For the spookiest day of the year, when monsters awake, there is nothing better to shake the feeling of fear than a colourful interview. Here today to warm and reassure you, is Myriam Bossu, EN/JP > FR freelance translator specialised in video games.
Myriam Bossu, EN/JP > FR translator
Who are you?
Hi, I'm Myriam, I'm 30-year old, and I've been a video game translator for 3 years now.
What is your relationship with cooking?
I always loved cooking, but I must admit it took me some time to tackle this seriously. I'm very passionated about sweetness, so I'm really into cakes. I cook (properly, i.e. appart from the usual pasta) probably once a month!
What dish do you like to cook the most?
As I said, I love cakes. I'm a cupcake, rainbow cake, Bavarian cream eater, among other things. It's hard to choose only one dish (unless we consider baking as a dish?). I would say rainbow cake for the sweet part, and Japanese curry for the savoury one.
And the least?
I don't think there is any dish I don't like cooking. Let's say I don't like when I'm unsuccessful!
What have you always wanted to know how to do in cooking (e.g. a technique or a dish)?
There are cooking techniques that can appear difficult to master, if there is no teacher to show us how to. Trying again and again while constantly failing can quickly affect your determination.
In baking, I would say I'd like to know how ot make macarons. After a first bitter failure, I never tried again...
In savory cooking, I would say omurice ( オムライス, omu-raisu). It's a Japanese dish made of soft omelette garnished with rice and various ingredients. I've not yet managed to find the right texture for the omelette.
What do you eat and/or drink while translating?
I eat lots of sweet food: madeleines, brioches, cereals, sweets, etc. It a real brain fuel, I work way better this way (it's proven, I swear!).
As a drink, I mainly drink water, hot tea and a little bit of syrup. I usually manage to drink L1.5 of drink per day.
Bonus: Could you share a quick, easy, delicious recipe?
I rarely do "easy" in cooking, but here is my mother's yoghurt cake recipe, passed in the family from generation to generation!
3 glasses of flour
1 glass of sugar
½ glass of oil (rapseed/canola, for example)
3 eggs
1 bag of baking powder
1 yoghurt
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). First, mix the flour, the sugar and the baking powder. Then, add the eggs one by one, mixing well between each of to avoid lumps. Add the yoghurt, mix, then add the oil. When the mixture is evenly consistent, you can add whatever flavour you want (e.g., vanilla extract) or bake it as is. Place in the oven for about 40 minutes. Don't hesitate to use a knife to check if the cake is cooked. Serve warm or cold, with tea or icecream!
A small cooking anecdote to share?
Cooking is a hobby that relaxes me, allowing me to bring joy to my loved ones. It's also a way to melt into a culture, for every country has its own specialties. What better way of knowing a culture than going through its gastronomy?
Cooking is an essential part of our life, whether it's real or virtual. I many video games (The Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, Tales of Sympahonia, Final Fantasy XV, etc.), cooking is a good way of relaxing with NPCs* accompanying us, regenerate HPs** and discover recipes that sometimes exist only in the game and that we can enjoy trying to recreate in real life!
Some already do like Gastronogeek, who publishes books with recipes based on video games or animes! It's a real pleasure to mix two passion at the same time!
* Non-player characters
** Health points