Terry Marsh

I'm a UK-based freelance travel writer and photographer, with not a little interest in food - especially the bit where it appears on a plate in front of you. I live in Lancashire, in North West England, which has quite a reputation for some culinary fare of its own. But for the last thirty-some years my passion has been for the food of France, a love affair that began coincidental with a love affair of the human kind (Christine's mum was a fabulous cook, but that's quite another story!). But it meant that I got to see French cooking at a number of levels - domestic, back street, and haute cuisine. Since I've become a travel writer I have been obliged to pursue my passion for French food with professional zeal; it goes with the turf, it's a responsibility - as I explain repeatedly to my accountant.

I contribute regularly to Living France magazine, which is a pathetic excuse for going back into the culinary wilds of France as often as possible. And I broadcast from time to time on BBC Radio Lancashire, on the places in France that I visit. You can learn more about me from my website www.countrymatters.net.

My first love was mountaineering; that's how I got to know the food of the Pyrenees and the Alps especially well. But all that was many years BS (Before Stomach). Now I look at the mountains from the comfort of a dining table, and think about how things used to be in those distant svelte-like days of yore.

I've written over 50 books ranging from walking guidebooks to travel guides, and revised others, like the Michelin Green Guides to Northern France, and the Auvergne.

As a travel journalist, I'm remarkably reluctant to travel, well, extensively anyway. As well as France I specialise in the UK, Denmark and Australia, which I think is quite enough to be getting on with. And you see French influences in the cuisine of all of these countries. I also know Madeira very well, but there the culinary influence is rather different, more Mediterranean than specifically Portuguese or Spanish.

Travel is about exploring, awareness and comprehension at a number of levels: I can be just as happy munching French cheese and baguette with my feet cooling in a mountain stream, as I can in a Michelin-starred restaurant. You need the contrast, the balance, the subtle, and sometimes not-so-subtle, influences that cast an ever-so-slightly different spell over the food you find, although it doesn't have to embrace those two extremes. And I just love listening to French people arguing about who makes the best bouillabaisse or cassoulet.

In France food is not just a source of energy, it is part of the French culture, an experience, a pleasure, a ritual, even an obligation. It is something French children are born in to, so it is not surprising that they grow up to be hugely passionate about food. Over the years, I've done the same, and will be sharing what I've learned with visitors to French Cuisine @ Suite101.