Margaux Vialleron

dancing, writing in kitchens

I’m a French-born, London-based writer, co-host of the book club and culinary community The Salmon Pink Kitchen and translation rights agent. You can subscribe to my newsletter, The Onion Papers.

Most of my work focuses on food and seasonality, memory and archives, as well as language and culture. My debut novel, The Yellow Kitchen, was published by Simon & Schuster in July 2022 and has been selected as July Indie Book of the Month. My short story, Fernanda’s Fish Soup, is runner-up in the 2022 Harpers Bazaar short story competition. I also write essays, recipes and reviews for publications like Potluck and Compound Butter, and via the Salmon Pink Kitchen channels. I’ve given lectures and joined panels on the subjects of literature, translation and food, and I co-host the podcast The Salmon Pink Kitchen.

I’m open to speaking and writing commissions in both English and French. For queries or to discuss a project, please get in touch with my agent Kirsty McLachlan. Alternatively, you can use the form on this website or find me on Twitter and Instagram.

The Onion Papers are my weekly-ish digressions from things (edible or not) I consume and observe. You can expect details about food, but measurements may vary, short essays and a monthly almanac.

It’s free to subscribe and I hope to see you there!

The Yellow Kitchen

7th July 2022

London E17, 2019. A yellow kitchen stands as a metaphor for the lifelong friendship between three women: Claude, the baker, goal-orientated Sophie and political Giulia. They have the best kind of friendship, chasing life and careers; dating, dreaming and consuming but always returning to be reunited in the yellow kitchen.

That is, until a trip to Lisbon unravels unexplored desires between Claude and Sophie. Having sex is one thing, waking up the day after is the beginning of something new.

Exploring the complexities of female friendship, The Yellow Kitchen is a hymn to the last year of London as we knew it and a celebration of the culture, the food and the rhythms we live by.

Order your copy here:

‘Rich and thoroughly intoxicating, The Yellow Kitchen is a sensual journey into friendship, food and female sexuality, full of complex, fascinating characters and bold ideas. I loved it’
— Rosie Walsh 

‘A heady mix of politics, friendship, sex and food, poignant, provocative and utterly distinctive’
— Paula Hawkins 

‘An exquisite novel — beautifully rendered, powerfully told, and so deeply felt. I urge you to read this novel — you will never forget it’
— Lucia Osborne-Crowley 

‘The Yellow Kitchen is so warm and convivial in atmosphere, and its discussion of the politics of the UK and their impact very poignant. It portrayed beautifully the sense of adventure of being a certain age, with its rush and richness and emotional confusion, and I found it such a satisfying read’
— Emily Itami 

Essays and Journalism

My short story Fernanda’s Fish Soup was published in the September issue of Harper’s Bazaar and is runner-up in their annual short story competition. Recent published essays and recipes include Boil, Simmer and Pause: in favour of broth in Compound Butter and Toscana in bocca in Potluck.

Some of my most recent articles for the Salmon Pink Kitchen include Bedtime Story With an Amaro,  A Recipe for Homecoming in Three Escargots, On Making pasta When I Cannot go Dancing and Stamped Melons: a carte postale from Cannes. You can access the full archive here.

I also co-write the monthly Salmon Pink newsletter, a celebration of women artists and writers in the form of a last supper. You can read our special edition of the newsletter in honour of my novel, The Yellow Kitchen, here.

Podcast

I co-host the Salmon Pink Kitchen podcast with Irene Olivo. Join us and our guests, whose professions and hobbies challenge the world of food, its culture, history, production chain and sustainability, for a meal. 

You can find us on Spotify and Apple Podcast.

Discover more about the Salmon Pink Kitchen and what we do on our website and on our Instagram profile. If you’d like to join our book club and read with us, head to our bookshop via Bookshop.org where you can browse our reading lists and support our work by buying a book through us. 

About

I was born in Paris in 1993 and moved to London, via Montréal, in 2015. I’ve lived in seven kitchens in the UK, including one with salmon pink walls that introduced me to the world of feeding and all that came afterwards: solo cooking or hosting meals for friends, always dancing before the kitchen counter; dough kneading to end a day, reading or writing at the kitchen table while baking a loaf of bread the morning after. I look at trees often, collect cans of sardines, and record the seasons as I go on runs and bring vegetables back with me. I type notes to myself on my phone as much as the cloud allows (before I free some space and repeat). I currently live in an aquamarine kitchen in North London. 

Pronouns: she/her

Get in touch

If you’d like to get in touch about a commission, a project or simply to say hello, you can use this form to reach out to me directly.

I’m represented by Kirsty McLachlan at Morgan Green Creatives.

For PR enquiries regarding my novel, The Yellow Kitchen, please contact Rebecca.McCarthy@simonandschuster.co.uk.