oregon.
It's actually the same latitudeas the Willamette Valley in
Oregon.
It can be that rainy sometimestoo, and I just sort of kept
coming back here.
I travel on, I come back, Itravel on, I come back.
And then a friend told me aboutthis lovely ruin, literally
(06:02):
without a roof.
The things had fallen down onthe old stone 300-year-old
farmhouse on the canal, as if Ineeded something new to do, and
I ended up buying this piece ofproperty, a couple acres on the
canal, so I had a place to parkmy boat, because I love the
(06:22):
quiet countryside here, to parkmy boat, because I love the
quiet countryside here, and thatwas where I really started to
discover and learn what I woulddo over the next 30 years.
So here we are.
Wonderful.
That was in a nutshell, rightright, it was a conclusion of
(06:43):
that sort of decade of traveling, so that by the time I had
lived on the boat for severalyears, I was running charters, I
was taking people discoveringthe area so I could introduce
them to the wineries, theArmagnac, a seller to the food,
the markets, all the wonderfulrestaurants, the wonderful
(07:07):
restaurants.
And I got more and more seriousabout cooking at that time, and
that's when I started mygastronomic tours and cooking
school at the kitchen at Comontand I transformed the ruin into
a cooking school.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Oh, that's amazing and I can picture it now, you
know, I mean, but what a treatit would be to have a cooking
lesson with you like that,because we're going to talk
about that rabbit with prunesthat you made.
It was just so, so divine.
But so let's see here youtalked a little bit about the
barge life because, you know, asyou know, after the writing
(07:37):
residency, I spent a week on theCanal du Midi with the barge
cruise and it was justfascinating to me, after seeing
your barge and seeing thedifferent ones docked along the
way and each one was so uniqueand had, you know, was
reflective of theirpersonalities.
And can you just briefly touchon, I guess, what it was like to
(07:57):
full-time live on a barge?
Speaker 2 (08:00):
I mean and yeah, I think that you know the one of
the interesting things.
So I still own the boat.
I'm actually in the process ofgiving her a little final coat
of fingernail polish, so we can.
so she's up for sale in thesummer, but I found that the
(08:20):
living in the barge Well, therewere two things going on.
One was this idea that I couldhave a place to settle down.
I'm in my late 30s, my mid-late30s, and I want to get my teeth
into something, do somethingsubstantial.
But I didn't want to stopmoving.
I'd love to travel, as I saidearlier, and for me this was
(08:40):
like I became the escargot.
Instead of a backpack, I had mywhole house with me and at 85
feet, she's pretty, that's a lotof room.
It's also a big boat to drive,and so I mastered driving, being
the captain of the boat as wellas the chef, so that
occasionally I would hire acaptain or I would hire a cook,
(09:05):
depending on how my season wasgoing in those days.
But I found that the idea thatyou could travel with your home
on your back and go anywhere,and I did do a couple very long
trips.
In 2001, I returned to Hollandand made a long.
It was like an 18-month sojournto go from here in southwest
(09:28):
France back up to northeastHolland where the boat boat was
built originally in the 1800s.
And I would return later thenext year in 2002.
So I did enjoy that kind ofbohemian lifestyle that you
(09:48):
could just pick up and go oneday, except that I had this
little house on the side of thecanal to always come home to,
and eventually I put down myroots here through the anchor
ashore.
I said I'm home, and we livedon the boat though for 25 years
before I moved off into thehouse.
Speaker 1 (10:06):
Oh, my goodness, and so you restored the farmhouse.
Tell me again what year 17.
Oh my goodness, and so yourestored the farmhouse.
Tell me again what year 17?
, 1724.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
So she's 300 years this year.
My goodness.
We had a birthday party inAugust, so you saw it was a good
time to do that.
And the renovations?
Yeah, the renovations startedliterally with putting a roof
over the kitchen, or what wouldbecome the first kitchen.
Because there was no roof,everything had collapsed in, you
know, the tiles and the raftersand the beams.
(10:37):
And so when I started to clearthat space with you know, I had
friends that came over, and onefriend in particular we were
shoveling wheelbarrows andwheelbarrows of rubble out into
what would become the driveway.
Oh my gosh.
And I always remember Johnsaying let's hose it out.
I went oh my God, it's going tomake mud because there was so
(10:59):
much dust and dirt in this room,and he turned on the hose and
squirted, and then we saw redunder the dirt, and red was the
terracotta tiles, the original100-year-old tiles that were
there still intact.
