Tasha Powell says she reinvented herself after a corporate career in product development for sporting goods. That might not be entirely accurate.
It could be that Tasha is finally allowing her Francophile foodie to rule the day. From Allentown, Pennsylvania and Penn State University to living in Provence while she finished her Cordon Bleu certification, the gap somehow did not seem that wide once Tasha explained.
“I have had a love of the French language, culture and people ever since I was a little girl.”
Tasha’s first trip to France was as a junior in college to study at the Université de Strasbourg. Work for clients at the Cannes Film Festival brought to her to Provence for the first time in 1982. Tasha discovered that the region infatuated her, a smoldering fire fueled further by Peter Mayle’s book A Year in Provence (1989).
Tasha lives in the US, but Provence is in her blood, when she had a chance to work in France to hone her Cordon Bleu skills (2012) there was not much to stop her. This is what Tasha had to say about her experience:
“I did a stage under Reine Sammut at L’Auberge la Fenière in Cadenet, next to Lourmarin. L’Auberge La Feniere is a Michelin starred restaurant. For those of you who have seen the film, 50 Foot Journey, this film about the restaurant world in Provence describes my experience in Cadenet. I also staged at Quai 70, a hip restaurant in Puyricard, just 10 minutes north of Aix-en-Provence, in the evenings. The Luberon region north of Aix-en-Provence is magical and beautiful and is surrounded by vineyards, sunflower fields and lavender fields. Since the stage in 2012, I returned in 2013 and 2014 for 2-3 months each year to experience life in Provence. “
Reinvention complete, Tasha is now combining her cooking skills and marketing background to focus on food photography and styling. You can read more about Tasha’s bio here and the workshop in April 2016 — Food Styling and Photography in the South of France here.