The Language Chef Blog

A Christmas present for you from The Language Chef.   We have put together a booklet of 12 traditional christmas desserts, language origins, pronunciation, history and a recipe for each. Click Here to get yours: 12- Christmas Desserts Today’s Dessert is:  Lebkuchen– German spice cookie Although the origins of the word Lebkuchen itself remain unclear, it is […]

As the holidays are nigh, my mind turns to Champagne. I adore it – and could probably drink it at every meal! Yes, once in France, a farmer I met who lived near Epernay told me that he had a glass every morning with his toast and coffee!   Champagne is one of the Gods […]

Ever since I was a kid an aunt, a grandmother or a distant relative made a mound of pizzelle.  The round, flat sweet Christmas cookie reminiscent of the communion host used in the Catholic Mass. Unbeknownst to me, pizzelle are from the region of the aforementioned relatives. My grandmother is from Cugnoli, Abruzzo near the town credited as […]

trying out some new plug in- please excuse

From the New Haven Independent by LUCY GELLMAN | Aug 31, 2016 3:03 pm A new wine pronunciation app out this month didn’t start anywhere close to a computer. Its local developer, self-described “language junkie” Robert Aiudi, was three-fourths of the way into a glass of red wine at a bar, and had just encountered […]

“SayWine” app now available in the App store Impress your boss, date or colleagues with your mastery of the wine list. The Language Chef LLC, announces the availability of their new wine pronunciation app- “SayWine”.  This application will revolutionize the experience of ordering wine – whether in a restaurant, at your favorite wine shop, or […]

People often ask me ‘how did you learn so many languages?” and I say ‘well I studied them’.  It sounds glib but what I mean is that I actively tried to  learn them. Learning languages can seem hard and tedious, but I have used several tricks to make the process fun and nearly effortless.  I’ll […]

Have you ever heard anyone say this: …..‘When I was in France last year for two weeks, my high school French  came back with a vengeance and I was talking like Maurice Chevalier (or Amélie )!” – especially after a few glasses of the best Bordeaux I ever tasted!! … I’ve heard this so often, […]

It has been said that after the age of 7, you can’t really learn a second language.  I say, Poppycock! Children are like little sponges- well after the age of 7- they soak up everything around them. They speak with Mom in French and Dad in Mandarin easily navigating between two seemingly disparate languages – […]

Krumkake (Norwegian  [ˈkrʉmˌkɑːkə], meaning bent cake, plural krumkaker- Krum in Norwegian means curved or crooked. Kake, is cake from the old norse kaka; hense curved cake. It’s a waffle cookie made of flour, butter, eggs, sugar, and cream. Like Italian pizzelle, a special decorative two-sided iron griddle, similar to a waffle iron, is traditionally used to bake the thin round cakes Learn more, get the recipe […]

The Bûche de Noël is an edible optical illusion.  It is made and decorated to look like a log from the forest – an actual Yule log.  And what is a Yule log you ask?  The Yule Log, Yule Clog, or Christmas Block is a specially selected log burnt on a hearth around the period of Christmas. The custom probably originates from various pagan […]