The Story: The French-Way or the Highway
My parents first decided to go to France long before we were born: Not to look for new business opportunities or expand their horizons, no, nothing so mundane, instead they longed to sip fine wine with their pinkies in the air and say fun words like “Bonjour” and “Mon Amie” without sounding trite. Well needless to say, my two brothers and I came unannounced and slightly postponed their closely-held dreams. Of course in the ensuing 25 years neither thought to take actual French lessons either, but kept their dream real by sending at least one child (my youngest brother) to French Immersion School, while intermittently practicing their pinky waving and consistently mispronouncing their “Bonjour”s.
Nine years ago, their dream (which had by then also interestingly become ours) finally came true: we arrived in Toulouse, France and we got to stay a whole year! Now, I’d like to say that when we got there we quickly made amazing friends and lived the idyllic life described in the bestselling book “Provence” and my story would end here, neat and simple. I dare say, however, life is rarely neat and simple, and we soon learned what we now call “the french-way or the highway” principle. Simply stated, we didn’t fit in at all! In fact our neighbors thought for the longest time that we had kidnapped my little brother because he was the only one that spoke flawless French. I’m not kidding. We all fought over which of us could go with my little brother on ‘outings’ like the grocery store (we had to make it sound at least a little fun, my brother was only 8 at the time). Unfortunately one day my father lost. My brother was needed at home and eggs were the absolutely crucial ingredient to this special desert my step-mother was making for our first introduction dinner with the neighbors. My father had no choice he had to get the eggs. With sorrow filled eyes my older brother and I watched him walk heavy-footed out the creaky french back door (from behind the sofa of course, so we couldn’t catch his eye and have to go with him on this undeniably doomed trip to the grocery) certain he would return home eggless.
And yet, despite our dire imaginings my father surprised us all with his stick-to-itiveness. He arrived home some 40 minutes later arm-in-arm with the male half of our next door neighbor laughing so hard tears were running down their faces! Now, if you know anything about the French, they do nothing half way. Everything is passionate --and somehow connected to an obscure family story that everyone knows but never gets tired of listening to, but I won’t get into that! Apparently, from what we could gather from their gasping, tear filled explanation was that my father was rescued while in the process of doing the “chicken dance” in front of the local grocery store owner while insisting, “You know? Eggs? I need twelve eggs!” As the story was re-told for the umpteenth time, we realized it was just at this moment that our neighbor thankfully walked in and rescued my father! Otherwise we don't know what he would have done!
Thus came to be our unceremonious entrance into French Society and our funny little secret all these years. You see, the French absolutely LOVE a good story and this one was told and re-told, and re-told, and—well you get the picture. But what this entrance really gave us was wonderful long-time friends and a valuable insight into a rich French culture previously barred to us. You wouldn’t believe it! If you haven’t been there, go! In many of these beautiful homes were two and three hundred year old exquisite works of art, ten foot ceramic fountains, manicured gardens, and… The Food. My goodness, you can’t believe the food!! I swear the French really are connoisseurs. Only the best ingredients are used, and of course only the best cookware is used and on primarily gas stoves of course. France is large, true, and there are some who have differing ideas of what the best brand of cookware is, also true, but the vast majority will agree that copper is by far the absolute best to cook with! Being North American as we are, we love food. And as soon as we heard about how they cooked these amazingly delicious meals, we started asking a lot of questions, travelling to foundries and comparing brands until one day my father was describing a particularly beautiful Pierre Vergnes’ Paella Pan to my uncle on the phone and my step-mother said the magic words: “You know David, you could sell those.” And that is our story.
Since then, we have obviously all grown, my older brother is a fantastic chiropractor, my younger brother is on a well deserved golf scholarship in France, I am a graphic designer, and my father is the driving force behind our copper cookware and giftware sales. We all, however, have done our part over the intervening years to grow and market this business; travelling to cooking shows, building brochures and catalogues, talking to retailers, convincing our contacts in France to keep our low prices despite the rise in copper prices and so much more.
Now, to further our goals, I have entered the ebay market under the new name, Best4Chefs, because we all truly believe it: Pierre Vergnes Studio’s copper cookware is the best for everyone from the “at-home” gourmet to the true professional chefs that feed us on those special occasions we can afford to fine dine. We support the Pierre Vergnes Copper Works in Southern France because we have been there. My father's made his own pots there and learned the processes they use (see pic above). We've seen the kind of quality that stems from an over 400 year old tradition that is evident in each piece of cookware or copper accessory that you choose. Nowhere else will you find designs that have evolved over centuries of feedback from Europe's greatest chefs. The Claverie Foundry still uses traditional methods that date back to the Renaissance Era and Master Coppersmiths in the Pierre Vergnes Studio build on that tradition in the final manufacturing process. I personally guarantee and our supplier guarantees that consistantly high quality is built into every piece you will own!
Thank you for taking the time to read our story and to get to know us a bit better! I have also included a look at some of the pictures we took at the Pierre Vergnes Studio in Southern France for you to enjoy.
Feel free to view our auctions and visit our ebay store regularily ( http://ebaystores.com/best4chefs ) for a selection of beautiful copper cookware and giftware. Also take a look at our new line of FCS Tri-Metal Copper Cookware that is just as beautifully designed and solidly made for those of you who would like the quality of French copper, but without the larger price tag! We are also the exclusive distributers of French Copper Studio's newly patented Copper Bowls made to fit the specifications of the KitchenAid Artisan (Twist Lock), Commercial 5 Series (Heavy Duty), and Professional 600 mixers! These are truely one of a kind! No other manufacturer in the world makes these bowls! And finally a note to anyone interested in larger wholesale sales for restaurants or hotels please contact us directly and one of us will be happy to speak with you about your ebay buying options and special bulk shipping prices. Have a great day and happy shopping! :)
Our contact information is as follows:
sales@best4chefs.com
Dayna Yount
Best4Chefs
Bothell, Washington, USA
206.303.9416
(Note: The registered shape of the stand mixers are registered trademarks of KitchenAid USA.) |
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