24 Australian Country HOMES
when she attended classes given by the
renowned abstract artist Charlie Sheard.
These days she gives classes herself in
the studio above the Red Door Gallery,
which is part of her home in the inner-
Sydney suburb of Summer Hill.
The love aff air with all things French
continues, with trips back to France
as frequently as she can manage and
in her home, which pays homage to
France, with its tiled fl oors, French
antiques and artworks and souvenirs of
French travels dotted all over the place.
According to Jules, the things that make
a house a maison are herbs and fl owers.
As soon as she moves to a new address
the fi rst thing she introduces are pots of
sorrel, chervil and tarragon. Geraniums,
nasturtiums, violets, lavender and
honeysuckle also thrive in containers
on balconies. Then there are the pantry
staples ... a jar of caster sugar with at least
fi ve vanilla beans stored inside, nutmeg
for grating, good sea salt (she uses fi ne
grey sel de Guérande), white pepper,
a good quantity of eschalots (“onions
are onions and eschalots are eschalots,
and the fl avours are so diff erent”) and
crème fraîche. And, of course, the liquor
cabinet is always stocked with eau de vie
or vodka, orange blossom water, pastis,
crème de cassis, sirop de grenadine,
Cognac and Chartreuse.
Recently Jules has brought all her
passions to the table with the publication
of a splendid coff ee table book called
Notes e Nostalgies: From My Paris
Kitchen. Part memoir, part cookbook,
with more than 100 recipes shared by
friends and parents of friends from
all over France, the book is lavishly
illustrated with her paintings. They
include still lifes and landscapes and
everything from a street sign and a
bowl of cherries to a study of time-worn
cutlery and a view of the rooftops of
Paris. It’s an unabashed love letter to
France, a tribute to a lifetime’s passion
for fi ne food, wine and the arts and the
people who make and share it.These pages: An artist of considerable talents, Jules’ home is filled with her own works and decorated
with a strong palette of colours giving the inner-Sydney house and studio a distinctly French accent. ›