Olivia Ruiz, stage name of Olivia Blanc, is a French singer-songwriter, singer, actress, director and novelist born on 1 January 1980 in Carcassonne.

Gérard Bertrand: hello to all of you, welcome to the tenth edition of food wine and music today at château l'Hospitalet with chef Laurent Chabbert who is with us and with a very special guest of honour, a special guest since she is from the region, please welcome Olivia Ruiz. 

Olivia Ruiz: hi everyone.

Gérard Bertrand: how are you, Olivia?

Olivia Ruiz: but it's going really well in front of these beautiful products. It can only go well, there's a disaster happening nearby but otherwise it's fine.

Gérard Bertrand: so it's incredible because Olivia, you spent three months in Narbonne-Plage du Touquet 3 minutes from here and today when we're doing the live you're in Paris, ridiculous.

Olivia Ruiz: it's all a bit much but there you go, the main thing is being here. But it's true that I… I… I… I feel like seeing everything that's going on. 

Gérard Bertrand: so chef, what are we going to…what's on the programme this evening?

Laurent Chabbert: hello Olivia and hello everyone.

Olivia Ruiz: hi. 

Laurent Chabbert: so today we're going to make a pressed vegetable and crumbled suckling pig terrine, suckling pig from Roquetaillade, just next to Limoux, with a tomato, courgette and olive salsa, a homemade barbecue sauce, a few fresh herbs. Then a veal chop — we just removed the bone to make it easier to carve… From the Pyrenees, with a homemade mash and a shallot sauce, a few crisps… And then we have a new item, which is the red wine and red fruit baballes that will be on sale from next week at the hotel. 

Gérard Bertrand: perfect! So I'm pleased because actually Olivia today…hold on, chef come…it's important because Laurent Chabbert today has a match within the match thanks to you, since he's actually going to compete with Yannick Alléno's kitchens, as we wanted to do something because it's good that you have high standards, it'll be a challenge, since you'll actually be able to taste almost the same thing live with… Which was delivered directly from the kitchens of three-star chef Yannick Alléno in Paris. So it's wonderful because we're going to be able to have a chef challenge, it's the masterchef today between Narbonne and Paris, so here we go… 

Olivia Ruiz: given that the Parisian one is already spoken for by Narbonne, so the challenge is a bit of a lost cause. 

Laurent Chabbert: thank you! 

Gérard Bertrand: so look, Olivia, I'm going to tell you something — we're going to start having a drink, and we couldn't start with anything other than a wine from the city of Carcassonne, since we officially launched this héritage range worldwide yesterday — we were at the Hôtel de la Cité where we had a wonderful time. So it's a 2018 Merlot from the city of Carcassonne — that'll remind you of something. 

Olivia Ruiz: oh well yes, although strangely enough, good old gabach, the first one that caught my attention was the Tautavel, which is a shame for me. 

Gérard Bertrand: no no no, not at all, because we're very proud… Cheers. 

Olivia Ruiz: cheers, Gérard!

Gérard Bertrand: cheers!

Gérard Bertrand: so a few words, Olivia, how did you experience this lockdown in Narbonne-Plage, quietly? 

Olivia Ruiz: yeah exactly — well, what was great is that I wasn't confined confined every day with my little boy who's 4 and a half; cycling along the seafront during the permitted hours, and at least you see the little life ticking along nicely, and the local traders — an extraordinary butcher in Narbonne-Plage — so there you go… And so that little daily life at a good distance allowed us to hold on, because my son and I both love people, we love chatting and sharing, so we would have been quite miserable if we'd stayed in Paris and had been forced for our safety to stay cooped up a bit more than we were — we're lucky. 

Gérard Bertrand: what did you do for 3 months? 

Olivia Ruiz: well listen, I… First of all I spent a good deal of time with my son because at four and a half he takes a lot of energy, you know… And then I wrote, of course — having finished La commode aux tiroirs de couleurs.

Gérard Bertrand: we'll talk about it. 

Olivia Ruiz: there you go, there was a brief moment when I needed to find that refuge again. In this book I invented very comforting women for myself and the fact that she leaves, goes towards others, to comfort others… There you go, I needed to immerse myself again, so for the second one it seems that it will once again be that Occitan setting which is so dear to me and which will inspire me until my last breath. 

Gérard Bertrand: That's great, that's wonderful. 

Olivia Ruiz: and once again, I'm not going to explain that to you. 

