Le Pain Quotidien
Revision and translation (French to English)
Le Pain Quotidien is an international chain of bakery-restaurants founded in 1990 by Alain Coumont. To celebrate Le Pain Quotidien’s 30 year anniversary, Jean-Pierre Gabriel produced Tartine Confidential, a tantalising 300-page book of recipes, staff profiles and culinary anecdotes.
My part in this project primarily involved revising Caroline Durant’s French to English translations. We worked together to tailor the recipes to an English-speaking audience, tweaking structure and adding detail as needed. I also translated several texts, including staff stories, with Caroline reviewing my translations. From sourdough through to sauerkraut, I was delighted to be able to bring my knowledge of food and experience of culinary translation to the table.
When a recent (French to English) book translation turned out to be mostly recipes with a few autobiographical notes, rather than the other way round, Hannah was one of the first people I contacted to act as my revisor.
She had come to my attention after she created the #ThatTranslatorCanCook translation and cooking challenge, and I was delighted and impressed by the expertise and insight that she brought to the task of imposing on the French recipes a format that English-speaking cooks would feel at home with. I shan’t hesitate to work with her again if a similar project comes along, and I can wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone else looking to collaborate with a colleague.