Free Freedom Fries and Cafe Creme by Jocelyne Rapinac

some French family, you’re right, with the Nicole part. I’ll ask her.’
    â€˜Be careful, it might be a mistake to date another woman with French blood. Remember Justine’s bad temper! I liked her a lot, though.’
    They both remembered when Paul had dated Justine, a French au pair, who had been stressed out most of the time, in addition to being moody. She would laugh loudly and sincerely, then a minute later be in such a rage that it was frightening to witness, or she would cry as if all the evil of the world had fallen on to her shoulders. And she smoked like a chimney! But she was a very good cook. Adam didn’t have to do a thing. And he’d learnt a lot from her. Paul had broken up with her when he’d realised that Justine was spending more time having fun in the kitchen with Adam than she was with him.
    â€˜Well, Audrey-Nicole seems to be a real gourmet. But, she doesn’t like to cook because she thinks men are better at it than women.’
    So, she’s not a real gourmet. Real gourmets enjoy preparing food as well as eating it, Adam thought. And here we go again. Another twenty-first-century feminist, convinced that men should replace women in the kitchen. Men and women should enjoy the pleasures of the kitchen together, side by side!
    In a way, though, Adam couldn’t blame today’s women for having no desire to cook since, over the centuries, so many had been treated as slaves in the kitchen, having to feed entire families with hardly any thanks or recognition. Where was the enjoyment when you had to prepare meals, day in day out, for a husband and children, and sometimes even for siblings or elderly parents, who often didn’t care at all what they were eating and simply wolfed down their food like animals?
    Well, Adam decided, contemplating the tender steak on his fork, the ideal mother-housekeeper from the 1950s,with a spotless apron around her waist, has disappeared. Now nobody wants to cook. That’s sexual equality, for better or for worse. It explains why our society eats so poorly: no one wants to be in the kitchen.
    Pastis was happy stretched across Paul’s lap; the two friends exchanged smiles as they listened to his purring.
    â€˜I suppose I’ll have to cook a gourmet dinner soon,’ Adam said, with an amused look. ‘I’ll enjoy it a lot more than making something with cottage cheese or, even worse, soybeans.’
    They both laughed at the memory of Melissa, who was a fanatical vegan, always asking and worrying about every ingredient in every dish when she wasn’t eating at home. Paul had quickly tired of her.
    Being in the mood – the entrecôte au bleu and the Madiran helping things along – the two friends went through the list of Paul’s other ex-girlfriends that Adam had had to cook for. Apart from Justine, Paul had never dated a woman long enough for her to discover that he hadn’t been the one doing the cooking.
    Feeling that another trip to Quebec was on the cards, Adam announced with a wry smile, ‘By the way, I just read this week in the food pages of the New York Times that a new Breton-Normand restaurant has opened in Rue Saint-Jean.’
    â€˜It’s good to know,’ Paul replied. ‘Don’t worry, our deal hasn’t changed. You’ll have your weekend in Quebec and, of course, I’ll be there to share it.’
    â€˜Glad to hear it!’
    They shook hands, laughing.
    Every time Paul revealed that he’d just met the woman of his dreams, Adam was amused because he enjoyed the challenge of creating a new menu.
    First of all he needed to know a little more about this Audrey-Nicole. What should he cook for the first dinner date? Was Audrey-Nicole allergic to any foods or spices? Did she have a favourite dish? How many courses should he prepare? What kind of aperitifs and wine did she like? Where and how should the table be set? Would they eat in the kitchen or in the