Gérard Bertrand: no, but what's great is that we share the same common roots. Now, my family originally came, four generations ago, from the Alps; yours is the Spanish side — and yet it's Marseillette all the same, and Marseillette is your birthplace and your heart's village, because I know you were born in Carcassonne, and I in Narbonne, but it's Marseillette. So there are two stars in Marseillette — there's Olivia Ruiz and Jancis Robinson, the world's leading wine woman — so I'm going to arrange a meeting between you two, because you're the two most important people in Marseillette and you actually don't know each other — I learnt that and I was surprised, but… 

Olivia Ruiz: but absolutely, because for me especially with these women in wine it's something that interests me because I know it's harder than elsewhere to make a name for yourself, probably like in so many male-dominated professions, and as you say Marseillette is a tiny place, 700 I think in total, well I'm not there but my parents are, so it amazes me because I…when you get out a bit I still go to the café, pop into the village fêtes when I'm there, it's important to me…and so I haven't crossed paths with her and you'll have to introduce her to me, otherwise one of these days I'll go and knock on her door…

Gérard Bertrand: exactly, exactly — well I remember because when I was younger I sometimes listened to Radio Marseillette — does that ring a bell for you?

Olivia Ruiz: I was an entertainer there from the age of 6 until I was 16, would you believe.

Gérard Bertrand: I used to take the train from the Lusignan era in Carcassonne when I was at agricultural college, so with the bell tower you can see from afar in Marseillette. It also reminds me of my childhood and adolescence, exactly.

And so for your musical activity, I believe you're also preparing something, aren't you?

Olivia Ruiz: yeah, because I've become an associate artist of the national stage of greater Narbonne.

Gérard Bertrand: exactly. 

Olivia Ruiz: there you go, and I did a creation there last November which was supposed to go back out in March around… Around the other. For a show and also to create a connection around songs like those marked by the Spanish people of France or the Mediterranean people in the broader sense of the term. A little poetic journey on the importance of changing our view of the other, of erasing our reflexes of rejection, of relearning to see difference as the greatest of riches. 

Gérard Bertrand: that's good. And when is it going to start up again then? When is it going to start up again? 

Olivia Ruiz: so early October with the Bouffes du Nord, from the 3rd to the 7th of November.

Gérard Bertrand: very good. So chef, are you ready?

Laurent Chabbert: yeah!

Gérard Bertrand: so the chef is ready, so we're going to have a little contest, the two of us — I don't know what you've got. So er… 

Olivia Ruiz: so okay, so… 

Gérard Bertrand: so chef, what… 

Olivia Ruiz: well, for the starter, I…

Gérard Bertrand: it's magnificent, chef, what is it then?

Olivia Ruiz: oh it's beautiful, wait, is that the starter or is that it?

Gérard Bertrand: You have the choice there, I think that…

Olivia Ruiz: that is?

Gérard Bertrand: that's for later.

Olivia Ruiz: oh my, it's magnificent.

Gérard Bertrand: so chef, go ahead — tell us. 

Laurent Chabbert: so we have the pressed suckling pig shoulder. So the suckling pig — I simply placed it underneath, with peppers, courgettes and aubergines that we confit in olive oil. We added a little sage, a little sliced olive, olive oil and confit tomato; here is the barbecue sauce we made in-house, and the shiso sorbet — the shiso coming from the Françoise family.

Gérard Bertrand: magnificent. Well, I'm going to taste it, chef. Do you want to taste it with me or… 

Laurent Chabbert: no, I need to work a little bit. 

Gérard Bertrand: you have to work a little.

Gérard Bertrand: here then…

Laurent Chabbert: here I'm just adding the salsa verde.

Gérard Bertrand: have you started tasting, Olivia?

Olivia Ruiz: so look, I don't know if you can see. 

Gérard Bertrand: oh it's beautiful! 

Olivia Ruiz: but in any case it's magnificent.

Gérard Bertrand: it's magnificent, yeah. 

Gérard Bertrand: so let's thank chef Alléno… 

Olivia Ruiz: oh yes indeed we will thank him. 

Gérard Bertrand: well, I'm going to taste it. Ah, there we go… 

Olivia Ruiz: it's beautiful in Narbonne too, I have to say. 

Laurent Chabbert: it's good here too, yes.

Gérard Bertrand: magnificent.

Olivia Ruiz: it's a wonder. The cooking is incredible — it's caramelised, it's melt-in-the-mouth and crispy. It's absolutely delicious, it's not greasy. 

Gérard Bertrand: is it good, Olivia? I have…I have a hard life. I'm even licking my fingers. 

Olivia Ruiz: honestly, between the beautiful travels, the good food, the good wine. I often think to myself, it's not easy, poor Gérard. And your estate too, we don't talk about it, but it's a magical place. Having performed in concert at your place… 

Gérard Bertrand: yes, that was back in 2012 already.

