Ratmond Blanc: 'French don't have a sense of humour'

Raymond Blanc has said he's able to laugh at himself - thanks to his time in Britain.

The chef, who shows viewers how to perfect everyday techniques in new BBC Two programme How To Cook Well, moved to the UK after losing his job as a waiter in France.

Raymond said: "The French don't have a sense of humour. I am not a confused Frenchman, I am a Frenchman, but I have spent most of my life in Great Britain.

"And having lived with you, I feel I can laugh at myself now. French people cannot do that."

He added: "I'm a great listener too. I learned that from living in Great Britain.

"Most Frenchmen can't do this at the same time, which is why there are so many wars in France. It's impossible. Listen to French radio. Or to French TV or a French family. They're all talking at the same time. You have no idea of what they're saying."

How To Cook Well starts on BBC Two on Tuesday, July 9.

 

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 


An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.