For a food writer, where you live is not just where you sleep at night; it’s also a place of inspiration and creativity.
“My home is my work, it’s where I cook, where I write, it’s everything,” says French-based foodie Trish Deseine.
Now she’s selling her pretty cottage, deep in the French countryside, for a new adventure – but she won’t be moving far.
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Born in Belfast and raised in the Co Antrim countryside, food has long been a major part of Deseine’s life.
She moved to France in the early 1980s, where she married a Frenchman, had four children, and, while starting a chocolate company, was approached by a French publisher to write her first cookbook. Petits Plats entre Amis (Little Plates among Friends) was published in 2001, and she later appeared on three cooking shows on RTÉ, starting with Trish’s Paris Kitchen in 2008.
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In 2015, she returned to Ireland, moving to west Cork for a time when her marriage broke up, but she was drawn back to France again, partly for familial reasons. Two of her four children are now based there, with one daughter in Trinity College in Dublin and another son in Barcelona but potentially returning to France also.
Food columnist for The Gloss, Deseine had also been hosting writing retreats and cooking classes in her former home.
“But then the pandemic struck, and that entire side of my business just collapsed,” she recalls.
So, she moved to her current, smaller house in Le Perche last year, “to hunker down and get things moving again”.
She was attracted to the area by nature and its foodie heritage. The scenic area is known for its rolling hills, fields, agricultural prowess and woodland designated as a natural regional park.
Markets are a big attraction in the area, with nearby Bellême hosting a market every week, while the “chicest and grandest” market is to be found in Mortagne-au-Perche.
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About a two-hour drive to Paris, or an hour and a half to Tours, “it’s in the middle bit between Brittany and northern part of Normandy”, Deseine says.
The area has become increasingly popular with weekending Parisians, attracted by its “Cotswoldly” vibe.
“It’s getting a little bit more gentrified; there are some very good wine bars and restaurants and a little épicerie scene,” she says
Deseine says the area feels a bit like west Cork.
Her home is at the heart of a little village, five minutes from Bellême, the historical capital of the region. With a pretty south-facing garden, it’s perfect for leisurely lunches en terrace, with two bedrooms, plus an attic suitable for conversion. It’s currently for sale for €200,000, with Les belles maisons du Perche.
So why the move?
Deseine wants to step up her business, and get back to offering cooking classes, as well as hosting guests.
She won’t be going far; she has her eyes on another property in the area, just about 10 minutes away from the home she is selling.
“I’d love to do French cooking for Irish visitors and help them discover Le Perche,” she says, and is also interested in establishing a chambre d’hôtes, a French style B&B.
“I’ve been itching to do that,” she says.
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Now a grandmother at the young age of 58, Deseine has her eyes very much on the future.
“As a woman in my mid to late 50s, it’s really a time to celebrate,” she says, adding that this time around, she’s a lot less daunted by the move than she was last time.
But will this be her forever home? Having spent more than half her life in Paris, would she return to the city of lights?
“I couldn’t afford to live in Paris anymore on a writer’s salary. It’s a very expensive place to live,” she says. But doesn’t rule it out entirely.
“Never say never.”
