Frozen French Food

I guess one weird food-related story (see my last post) deserves another. Police in the French city of Lyon have discovered the body of renowned chef Jean-Francois Poinard -- in an apartment freezer. The body may have been in the freezer for two years.

Poinard represented the fourth generation of a cooking dynasty, and a French newspaper hailed him as one of the "great names" in gastronomy. He was 71 years old when he disappeared. A former girlfriend has been taken into custody.

Introducing McBocuse

A new fast-food restaurant that has been opened by none other than . . . . . . the renowned French chef Paul Bocuse? Is this possible?

It must be. I read about it in the N.Y. Times' Frugal Traveler. According to the article, Bocuse's fast-food eatery is called Ouest Express. The NYT's writer offers this assessment:

The cooking won't win any Michelin stars, but the vichyssoise -- which I tasted the evening I arrived in Lyon by train from Paris . . . was perfectly chilled and almost sweet, a testament to Mr. Bocuse's faith that fast food can be fresh food, too.