They look gorgeous.
Some of them are in their kindof model.
(11:21):
But we cleaned it up, we washedit out.
More rubble, more dirt outside,and then there was this
beautiful red tile floor, andthat gave me the impetus to
continue on and restore thewalls and the roof.
And there was no plumbing,there was no electricity, there
(11:42):
was nothing in it.
It had been.
The last time anybody had livedin this farmhouse was over 100
years ago.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Oh goodness, and it's just spectacular.
I mean it's rustic andcomfortable and I mean it just
was.
So you've got the perfect spotfor this residency, and I
actually had people alreadyasking me how they can come, so
we'll talk about that too, butso you had been teaching the
cooking classes then in 2022.
(12:09):
Is that correct?
You formerly opened Relay toCome On as a home for creative
residents.
Speaker 2 (12:15):
Yes, well, of course, just before that, we had the
dreaded pandemic which meantthat nobody could travel.
So, between you know, 2020,everything you know got on
lockdown in terms ofinternational and local travel,
and I moved all my cookingclasses online, like a lot of
(12:35):
people did, and for two years, Iset up my cooking classes so
that people could either Zoom inand do them live and they could
download the videos.
I did over 70 videos which I'mstill sitting on and saying what
do I do with these now?
So I would keep reaching out tothe world.
And when I concluded and Ilooked at what I had done, I
(13:01):
felt, in a way, I had puteverything I had been teaching
for so many years on the classicGaskin cooking.
I did it in this concentratedtime period and then I felt sort
of like I just put a ribbonaround it, tied it and said
ta-da, and, being this age, Ifelt it was time to get off my
(13:25):
feet like I've been doingteaching and look to see how
else I could live my life here,as I wanted to go forward in the
future, at 70, rather than youknow, rather than retiring, what
did I want to do next?
And that's where the idea thatI had in the back of my mind,
(13:49):
always entertained, havingpeople come and stay and very
creative people.
I've had a lot of journalistsover the years, I've been
featured in lots of magazinesand newspapers and TV, and so I
thought why not just invite thiscreative set that would allow
me to dedicate my time towriting, which was what I
(14:14):
started.
After the online courses, Istarted to publish my newsletter
, my blog, on Substack, anddecided that if I could only do
one thing, what would I want todo would be writing.
So I thought, well, surroundmyself, but you know, you want
to cook, you invite cooks toyour house, learn to surf, you
(14:38):
go to Hawaii, but if you want towrite, invite writers and
editors.
And so that was the beginningand the first season.
And, yeah, in 2022, we had somewonderful, talented sometimes
sometimes food people, sometimesnot and I've had amazing people
from all over the world whohave all kinds of wide, diverse
(15:02):
creative genres, from writers,of course, to filmmakers, to
textile artists, to painters,all kinds of people.
So it's been very exciting andinteresting for me.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Oh, wonderful, and you know.
Speaking of travelers, I'mcurious you know what about
Gascony?
You know makes it a uniquedestination for travelers?
For myself it was.
I know it's renowned for itsculinary traditions and I'll
never forget the experience ofvisiting the farmer's markets
with you and watching you shopand and purchase the local
(15:35):
produce and the rabbit and theduck, and you know items that
were, that were incorporatedinto the menu or that you know
that seasonal the asparagus, thestrawberries, the tiny
artichokes.
I, I cannot stop thinking aboutthose tiny artichokes, those
little purple artichokes.
But so you know, and yourrabbit and prune stew, we're
going to hopefully get togetherat some point and you share that
(15:59):
recipe for my travel cookbook.
But so my long-winded questionis how does food play a role in
the experience that you offer?
Relay to come on.
But also, you know what aresome of these aspects that are
an important part of the areaand the region.
Speaker 2 (16:15):
Yeah, thank you for asking that, because I think
that in the early days I sawthat this area was so untouched
by tourism that if I, you know,if I told people that I live,
you know, the nearest town, just15, 20 minutes away, is Agen.
That's where our big trainstation is.
It stops between Bordeaux andToulouse.
(16:36):
It's only like an hour and ahalf to either Bordeaux or
Toulouse, two big cities, buthere I call it the black hole of
France.
There was no tourism going on,but it was exactly the France
that people wanted to discover,fronts that people wanted to
discover.
And so, whether it's in mybarge years or if it was in the
(16:57):
sense of doing gastronomic toursor then the cooking classes,
food is a huge part of theculture of Gascony because it's
a farming area and if you thinkabout it, where's some of the
best food that you, whether it'slike something as simple as you
know corn on the cob, summer,you go to places where it's
(17:17):
grown.
