Today, I’m talking with Cat Bude—an author, photographer, and recipe developer who’s spent the last decade and a half living, creating, and raising her family in the heart of Normandy. From vintage copper pots and homegrown meals to writing her cookbook French Kitchen Lessons and building an online shop with her husband, Cat shares how she turned her creative gifts into a thriving, multifaceted business. We talk about the rhythms of life in a 380-year-old farmhouse, the beauty of long meals and local markets, and how French culture has deeply shaped her values around food, creativity, and community.
Cat also shares more vulnerable parts of her story—how her husband’s cancer diagnosis impacted their family, what she’s learned about showing up in the hard seasons, and how creativity helped her find her way back to herself. You’ll hear about community built through markets, beauty found in slowness, and the quiet courage it takes to keep showing up creatively, especially when life doesn’t go as planned.
Episode Seventy-Two | Creativity, Cookbooks, and Copper Pots with Cat Bude
0:00 Intro
0:30 Meet Cat Bude
1:38 A Life Rooted in France
5:50 The Beauty of Gathering
7:36 Building a Lifestyle that Resonates
17:57 Navigating Online Boundaries
43:29 Staying Inspired to Cook
48:57 Finding Community at the Market
54:46 The Vintage Copper Business
1:00:04 The Farm
1:04:59 Resilience and Rhythm
1:10:38 Hard Seasons and the Aftermath
1:17:25 If Life Looked Different
1:24:12 How to Connect with Cat
1:28:47 Outro
I’m Cat Bude, a cookbook author and founder of Rabbit Hill Lifestyle. From our farmhouse in Normandy, I run an online shop with restored copper and French kitchen tools, lead culinary tours and workshops in France and the U.S., and share stories through my writing and photography.
I have been living in beautiful Normandy, France, since 2010, when our family moved here to be closer to my French family, and our story began when we found our home and created our brand – Rabbit Hill Lifestyle, in 2013.
Get your own copy of French Kitchen Lessons HERE
https://rabbithilllifestyle.com/
Creatively Made Business with Jeanne Oliver
Is your business aligned with how you want your life to look and feel? Many creative business owners feel trapped and overwhelmed by the business that was supposed to add more freedom to their lives. You didn’t take the risk of starting a business just to end up in the same place, or worse – moving in the opposite direction of the life you want.
An online workshop to build, launch, and nurture a business that aligns with how you want your life to look and feel. Instant access to six modules with over 7 hours of training.
Your business should be a bridge to the life you dream of, not a barrier. To learn more click HERE.
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