Chef Jack Burke, 30, spent the past summer cooking for a family in Tourrettes-sur-Loup, a medieval walled village in the hills above the French Riviera, and found that living in rural France sharpened his sense of being British.
Burke drove through the Eurotunnel and continued south, passing countryside he said reminded him of Kent before arriving in the hilltop village of winding alleys and crooked stone houses. Because he was alone and there were only a handful of other young people in the community, he described adopting the posture of an observer — noticing everyday practices that differed from what he was used to in London and beyond.
Burke told reporters that the contrasts he registered were not dramatic cultural chasms but small, repetitive rituals. Greetings stood out: the more effusive and frequent exchanges of “bonjour” contrasted with what he perceived as the relatively restrained social openings of Britain. He also said that choosing to drive rather than fly gave him a different sense of the landscape and community than the detachment afforded by air travel.
The account highlights how immersion in a different daily environment can prompt reflection on national habits. In Tourrettes-sur-Loup, Burke encountered a rhythm shaped by narrow streets, local households and seasonal life on the Riviera, all of which altered his expectations about interaction and public politeness. His observations focused on quotidian behaviors rather than formal institutions or policy differences.
The experience follows a pattern commonly reported by expatriates and temporary residents: when removed from familiar surroundings, ordinary norms become more visible. Burke’s three-month stay offered repeated exposure to local customs, amplifying contrasts that might go unnoticed during brief visits to major tourist hubs such as Paris.
Tourrettes-sur-Loup, known for its medieval walls and hillside setting, attracted Burke for the seasonal work and the opportunity to live in the less-touristed part of Provence. His choice to travel by car through the Eurotunnel was part logistical and part deliberate: he said driving allowed him to see stretches of countryside he would otherwise miss and to arrive with a sense of continuity rather than the abruptness of a flight.
Observers and cultural commentators note that differences in everyday courtesies, modes of travel and the density of social networks can become markers of national identity during extended stays abroad. In Burke’s account, the combination of physical environment, pace of village life and small social circles made such markers more pronounced. He framed his reflections as discoveries about ordinary British behavior seen from the outside rather than critiques of French customs.
Burke’s summer in the village underscores how temporary relocation to a small community can refocus attention on routine interactions and social expectations. For visiting workers and seasonal residents, those encounters often inform broader impressions of host countries and of the societies they temporarily leave behind. In this case, the routine act of greeting a neighbour or the choice to travel by road rather than air became a lens through which Burke assessed differences between the daily life he knew and the one he experienced on the Riviera.