In recent years, kale has become something of an American celebrity. Wherever you eat, there’s likely some kale offering on the menu. And that’s great—it’s a highly nutritious cruciferous vegetable that’s packed with calcium, vitamin C, vitamin A, and many other nutrients, and we should definitely be eating it.
Yes, that leafy green is no longer the fringe health food it once was—heck it’s practically a status symbol. But that’s not the case in France. In fact, there, it’s still relatively unknown.
In France, kale is a “legume oublié,” which literally translates to “forgotten vegetable.” And that’s just one of its many names. It’s also known as chou frisée non-pommé (curly, headless cabbage), chou d’Alsace (cabbage from Alsace), chou de lapin (rabbit cabbage), and chou kale (which is literally just kale cabbage). Everyone calls it something different—if they refer to it at all. (And no, for the record, it’s not a type of cabbage.)
Three years ago, I quickly learned how difficult it was to find (or even ask for!) kale during a semester abroad in Paris, when I was passively on the hunt for America’s favorite veggie. I would stumble across the occasional bouquet at a farmers market here and there, but overall I was stuck eating spinach and Swiss chard, while desperately craving that hearty, leafy green.
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As it turned out, this wasn’t just a problem for me—it was a problem for American expats all over Paris. Kristen Beddard was one such expat. After she and her husband moved to Paris in 2011, she quickly realized that kale was not the superstar in France that it was in the States. And for her, this would not do. In an attempt to bring the lost vegetable back to the City Of Lights, Beddard founded The Kale Project. Through this project, she connected with French farmers and chefs, as well as other Americans and even a handful of French natives, all of whom wanted to eat kale. With their help, Beddard saw to kale’s French comeback. She documents her cultural trials and vegetal victories in her 2016 book Bonjour Kale (the ebook is on sale for $1.99 all month), and spoke to SELF about what it took to cultivate a love for her favorite leafy green in her adopted land.
When Kristen Beddard arrived in Paris, she couldn’t find kale anywhere.
“Until I arrived in Paris, I never thought about kale,” Beddard tells SELF. Growing up in a vegetarian household, she had regularly eaten kale long before it became a staple of American diets. So when she and her husband arrived in Paris, almost immediately she noticed that it was missing. “Right away I realized I hadn’t seen it yet. I kept looking for it at different grocery stores and markets, but I couldn’t find it.” At one point she even began toting a photo of kale around with her to show to farmers and producers. No one recognized it and no one had heard of it.