About

Hey bonjour !  I’m Sandrine.

I am a French frog who curiously croak in English. It all started when I decided to go to England to learn the language. After four months working as a waitress, my english was not much better so I booked a ticket to the USA to push it forward.

As with any good stories, there are special encounters that change one's life course. And I found myself in Romania building a house for a poor family, which took me to Africa where I joined a couple of humanitarian missions.

There again, a special encounter changed the course of my life : I met my husband Nati and followed him to Cyprus. Cyprus is another sweet and unexpected encounter where my passion for baking bubbled up. I left my career in finance to chase my wild dream : become a pastry chef and, eventually open my pastry shop.

But then, the Gods screwed up. Nati passed away and my world collapsed. It was three years ago. Since, I graduated from Pastry at Le Cordon Bleu School in Paris and, I have been traveling, trying to make sense of life.

In the old days I was emailing my family and friends with newsletters from Africa, to share my stories from the field. Those newsletters stopped as I returned home but the pleasure of writing and telling stories remained.

I set up this media outlet in 2012 after I moved to Cyprus to stay in touch from afar. Until now I have been mostly sharing food stories and my adventures in the big world. But, I feel ready now to leave my comfort zone and, peel a few layers off. We might cry. Tears of joy and tears of grief. I hope the chronicles of my life experiments will inspire you.

A layer off

I am an epicurean with a sweet tooth. Deserts are my obsession, preference subject to change depending on the season. My mood of the day is the french Clafoutis with Montmorency cherries. Chocolate is my addiction, always. In the summer I can live on strawberries sprinkled with powdered sugar and a spoon of crème fraiche. And soups for the winter. Preferably onion soup. I don't like coffee, capers or anchovies.

I like the smell of the grass freshly cut, the tinkling sound of the wind playing with the wind chimes, walking barefoot in the grass, the atmosphere of the book L'Art presque perdu de ne rien faire - The Art almost lost of doing nothing by Dany Laferriere. Blue is my favorite color and, La vie est belle my perfume.

Travel is my oxygen. Africa is my soft spot. Also I am a city girl and nothing makes me more grumpy than wild camping without a shower in the morning.

Typical French? I don't smoke. Croissant is not my thing. I don't know much about wine. Only that it takes me just a glass, to be lost in space with a tipsy smile. Chenin blanc by the Theube family is my last find. Oh! But I like the crispy French baguette and I love to dip mouillettes - bread fingers, into my soft-boiled eggs. So, maybe I am a typical french. Je ne sais pas...

I would love to hear from you. Feel free to reach out with feedbacks, questions or just to say Bonjour !

Email : sandrineorban {at} yahoo {dot} fr
Instagram : sandrineorban

Thank you for stopping by and enjoy the ride

Until next time, 
Be bold, Be sweet and Live with Passion