Soothing sunlight fills the peaceful living space; arrayed atop a bamboo leaf, a slice of yuzu and mikan tart beckons, complemented by a steaming cup of herbal tea. In the Spartan abode of Valerie Duvauchelle, a French cooking teacher and zazen practitioner, nothing indicates her former life as an executive producer in the bustling midst of French cinema.
Duvauchelle alternates between Tokyo's Nakano and Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, teaching French cuisine classes and practicing zazen. La cuisine de Valerie emphasizes unrefined, local ingredients, using food as a natural medicine for the body.
In only two years since launching the classes as a full-time enterprise, Duvauchelle has already met success with a solid customer base. She is featured in French journalist Dora Tauzin's "Tokyo Style," a book introducing interesting foreigners in Tokyo.