You don't go to New York Cityto have corn on the cob, you go
to the country or the Midwest,or places where it's, you know,
in season.
And here the unique thing aboutthis area and the department
that is Harb makes up part ofGascony.
Gascony is an old name for thisbig kingdom that doesn't, or
(17:41):
duchy, that doesn't existlegally or you know on a map
anymore, but what it is?
It's a culture, and so thediversity of food grown in this
region makes it so remarkable.
So chefs and restaurants andthe farmer's markets are.
(18:02):
I'm spoiled because I don'trealize how special they are
until I go away from the otherbrands.
Not only are our prices reallygood, but I got bought today.
I went to the market today atLavardac and I bought a big bag
of vegetables from one of thefarmers that I know and it was
like I could barely carry it andput it in my backpack and it
(18:26):
was six euros, you know, for allthe vegetables I could eat for
the whole week.
So I said that you know, ifyou're a cook, this is a great
place to be.
And how that fits into theresidency is although when
somebody comes as a, you came ona retreat where everything was
organized for your group and wedid prepare meals, but when
(18:49):
people come on their own for twoweeks for a solo retreat
residency, they're responsiblefor their own food, but we go to
the market together and I givethem clues, help them out, but
occasionally, you know, we'llsit down and have a lunch
together.
But there's a productivity andan awareness of the seasons,
(19:09):
because this is all aboutfarming here.
So this week it's mid-June,it's been cooler and rainier in
the last six weeks than we like,but everything is.
I mean there's everything fromstrawberries and artichokes, and
the asparagus are aboutfinished.
I saw one bunch today at themarket.
The artichokes are almostfinished, those little ones, but
(19:34):
the tomatoes are coming in.
Everything you'd want for aratatouille, the courgettes, the
apricots and peaches,strawberries calming down now.
So that seasonality that Irespond to as a cook is somehow,
(19:55):
I think it feeds into people'sawareness that when they're here
that they see over a coupleweeks a rolling of the senses,
and so if you're a painter, oryou're a painter even without
making it a deliberate project,you're going to be affected by
(20:17):
that.
You're going to see that thecorn that is in the field next
to to the house, uh, is, wasfour inches when you arrive and
now it's like 18 inches just inthat week and a half time.
And I think it's that kind offecundity of the earth and the
seasons that somehow infiltrates, and of course it's in my own
(20:42):
garden, which surrounds thehouse and our common areas, so
people get a sense of that andsomehow that infuses into their
life and their work without itbeing an obvious thing.
Speaker 1 (20:57):
Mm-hmm, fabulous Go ahead.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
I'm sorry, I was just going to say you know, I do
like to be able to introducepeople to the food of the area,
so I also want people to havetheir space and their time and
distance, like I have my own forworking.
But there's a nice point ofcoming together at that big
round table out in the garden.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
Yes, yes, wonderful.
On Substack you have aserialized book Finding France,
a memoir in small bites.
Can you tell the listeners alittle bit about that, who might
not be familiar?
And you know what is Substackor you know, I mean, how did you
?
Speaker 2 (21:35):
It's all pretty new, isn't it?
You know it's only.
Substack as a platform forwriters and other creatives has
only existed for just a fewyears, maybe five years.
I jumped on board three yearsago and right away took what was
my blog or what I would writean occasional newsletter on my
(21:59):
website, and I moved it over,moved my subscribers to my
newsletter over onto thisplatform called Substack, and
it's basically whatever you wantit to be.
There's very serious politicalwriting, there's writing about
tech and AI, there's all kindsof genres and there's a big food
world.
Lots of writers, everybody fromRuth Reichel to Michael Woolman
(22:24):
, to chefs and important people,paul Bertulli they all had
started their.
I think people refer to them asnewsletters originally.
But when I jumped on and Irealized that this was a
wonderful platform for me towrite because I could publish
all the time, I didn't have totry to put a book proposal
(22:44):
together, sell the book proposaland two years down the line, if
you're lucky, you might have abook come out.
I could write every week orevery two weeks or whatever I
wanted to do.
And in setting that up, Iworked with a woman, sarah Fay
on Writers at Work on Substack,who taught about serialization
(23:07):
how to serialize a novel or howto serialize a memoir and I
thought that's exactly what Iwanted to.