Olivia Ruiz: playing in this place is magical. Well, I had already come here as a guest at the hotel to spend a night before, long before, and I'd had a wonderful time. And then a few years later, the concert. So truly this place is a little cocoon. It's at once immense, worthy of everything you've built and which makes us shine for the rest of the world and of which we're quite proud. But that's what's rather magical about this place — it's a little cocoon at the same time.

Gérard Bertrand: yes and you know it was in 2012, so let's raise a glass to our friend Jean Cormier who has left us, who was there with us, and you remember we finished at 5 in the morning with Jean Cormier telling stories, we raised our elbows a few times. 

Olivia Ruiz: oh yes but we're good at that; oh well of course his great elbow-bending competition, but I had forgotten, he told me about it so many times. 

Gérard Bertrand: and yes…the elbow-benders' marathon. 

Olivia Ruiz: what a laugh…you know I had come to play, I had lost my grandmother the day before.

Gérard Bertrand: I know…

Olivia Ruiz: but I had been determined not to cancel — it turned out to be a lovely moment 

Gérard Bertrand: yes I remember, and in fact your whole family was much more worried than you were before the concert. I remember it very well. 

Olivia Ruiz: well yeah, I had faith in… 

Gérard Bertrand: when you're on stage…so what do you want to…what do you want to do for us, because I know you're doing us the pleasure of performing a few notes a cappella, so…

Olivia Ruiz: well, I want to ask you — what would you fancy? Do you fancy Spanish? Do you fancy French? Do you fancy English?

Gérard Bertrand: listen, no but I… 

Olivia Ruiz: what kind of music do you like, Gérard? 

Gérard Bertrand: no, I was… 

Olivia Ruiz: I know a little. 

Gérard Bertrand: I was amazed because I saw that your roots were Rock Five and that you were a fan of Lenny Kravitz. That's incredible! 

Olivia Ruiz: oh yeah! Wow but that's…we're going to have to… 

Gérard Bertrand: no no but do whatever you want. 

Olivia Ruiz:  it's going to be tricky but yes, of course, when I was a kid I loved it. What was I singing back then that was a bit rocky that I might remember… It's true that I've rather forgotten. What could we sing from home otherwise? 

Gérard Bertrand: but no… 

Olivia Ruiz: something that makes you think of home. Well, we'll do a little bit of "j'traine les pieds". 

Gérard Bertrand: there you go, perfect.

Olivia Ruiz: It's still a song that talks about the café in Marseillette.

Gérard Bertrand: exactly! 

Olivia Ruiz: live music.

Gérard Bertrand: bravo! 

Olivia Ruiz: and there you go. We're doing well in Marseillette. 

Gérard Bertrand: yeah and then that…you know what, when you sing that, it reminds me of walking with my sister on the way to school, since we left home to go to the village school in Saint-André-de-Roquelongue. So we walked 500 metres every day and there I had my cousins, male and female, and so knock-knees, often grazed. 

Olivia Ruiz: and the scent of freedom! 

Gérard Bertrand: yeah, exactly. And we used to stop at the corner shop to buy carambars. For 10 centimes you got fifteen of them.  

Olivia Ruiz: but of course, otherwise it's no fun…and malakoff, didn't you have the… For me malakoff was my big thing as a child. 

Gérard Bertrand: so you know what? So you know what? I was completely taken aback because there's a tobacconist in Narbonne… 

Olivia Ruiz: but… 

Gérard Bertrand: at the bottom of the Carcassonne bridge selling Malakoff. 

Olivia Ruiz: I know, next to the gorgeous hotel behind the station, isn't that right? 

Gérard Bertrand: no no no no, the one at the bottom of the Carcassonne bridge, you know the one that was closed for a long time…

Olivia Ruiz: well I think it was that one. 

Gérard Bertrand: no, and he sells Malakoffs. So I just pop in to buy a few when I buy the newspaper because it reminds me…

Olivia Ruiz: and they don't taste the same.

Gérard Bertrand: er…

Olivia Ruiz: don't you think they don't taste quite the same?

Gérard Bertrand: no… No, our taste has changed, it's not the same thing.

Olivia Ruiz: oh yeah, that's quite possible, that's quite possible. 

Gérard Bertrand: oh yes, oh yes, oh yes — it's not the same thing. So regarding…

Olivia Ruiz: oh my, what a delight, I must say! 

Gérard Bertrand: it's good, isn't it?! 

Olivia Ruiz: wow, well at the same time when you studied with Alléno I ??? 

Gérard Bertrand: and so listen… 

Olivia Ruiz: I can't see how you can't do something great. 

