The author, Babette de Rozieres, is a celebrity chef in France, appearing regularly on France 2 and Gourmet TV, has designed her own range of award-winning tableware and has written four books. Babette learned to cook in the West Indian kitchen of her grandmother, where she developed a taste and flair for cooking. Initially Babette worked for the ORTF in France, first as an announcer, then as a production assistant, but in 1978 she left it all behind to open her first (and in her words the 'smallest') restaurant, in Paris. She then set up a restaurant in Saint Tropez and, in 1981, she opened a restaurant in her home town of Guadeloupe. Her most recent restaurant is The Table of Babette, which is located in Paris.