I had never figured out how toportray in a memoir where I
didn't feel like you're justlooking back at the past.
So I wanted to explore, in whatI would call finding France,
(23:30):
how I found France as a cook,how I found France wherever I
was, and the lessons I learnedhere about cooking could be
applied to you, could be appliedto some kid in inner city
Chicago, could be applied tosomebody living in New Zealand,
that they could look at wherethey were and take the tenets of
(23:51):
good French cooking not justthe style of cooking but the
approach to food.
And so I wanted to see how didI learn that?
And so I started to write lastSeptember, so I'm more than
halfway through now.
I wanted to make it like a year,over a year, to write about how
I discovered, on arriving bybarge into this part of France
(24:15):
and discovering the food and theway of eating and the way of
cooking.
And so every month I writestories.
I write portraits of people whohave been my mentors and
teachers and recipes.
I include recipes as well andsome vintage Kate portraits that
(24:37):
I found, which I think arehysterical, to see me in 19 or
in 24 in Africa, or cruisingdown the boat with my hair in a
ponytail in my bag.
Oh well, you know now, and sothen, for me too, it was another
way of learning.
Continue to learn, mm-hmm.
Learn to cook.
How did I learn to become thecook I am today?
(24:58):
Oh, that's so interesting.
I'm respected for myunderstanding of gas can cooking
and the products, and, ofcourse, it was living here and
learning about the ingredients.
That really is the main thing.
So now I'm on that path to beover the next few months to
(25:19):
finish, and all of this isonline, so you can either go to
the app or you go to the websiteand you can put in my link, and
then you can go back and readin the archives what I've
written Excellent, you know,last two years.
Or you could just jump inwherever it's starting, and
maybe I will eventually publishthis as a real book, you know,
(25:44):
as an article or something.
That's another goal, and thenI'll see where we go from there.
I have some ideas to developover the next couple months.
But it's a wonderful way toallow yourself to you know, to
sit down and write and thenshare it immediately with you
know your audience and to seethat audience grow so strongly
(26:06):
has been very rewarding.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
Oh, kate, I'll be sure and share the link to your
sub stack in the show notes aswell.
But you know, finally, realbriefly, I guess I apologize.
I'm just so fascinated by yourstory I don't want to stop.
But you know you offer soresidencies, like I did, where
it's a group that comes in, oryou offer retreats, where
individuals can come and stayfor a couple couple weeks.
(26:29):
So, whether they choose one orthe other, what do you hope
guests take away from their timespent at Relay de Comont?
Speaker 2 (26:37):
When I put the word out there and I was trying to
figure out how do I explainexactly what this is, I just
used a little tagline.
I called it the Relay de Comont, because Comont is the name of
the farm and has been since the1700s.
And it was and did act as arelay, which was an inn for
(26:58):
barges that were going up anddown the canal, where they could
stop overnight and rest theirhorses they were all pulled by
horses or mules and have a mealand then they would carry on.
So the idea that this was aplace that people could rest and
restore themselves and the wordrelay gave birth to that.
And my tagline, which I use,quite simply just said a quiet
(27:23):
place to work.
And that is what I wanted peopleto discover that I wasn't going
to act as the founder of anartist residency, I wasn't going
to judge people.
I tried to look for compatiblespirits that will enjoy and get
on with other people that arehere, but I did want to judge
(27:46):
what people's work was, but Iwanted to give them a space so
they could work.
It is, it's quiet, as you know,it's very quiet.
We're only, you know, 50, 20minutes into a major city, but
it's like we're in the middle ofthe countryside.
You might hear a tractor in thedistance.
Oh, it's fabulous, and you havethese perfectly.
Speaker 1 (28:04):
You know curated workspaces for each writer.
Mine, it just had memories ofEurope, travel, but also my mom.
She sold encyclopedias when Iwas a kid and right next to my
desk was that stack ofencyclopedias.
It was like she was there, youknow.
I mean it was just fabulous.
And then, or you can work outin the gardens with your rose
(28:29):
bushes and the banana tree.
I mean it was just.
I can't even put it.
People are going to have tocome see it because I can't do
it justice.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Yeah, there's a lot of photographs on the website,
so when people go on the websitethey see lots of photographs of
the room.
We have three bedrooms that aretypically butch for residents.
Each one has a desk or worksurface.
I'm just setting up a newatelier space, so painters or
people that need one, we're alla little bit on a big table or
(28:56):
have that kind of work inside.
Now we'll have a place to work.