Gérard Bertrand: tell me a bit about yourself, because you're actually very eclectic — of course there's singing, music, theatre, writing, er… What's still missing?... Of course private life, being a mum, etc. — But what's missing in your creative madness or your creative drive? What would you like to do? You do photography too… What is it you'd like to explore that you haven't done yet? 

Olivia Ruiz: well I've done a bit but not enough — I admit that being behind the camera is something I'd really love to do. And in front of the camera, I haven't done much of that either, even though it's great — I love acting, because imagine, it's as if you became a waiter tomorrow: what a joy not to be the boss, what a joy to be the boss's instrument. What a holiday it is when you're used to managing 25 guys and… Well, fewer. 

Gérard Bertrand: 350.

Olivia Ruiz: there you go.

Gérard Bertrand: but that's already a lot from you.

Olivia Ruiz: yeah but so there you go… 

Gérard Bertrand: because when…you made "état d'urgence" in 2019, it's a TV film, isn't it? And now you'd like to move a bit behind the camera because it's a logical next step for you?

Olivia Ruiz: yeah I'll admit that "la commode aux tiroirs de couleurs" I wrote it like a film, really weighing up the images. 

Gérard Bertrand: that's good. 

Olivia Ruiz: sometimes I would stop and do the characters' voices. I have, I have things on my phone where the three sisters are arguing half in Spanish, in Occitan, in French because I needed it to be very embodied for my writing. So there you go, maybe…

Gérard Bertrand: what's your model — who is or what is your model director? For me there's one who impresses me and that's Clint Eastwood, because the way he handles the camera is incredible! And the speed at which he films. 

Olivia Ruiz: oh yes, it's great! Yeah, but it's true that I tend to look for models within reach of my means, because here we're touching on one of the masters who has…

Gérard Bertrand: yes…

Olivia Ruiz: there you go…

Gérard Bertrand: but he works fast, you've seen it, he's not the most expensive in terms of budgets, he films very quickly. 

Olivia Ruiz: no, you're right, it's true. And it's always a brilliant exercise for actors because he works fast. And he pilots helicopters, planes and then… No but the guy is something else… Among the French ones, you know, I love Maïwenn, I love Noémie Lvovsky. 

Gérard Bertrand: oh yes.

Olivia Ruiz: I obviously love Almodóvar, he's one of my icons, but the others too, Carlos Saura. Whenever it touches on Latin cinema it strikes a strong chord with me.

Gérard Bertrand: and do you see a difference…do you see a big difference between Spanish cinema and French cinema? Because they're both auteur cinemas, what's the difference for you? Because well, Spanish cinema here, we know Almodóvar but there are certainly others…but do you see a big difference between the Spanish approach and the French approach in terms of cinema? 

Olivia Ruiz: I find that every time it plays with codes that are risky and I love that boundary. Often we're on the edge of kitsch with Spanish style. 

Gérard Bertrand: yes. 

Olivia Ruiz: sometimes you're in something and you don't know. You tell yourself oh my god this is going to be a telenovela and then you end up in something incredibly dreamlike. It's more sensual. 

Gérard Bertrand: yeah. 

 Olivia Ruiz: it's more clear-cut, less cerebral, it's more of a physical thing. So it's true that I'm extremely sensitive to that, but there are plenty of French directors I love — Dupontel, you know. Dupontel really has a tone that speaks to me. That kind of humour touches me, it… There you go. 

Gérard Bertrand: and what is it, what is your favourite place in Spain if there is one?

Olivia Ruiz: I love Granada, but I think it's Portlligat all the same. 

Gérard Bertrand: yes. 

Olivia Ruiz: that borders Cadaqués. When you go behind Cadaqués and head to Dalí's house, that little fishing port there… 

Gérard Bertrand: yes. 

Olivia Ruiz: you've got nothing, just a little residence, a small hotel. There… 

Gérard Bertrand: it has the same effect on me, because as soon as I cross the border, the simple fact of hearing another language — you feel transported, and we're lucky because we're an hour's drive away…

Olivia Ruiz: yeah.

Gérard Bertrand: so it's still quite a privilege to be able to play on both sides of the border like that. And now for the past 3 months everything has been wrapped up.

Olivia Ruiz: but it's fine… Normally everything will be unblocked on the 22nd — we're counting on it, we're counting on it.

Gérard Bertrand: well, I lost… It got unplugged, you see — I have a small technical problem.

Olivia Ruiz: oh…

Gérard Bertrand: can you hear me?

Olivia Ruiz: yeah, I can hear you. 

