'Most envied' food blogger Mimi Thorisson on her Hong Kong childhood and new life in France
Mimi Thorisson's food blog has made her a global star. She talks about growing up in Hong Kong, and life in Medoc
For Hong Kong-born Mimi Thorisson, global fame began simply, and sweetly - with a vanilla-cream iced cake. One spring evening, the mother of five walked out of her centuries-old farmhouse in France's Médoc region to find a surprise.
Shaking off a long winter, dozens of miniature white daisies were blooming in the garden. Inspired, she hurried into the kitchen and whipped up a meringue cake, artfully decorating it with flowers, leaves and berries.
"I wanted this cake to be a celebration of spring, of the garden, a fairy tale," she says in a delicate accent that is equal parts Chinese, French and British. When it was ready, she posted a photo of her "Garden Cake" online.
Her seasonal concoction was pinned, posted and tweeted all over the world. She started that night with 69 followers - "they were all my friends", she says - but within a couple of weeks the numbers exploded, and magazines contacted her, as did a literary agent who suggested she write a book. That was when her blog, Manger, was born. "It was a gift from spring and I am forever grateful," she says.
Thorisson has found much to be grateful for since she and her husband, Icelandic photographer Oddur, relocated their family to Médoc from Paris in 2010.
Manger, which features favourite classic recipes for coq au vin and slow-cooked lamb, and a few wildcards such as wonton soup, is followed by foodies worldwide. The photographs, snapped by Oddur, capture her friendship with farmers and villagers in Médoc, and life with their children.