It's just outside the room thatyou were my office, outside the
room that you stayed in, with abig skylight and nice bright
room, and I I think that thewhat I've for me, what this has
been so much fun has been to.
(29:16):
I love that people use the wordcurate, but it's like playing
in a dollhouse, like I like toput the paintings.
I love art.
I have all my paintings and Icollect artists and share that
with people.
Books, which I love so thereare books everywhere, including.
I could not give up thoseencyclopedias.
I loved it.
It was just it was so which Imoved in here so that I use them
(29:41):
, like you know, like a littletable next to that desk, and I
want to share those things andhope that they inspire, maybe,
the works of other artists.
Some of my favorite artists orwriters that are around might
inspire somebody in their work.
So it's been that very creativeand it's always moving and
changing.
I always started discoveringsomething new.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
Oh, wonderful.
Well, Kate, thank you forsharing your story and thank you
for sharing this perfect spacefor creative people to get away
and spend time in France.
I mean, it was just perfect, sothank you so much.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Oh, it's been my pleasure.
Jill, Thanks for inviting me on.
I'm really glad that you cameand got to experience this
firsthand for yourself.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
Oh.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
I can't wait to come back.
Oh yeah, people never come once.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
No, no so yeah, people never come once.
No, no, so well, thank you verymuch and I hope you enjoy the
rest of your day.
Thank you, bye-bye, okay.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Bye-bye.
Speaker 1 (30:42):
Welcome to Global Journeys with Jill Dutton, the
captivating travel podcast thattakes you on an extraordinary
adventure around the world.
I'm your host, jill Dutton, andI am thrilled to be your guide
through the mesmerizing tapestryof cultures, landscapes and
experiences that await us.
Global Journeys with JillDutton is more than just a
(31:02):
travel podcast.
It's an exploration of humanityitself.
Through the power ofstorytelling, we illuminate the
lives of the remarkableindividuals we encounter along
the way, whether it's throughthe eyes of a fishing guide, a
distillery owner, a mixologist,a historian, chef, or even a
farmer.
Each person we meet adds a richlayer to the narrative of
(31:25):
culture and place.
In this podcast, we embark on atransformative journey where
the focus goes beyond thetypical tourist attractions.
Instead, we dive deep into thehearts and souls of the places
we visit, uncovering the hiddengems and untold stories that
make each destination trulyunique.
Join me as we venture off thebeaten path, seeking
(31:48):
authenticity, connection and adeeper understanding of the
world we inhabit.
Together, we'll unravel thetapestry of cultures, one story
at a time.
Although my writing careerbegan in the late 90s, when I
created and launched a wellnesspublication called Evolving
Magazine, since 2015 I've workedas a travel writer on a mission
(32:09):
to seek out the locallycelebrated foods, liquor trends,
outdoor activities and storiesof those I meet along the way.
My work has been published inWine Enthusiast, afar, woman's
World, first for Women, insider,road Trippers.
Modern Farmer Chilled Magazineand many more digital and print
publications.
(32:30):
Modern Farmer Chilled Magazineand many more digital and print
publications.
I'm also the creator of GlobalPlates the People we Meet, the
Food they Eat a syndicatedcolumn.
Creating this podcast is thenext step in my journey of
sharing the stories of thepeople I've met along the way.
So pack your curiosity, leaveyour preconceived notions behind
and let's embark on globaljourneys with Jill Dutton, where
(32:51):
each episode promises toinspire, educate and awaken the
wanderlust within us all.
As we travel on this excitingpodcasting journey together, I
invite you, our incredibleaudience, to be a part of it.
Share your own travel stories,insights and recommendations
with us of it.
Share your own travel stories,insights and recommendations
(33:12):
with us, whether you have ahidden gem in your hometown or a
dream destination that hascaptured your imagination.
We want to hear from you.
Your suggestions will helpshape the future episodes of
Global Journeys, with JillDutton guiding us towards
extraordinary locations andexperiences that deserve a
spotlight.
Remember, this podcast is notabout just the host or the
guests.
It's about the collectiveexploration and discovery that
(33:33):
unites us all as wanderers inthis vast world.
So reach out to us through ourwebsite, social media channels
or email and let your voice beheard.
Send your suggestions to me atjill at
globaljourneyswithjillduttoncom.
I can't wait to hear from you.
Until next time, may yourtravels be filled with endless
(33:55):
curiosity, open-heartedencounters and transformative
adventures.
Safe travels, fellow explorers,and keep wandering.
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