Jacques Puisais, my hero

Only in France, cher, only in France: meet Jacques Puisais, a philosopher of taste:

"He who eats a radish, for instance, will he be in a good mood?" he continued, stoking his fireplace. "Will he eat it correctly, with a little butter from Charente to counteract the sting? I can't know that. But once we've eaten the radish, we can talk about it. And when we do, we can know one another. And once we know one another, we can appreciate one another, even love one another."

Puisais, the son of a wine merchant and a chemist who earned a doctorate in science, for three decades ran the local government laboratory that analyzes water, food and soil to guarantee against health hazards and support vineyards in the Loire region. But early on, he said, he began to understand that, although he could measure nutritional value and hygiene, chemistry was only one factor in the many things that made up taste. So he started his own lab within the lab, where he experimented with the ingredients of taste and began his long campaign to awaken French people -- particularly children -- to the importance of how things taste.

Rather than having pupils look in the dictionary to see what "fibrous" means, he sought to have them bite down on a boiled leek to experience the texture and taste for themselves. A book, "Taste In Children," led to the writing of a curriculum for classes in the local school system designed to awaken sensorial awareness among the young.

Seriously, I think that's a great idea. And seriously x 2, I adore a country and a culture that can produce a M. Puisais. Please, somebody, translate his books into English, or I'll have to go to the Alliance Francaise and reclaim my French.