KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — There are several French and French-inspired places in Knoxville. Market Square houses the French Market, the city's first and only authentic creperie.
One of their regular visitors is Marilyn Kallet. She served as Knoxville Poet Laureate from 2018 through 2022 and spent years traveling back and forth to France hosting poetry workshops.
"It's a tough gig, [but] you know, all that good food, the good wine, the people and, just — it was wonderful," she said.
Kallet said France was a big source of inspiration for her poems.
"Some of them have to do with the traumatic stuff during the Holocaust, and then a lot of them are just walking down the street, the Champs-Elysees and then feeling lonely, sometimes, the blues, like, 'Where is everybody?'" Kallet said.
Kallet has little pieces from her time in France throughout her home but she's looking for more reminders here. While she's been to several French restaurants in Knoxville, she wants to try the newest French cuisine — Lilou.
The restaurant's kitchen is led by Chef Benjamin Tilatti, a France native, who said starting the restaurant was a fun challenge.
"Everybody has his place in Knoxville but doing a pure French is, I think it's kind of unique. I think it's great actually to really have something real," Tilatti said.
He changes the menu every three months to keep things in season, but he keeps the classics he grew up with.
"My grandmother, when I used to finish playing soccer after practice, she used to make the French mac and cheese, let's say with Bechamel — a lot of cheese. So, I put this on the menu with truffles and everything," she said.
Tilatti's been in Knoxville for just over a year now and said he thinks it's important that the Olympics are being held in Paris.
"I think it's beneficial because it's going to, our country [is] going to shine for something different for once. I think sport is break[ing] every boundary," Tilatti said.