An in-the-pink interview with Sweet David Lebovitz-
When my friend David Lebovitz, came southwest- first to Cahors and its Malbec festival- then down the slow train to Agen, I knew he would need a bit of Gascon/American hospitality to balance the gallons of teeth-staining ‘black’ wine they were pouring on the bridge over the Lot. Here at Camont when the temps reach toward the 90′s, we put the dark stuff away and grab for our favorite white wine- rosé. When winter dishes like cassoulet and garbure are shelved until fall, we throw a couple duck steaks on the grill, pop open a jar of rillettes, flip the lid on a le parfait jar of foie gras and open yet another bottle of rosé glaceé.
As we sat down to an apero hour on the Gascon Kitchen terrace and the rosé began to color the late afternoon, I asked DL a few pointed questions. What does the City boy who’s living the Sweet Life in Paris do on a busman’s holiday in dept. 47? Enjoy the good life in Gascony in the kitchen at Camont.
Q: What do you like about the country?
DL: I don’t know- eating outside. drinking rosé with ice
There’s wifi.
Prunes
Q: What’s your favorite thing to eat
DL: drinking rose with ice with nice people
Q: What’s your favorite food here?
DL: Does rosé count? Is it rosé o’clock ?
Q: How many prunes do you eat a day?
DL: At least five, regularly.
Q: How do like sleeping in a gypsy’s trailer?
DL: I love it.
Q: When you made the apple rhubarb tarte last night did you use a recipe? measure anything?
DL: No, I did it au piff
Q: What did you find at the brocante?
DL: 3 old bistrot glasses… and the nice lady gave me an orange handled whisk.
Q: What are you taking on the TGV when you leave Agen tomorrow?
DL: Prunes! A ham sandwich, some Le Temple cheese and an apple, water… oh, and rosé.
Q: And most importantly… When will you come back to Camont?
DL: for Camp Charcuterie in early November.
What we did in the Lot-et-Garonne on a sunny may afternoon:
make a perfect tomato tarte and take 500 pictures of it for Natural Light Natural Food
go shopping at the Prune farm & buy 10 liters of rosé
Making good food with friends together in the Gascon Kitchen.
See you in November!
photos by Tim Clinch, Erika Johnson & Steph Hill
I love that you are enjoying Rose in warm weather. We could not wait for the sun to make its anticipated appearance so we started cracking open the bottles a couple weeks ago. Not as good as on a hot day, but if you close your eyes and pretend a bit, it is close!
rose with ice…love it! I look forward to my summer week down south every year for that! of course I wouldn’t dream of putting ice in my wine normally…but down there….it’s what the holiday is all about…in fact just thinking about it has put me in a south of france, holiday frame of mind.
Note to self, must contain wine, to get a hug from David.
I noticed no one left a comment, yet, or maybe there have been none approved yet, but I thought, “Oh, this is too wonderful a post to go commentless!” and thought I would chime in. I came here via David’s posting about it on Facebook, and this was a delightful read.
I laughed at “rosé o’clock” and the ten gallons of rosé… What a lot of fun it looks like you all had. Thank you for sharing this with all of us. 
Is there a cassoulet camp?
Yes Jude, there is a camp cassoulet! Each year around the November 1 holiday, as the weather chills the Gascon countryside, we stoke the fires, cook the beans and fill the giant cassoles! this year, we’re adding a one-day charcuterie workshop to make our own saucisse de toulouse, ventreche, etc. interested?
Get your name on the wait list now!
Camp Cassoulet is a must! The last one was too much fun : )
I do regret not having that 10l hug…er, I mean, ‘jug’ of rosé here in Paris, since the temperatures are starting to climb. However I’m certain that you will find something to do with all of it. Unless you can hold on to it until my next visit. (Er, I know…fat chance!)
Embrasses for an amazing visit, comme d’hab..
i knew i was happily settled in zurich when i finally found a market stand that sells pruneaux d’agen
and i too in fact have 5 (ok, sometimes 7) a day. love them. fun post, thanks for sharing ! 
Looks simply out of this world…
Love love love prunaux d’agen but I’ve never had them onsight.
The second reason to come to your workshop!
I just love David — he’s such a sweetie and all over the food blogs lately which is fine with me, can’t get enough of him. “Is it Rose’ O’clock?” Reminds me of something a friend says – she calls it “wine-thirty”.
I was a fan of your old blog so glad I found this one. Lovely.
Hi Kate, I just found your blog through David Lebovitz! I love it and I hope to visit often!