Gérard Bertrand: ah, there we go — I had a technical problem, I'd unplugged my microphone. So chef, what are we going to eat? Because Olivia is ready — we're going to taste the, we're going to taste the Tautavel now, Olivia.

Olivia Ruiz: go on. 

Gérard Bertrand: we're going to taste the Tautavel, vintage 2018. So chef, where are we now? 

Laurent Chabbert: so here we are in the PO.

Gérard Bertrand: oh well there you go, that's why there are no coincidences, we're in the Pyrénées-Orientales, we're among the Catalans. So?

Laurent Chabbert: so the Catalan veal that grazed, so the Vedell veal as they call it down there. So with the shallot sauce…the rib, I grilled it on the barbecue, a proper mousseline mash, we just added a tiny bit of olive oil to give it a bit of body, the new potato crisps, a few herbs, mainly oxalis to bring the acidity. And now I'm going to add the shallot sauce.

Gérard Bertrand: what have you got to show me? What are you going to eat?

Olivia Ruiz: well, mine is beautiful beyond words. It's an artichoke filled… Look at how beautiful that is.

Gérard Bertrand: oh yes it's beautiful. So I'll tell you, you're going to love it, but you know that artichoke with wine is tricky, but it's magnificent.

Olivia Ruiz: oh no, I don't know.

Gérard Bertrand: what's in it?

Olivia Ruiz: but I think he will have thought about it. So I imagine the idea is to eat it with the leaves.

Gérard Bertrand: yes, with your fingers especially.

Olivia Ruiz: I imagine he will have thought about your wine. Obviously it's better with your fingers.

Gérard Bertrand: oh yes. Is it good?

Gérard Bertrand: it's very good, there's shallot, it's very vinegary, there's chive.

Gérard Bertrand: well, I'm going to taste the… I'm going to taste the veal, chef. I'm starving today…

Olivia Ruiz: a smoked fish…how good it is, oh my goodness.

Gérard Bertrand: so chef…

Olivia Ruiz: and I who am…

Gérard Bertrand: excuse me, chef — how long has the veal been aged?

Olivia Ruiz: here we don't age it very long — for rosé we'll age it for about ten days, it's less important than for beef; for beef we do 28 days, but here… There you go, and then the barbecue side of things and letting the meat rest a little longer than we did just now…

Gérard Bertrand: Olivia, you have to come and taste this because it's absolutely incredible.

Olivia Ruiz: well great, we'll do this again, I'll be back anyway. I'm going back and forth for the book promotion but on the other hand I'm really making the most of my south here as much as I can, this lockdown business gave me a good excuse to spend time here because usually they always keep me in Paris for work and there…

Gérard Bertrand: so you know we have some good news because the festival is going ahead.

Olivia Ruiz: oh that's not true, brilliant!

Gérard Bertrand: yes yes from the 21st to the 26th of July. So with Dominique Rieux we changed the whole programme since Ibrahim Maalouf's musicians weren't available, Youri Buenaventura my friend is stuck in Colombia so er there you go, Pascal Obispo was unable to come so in fact we put together a programme that isn't very jazz but which has the merit of being spectacular since jazz artists are often…Jean Micolon was supposed to come but he told me if I come…

Olivia Ruiz: you've had him several times already too.

Gérard Bertrand: yeah but he's extraordinary. But the problem is he told me if I come I'm in quarantine in France and when I go back I'm in quarantine in England.

Olivia Ruiz: well it's true that it's expensive for a concert even if we're comfortable at your place.

Gérard Bertrand: so he couldn't come, so we have, we have two evenings, the 21st and 22nd we have Patrick Bruel, the 23rd so we have Cali…

Olivia Ruiz: haaaa right, I'm blocking out the 23rd for you.

Gérard Bertrand: What? Yes, so we also have Kimberose — do you know Kimberose?

Olivia Ruiz: that name rings a bell but no, I can't put a face to it.

Gérard Bertrand: yeah it's a…you have to look at…it's a young French artist who has a bit of Amy Winehouse's voice, you know she has an extraordinary voice.

Olivia Ruiz: just that, wow. 

Gérard Bertrand: yeah yeah you have to listen. Then we have Christophe Maé on the 25th and Jean-Baptiste Guégan on the 26th. But I know Cali is a friend of yours, isn't he?

Olivia Ruiz: of course, I'll book the 23rd and the 26th then.

Gérard Bertrand: there you go, there you go, so…

Olivia Ruiz: but on the 23rd I know we're going to be dancing until 6 in the morning again and I…so I'm even booking the 24th without my children.

