Introducing “Mange seulement”: Edible Switzerland’s monthly newsletter

When you come to my house, I like when you participate in the food preparation. I like when it’s a communal event and everybody helps out a bit. Maybe that’s my culture (Northern Canadian). Maybe, I just like when people come over, I like if they feel at home. Two phrases I use quite often are: “Make your self at home.” or “Help yourself.”

In Bossonnens, I have made a few Swiss friends. Because our sons are in the same class AND because they are foodies too. They recently told us their story of their “lost in translation” foodie experience. Right then, I decided, that would be the name of the Edible Switzerland newsletter. Because, as most of us in the Foodies group are expats, or English-speaking, and we always have stories about us not quite fitting into the Swiss culture. But, let me assure you. It goes both ways.

My friends like to travel. Before they had a family, they would travel quite frequently. They were visiting LiverPool with his brother and were meeting a guy they had met in Venezuela. They went out to a restaurant.

They were talking and laughing with the collection of people at the table and waiting for their food to arrive—in a mix of broken English and broken French. When the food arrived, my friend’s husband wanted to show off his English skills. He exclaimed (to the rest of the table): “Eat only!” Eat only!”

Which caused the English-speaking people at the table to look at him questionably. “Eat only”?

He was literally translating this commonly used Swiss French phrase: “Mange seulement.” The closest translation I can come up with is: “Help yourself”, or “ even—”Dig in”.

Now, whenever we are having dinner together or even our beloved apèros, we exclaim to each other: “Eat only!” “Eat only!” And it makes us smile. And connect. And…isn’t that what foodie friends are for?

Connecting is what I want to achieve with this monthly newsletter

I thought I would try to curate some interesting tidbits of foodie news. It’s just a beginning. I will be actively seeking submissions from the foodies group. Creating. Sharing.

Here is the current outline:

• GROW: a special column from Dev Rivers, Edible Landscapes
• COOK: two seasonal recipes curated from members in the Foodies Group.
• EAT: some underrated, but awesome places to eat or things to try.
• DRINK: exceptional seasonal cocktails.
• PLAY: What do foodies do when they are not cooking & eating? (great place to promote experiences. Will also be listing the unique events I am hosting here.
• STAY: Promote interesting epicurean places to stay in Switzerland.
• Ad hoc and special announcements.

I’m open for feedback. I’m open to collaborate. I’ll be putting together a bit of a content calendar in the next few weeks. I’ll try to let you know what to expect and when. In return, you can let me know if you want to participate (sign up below) or contribute to our community in any way.

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