Gérard Bertrand: exactly, there you go. So we have a great programme, we've reduced the capacity a little from 1,500 to 1,100 so that the audience feels comfortable. There you go, but we absolutely insisted that the festival take place because the artists I spoke to on the phone told me we really need to get back on the road because our job is to be on the road, and musicians have a hard life because musicians, performing arts freelancers, it's still not very easy for them.

Olivia Ruiz: it's terrible, terrible, and above all we're given no information. There you go, last week we were expecting a lot from the address which in the end left us all in a kind of artistic haze that's starting to get a bit wearing… 

Gérard Bertrand: so we took the bull by the horns and we're moving forward because it's important, and so I'm pleased you're joining us and I know Cali will be happy.

Olivia Ruiz: oh well yes but even more unleashed, that's the problem.

Gérard Bertrand: yes yes, you know that during his live we made boles de Picolat, do you know boles de Picolat?

Olivia Ruiz: oh but I love that, obviously. You'd have to try mine because they're not bad either. 

Gérard Bertrand: oh really? Oh but that interests me.

Olivia Ruiz: so what did you do? Did you do veal and beef? Or did you do veal and pork?

Gérard Bertrand: so tell us, tell us…

Laurent Chabbert: yeah, with pork as well. Actually there's veal, beef and pork.

Olivia Ruiz: what did you do? Did you add pine nuts as well?

Laurent Chabbert: and then a little porcini and tomato sauce. And now I've put it on the aperitif menu, offered as soon as you arrive at the restaurant, so you can eat it straight away, yeah.

Gérard Bertrand: I'm having a great time while you talk to him.

Olivia Ruiz: well yeah, I imagine. Oh but but I haven't finished. 

Gérard Bertrand: no but the chef took advantage of it… 

Olivia Ruiz: tonight when I have all of this at home I don't need anything else… 

Gérard Bertrand: the chef took advantage of it, so I'd like to remind everyone that the restaurant is open every day for lunch and dinner, and that we now also have a tapas option, a formula on the terrace. I'd also like to remind you that on Sunday evening we're having the music festival with, of course, a very festive menu around a jazz band with tapas etc. It's going to be great.

Laurent Chabbert: yes, well it's not really tapas, Sunday evening it'll be more of a tasting menu with four courses. 

Gérard Bertrand: right. And at lunchtime it's Father's Day.

Laurent Chabbert: and at lunchtime it's Father's Day so sorry, we're fully booked, but there you go… For the evening actually we still have a few tables — do remember to book.

Gérard Bertrand: so the chef is on form, me too, I've actually tried all the dishes so he's getting ready for the festival. So listen to me, Olivia, tell me a little about the chest of drawers with the coloured drawers because I'm showing it here, so it's your new novel which is available in all good bookshops and on online sites, so…

Olivia Ruiz: but first the bookshops, you were right to start there because it's important. They too suffered enormously from the lockdown. And they are passionate people like us, craftspeople who fight for their babies, it's important, you were right to say it. Listen, it's the story of a young woman who all her life looks at her grandmother's chest of drawers with her little cousins and she says blimey, what on earth is she hiding in there? How come we can't go near it? What must she be hiding in there? And so there you go… 

Gérard Bertrand: you can feel the lived experience there, you can feel the lived experience there. 

Olivia Ruiz: but no, unfortunately, I would have loved it so much but no, I could only have dreamed of it. And so they look at this chest of drawers and the grandmother screams whenever they go near it, so they don't know what it holds. And when the grandmother dies, this young woman goes back home to Paris, after burying her grandmother in the south. As soon as she opens the door… The cheeky thing, the chest of drawers… So she goes to sit down and over the course of one night she opens the drawers of this chest of drawers and in each drawer she finds an object and a letter, and it's the grandmother who tells her the whole story of her life from the moment in 1939 when she leaves Spain because her parents have made a decision and send Rita, the heroine, and her two sisters to flee the Francoist regime and the bombings arriving on Barcelona. And we follow her, we follow her through her love stories right up to her struggle of never feeling at home either here or there, the way she sometimes wants to throw it all in and say I'm no longer Spanish, I'm nothing anymore, and how she then… Arrives at the café in Marseillette and how these four generations of women build themselves around this particular héritage — that of exile — which is quite something, and above all… I know you'll understand why I tell it this way. When you love the place where you were born, where you grew up, at the moment when everything falls apart in your life, at a given moment when the scent — for me it's the garrigue — the rock you find in the Corbières, the slate, all of a sudden all of that is like a home, nothing is going right but I know the train passes through Nîmes and that's it… I start telling myself, you're safe now, soon you'll be safe. There you go, and so that's why exile is a subject that touches me, because first of all I come from that exile through three grandparents, and also because, as someone who loves my land deeply and is very regionalist and all that, I'm truly sensitive to people who were forced to give up their land… There you go. 

Gérard Bertrand: so you wanted, you'd like to read us a little passage, wouldn't you?

Olivia Ruiz: but of course, so what…

Gérard Bertrand: listen, I haven't read it yet because I bought it today — I'll read it during my holidays, so I'll of course leave you free to tell us whatever you'd like to share.

Olivia Ruiz: listen, since I've given you a bit of the opening with her sisters, with this little girl who inherits the chest of drawers, I might start at the first chapter, the first drawer. So it's no longer the little girl we heard during the prologue who says her grandmother left her this; we move to the grandmother's voice. And it's called the baptism medal, it's the first object the little girl will find in the first drawer. 

Olivia Ruiz: "Live reading." 

Gérard Bertrand:  it's beautiful! 

Olivia Ruiz: we'll stop there. 

Gérard Bertrand: and you know, you're quite right because I can already picture the screenplay for your next film, and there's really something there. 

Olivia Ruiz: you know, what makes this experience so powerful for me is that the first reactions are exactly what I didn't dare hope for — that is, people telling me they read the book and then questioned their parents, not necessarily Spanish ones, Polish parents, parents… And so on. And the dialogue it sparks among the few who have already read it within the family, the pride in one's origins that is inherent in people who didn't particularly feel enriched by their parents' journey — that's truly the most beautiful gift. Beyond that, it's also a book with romantic passion, with very funny things and all that. But yes, that héritage and what it means is quite central to the book, and it's received as such by the first readers — that's lovely.

Gérard Bertrand: and I'm sure that when you wrote it, sometimes the pen moved on its own, meaning it ran, the pen ran faster than your thoughts. Because in a way, since you imagined something that could nonetheless have been part of your roots and your origins, cariño for example is something you use often, so you've completely made it your own, it's hard to step out of that story afterwards. I'll tell you, I like it because my grandmother had a chest of drawers like that with a thousand drawers and so my sister and I used to argue over being able to…when we were kids, to sleep, to slip into her bed. And so when she passed away we made lots of discoveries too, letters etc., it was very moving. There you go, so…

Olivia Ruiz: you'll have to tell me about that because now that I'm a writer I need beautiful, fantastic material like that.

Gérard Bertrand: exactly, there you go. So chef, what do we do now?

Laurent Chabbert: and there you go, I've just opened the jar.

Gérard Bertrand: so do you have a little dessert too?

Olivia Ruiz: er…yes, which is in the fridge, wait for me, I'm coming.

Gérard Bertrand: so what do we have, chef? 

Laurent Chabbert: we went with a baba like a rum baba quite simply but we used wine. 

Gérard Bertrand: that's lovely, you took it, you put it with wine, is that right?

Laurent Chabbert: there you go, we actually made a mulled wine, and we recovered our wine.

Gérard Bertrand: oh yes, and in a small bowl?

Laurent Chabbert: in a jar like that you can take it away. 

Gérard Bertrand: are you going to serve it like that as well?

Laurent Chabbert: we'll serve it like that at the restaurant.

Olivia Ruiz: I'm not going to take up the baba challenge — I think it looks more like a tiramisu.

Gérard Bertrand: oh listen, that's not bad either. But you can start tasting.

Laurent Chabbert: and there we added a few redcurrants, a few blackberries, a few blackcurrants to bring more indulgence and sweetness, really. And then, like mulled wine, we have lots of spices.

Gérard Bertrand: in my opinion all the customers are going to take the jar away with them. I'm going to taste it anyway…

Olivia Ruiz: I don't know about you, Gérard, but for me it's fantastic. It's a kind of tiramisu but with very light coffee and crushed hazelnuts…

Gérard Bertrand: I need to dive to the bottom because the wine is at the bottom, there's blackberry too, isn't there?

Laurent Chabbert: yes, blackberry, redcurrant, blackcurrant.

Gérard Bertrand: it's very good. It's not good, it's not very good — it's excellent. So for that, you know what, Olivia… Here, chef… We're going to taste the Languedoc, the third wine, the 2017, because it's a slightly lighter wine than the Tautavel. So I'll just remind you that everything… 

Olivia Ruiz: that one? Where does that one come from then? 

Gérard Bertrand: This one comes from the Narbonne area, right? It's a Languedoc, so it's a Syrah and a Grenache that is vinified and aged in barrels for 12 months. There you go, 2017 is a great vintage, it's a very dry vintage. I don't know if you remember the summer of 2017, it was very hot, not a drop of rain fell, and so these are wines…

 Olivia Ruiz: it was quite a disaster for the farmers around here.

Gérard Bertrand: so some villages had to…

Olivia Ruiz: and there had been frosts on top of that, there had been something improbable.

 Gérard Bertrand: it was a complicated year, it was a year of 13 moons, you know years of 13 moons are always complicated for farmers and winegrowers. 

Olivia Ruiz: you know, I come from a family of agricultural workers, not landowners but workers, so wine, I've always harvested grapes, it's always been something…so the Languedoc.

Gérard Bertrand: but you know, in Marseillette we're in the Minervois — we're no longer in the Corbières, mind you. 

Olivia Ruiz: well, would you believe that my parents' house is right on the banks of the Aude. So in front of the house I have the Corbières, behind the house I have the Minervois.

Gérard Bertrand: because you can actually see the Laric.

Olivia Ruiz: there you go, I… I can see the whole of the Laric from one end to the other. Well, behind I can't see the Montagne Noire but there you go. But truly we are in that spot and it's true that I… I'll have just as many favourite places in territories like the Livinière or like Camplong — it's true that this land is incredible all the same!

Gérard Bertrand: it speaks to you above all. 

Olivia Ruiz: oh well it speaks to me in the wine because it's true that…it's beyond…it's truly a place beyond what will use the grape, you know. And the same goes for the area around Tautavel, Fitou. But I really have affinities too with those, with those aromas that are more full-bodied but which completely match my… 

Gérard Bertrand: and you haven't told us, you haven't told us…you like cooking, I suppose, listening to you. 

Olivia Ruiz: oh I love it! I love that! 

Gérard Bertrand: and what are your… What are your… Your favourite things? 

Olivia Ruiz: oh well, in Narbonne-Plage I had nothing to cook with so it was hell, but it's true that I mainly cook for my child so everything for the past four years has been about getting my son to eat unusual things. So we're doing asparagus salads, crayfish, coriander. You see, we try to find little things like that, quite fresh in summer. Lots of things based on melon, verbena, gazpacho…he loves it, even in Narbonne-Plage for 3 months I made myself a little herb garden. And in Paris it's the same. And then him, already such a little one, he arrives, the chives, the sage…he already knows, four and a half years old, everything you need, and so we cook quite a lot together. But I really love my grandmothers' dishes, everything like bœuf bourguignon, old slow-cooked dishes, I haven't tried things like ox tongue and all that…but there you go, I love blanquettes, I love it when it sticks to the bottom of the pan. 

Gérard Bertrand: it's good though. 

Olivia Ruiz: yeah but it's too much for me. Everything that is, everything that is… Sweetbreads and all that — it's the textures for me. 

Gérard Bertrand: well chef, I think you could hire him for the summer. He'll hire you for the summer. 

Olivia Ruiz: we can do a swap if you like.

Gérard Bertrand: no but you know what, when you're free, we'll do a live cooking session with you, it's going to be even more fun. Right, chef? 

Olivia Ruiz: oh but I love it! I grew up there, I love it! Even in summer if you like, boys. 

Gérard Bertrand: yes, after the first to the fifteenth of August I'm going to rest a little, so we'll pick up the live sessions afterwards, but at the end of summer yes, at the end of summer.

Olivia Ruiz: great! Yeah, I'm around anyway — I'm not going anywhere, I'm making the most of it.

 Gérard Bertrand: well listen, I… I've taken several things away from this — first of all I'm going to invite you to lunch as soon as you're back.

Olivia Ruiz: for starters, I'm coming on Monday to pick up some bottles — first appointment.

Gérard Bertrand: so next, I recommend La commode aux tiroirs de couleur, published by Éditions Lattes. In all good bookshops in France. And then I recommend you quickly book your seats for the jazz festival at L'Hospitalet from the 21st to the 26th of July. And you'll also have the chance to meet Olivia Ruiz for a few evenings. There we go — so Olivia, thank you, I send you a big kiss…

Olivia Ruiz: thank you, boys, it was a joy! We really thank Yannick Alléno, and his young lad, the card has gone, you have the name in mind, wait…and Amar, from L'Ascension, because it's still…

Gérard Bertrand: there you go, and so you have a special dedication from Katia Daguet Alonso who, like you, is of Spanish origin, who has spoken with you and who sends you a hug too. Have a lovely weekend and see you next week.

Olivia Ruiz: yeah, take care, lads, and looking forward to seeing you soon — but in the kitchen.

Gérard Bertrand: goodbye everyone!

Olivia Ruiz: goodbye everyone!

Laurent Chabbert: goodbye.