Rossant comes from the Palacci family, Sephardic Jews who moved from Spain to Italy to Istanbul to Cairo. Her great-grandfather owned lemon perfume factories in Upper Egypt and her grandfather a well-known department store in Cairo. Her father worked in exports and imports in support of the department store. Her parents met in Paris at a wedding. Her father, who was ill for much of his life, returned to Egypt for warmer weather.
Born in Paris, Rossant traveled with her mother to Cairo to live with her father and her father's family during World War II. Her mother spent much of the war in Beirut (part of the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon), while her brother remained in Paris with their mother's parents.
After World War II, Rossant returned to Paris and lived with her grandmother and brother, joined occasionally by her mother. In Paris, she studied at the Lycée La Fontaine. She earned a B.A. in Comparative Literature at the Sorbonne in 1954. She married American architect James Rossant in 1955.
Career
Moving to New York with her husband, Rossant pursued several careers, often simultaneously: teaching, writing, translating, restaurant business, and raising a family.
Rossant spent many years teaching French. She was first a language instructor at the Browning School (1957—1961). She then taught French at Hofstra University (1961—1970). She became head of the French department at St. Anne's School (1970—1983). Her last position was as Liaison Officer at the New York branch of Crédit Lyonnais (1985—2000).
Exploring New York, Rossant became very interested in bettering the food she found there. She published her first of seven cookbooks in 1975 (and last to date in 1991). Her third cookbook, A Mostly French Food Processor Cookbook (1983) sold more than 50,000 copies and made a name for her in the Food industry. She became "underground gourmet" for New York Magazine in the 1980s. She served as food and design editor for McCalls Magazine (1983—1990). She then became a columnist for the New York Daily News, where she wrote a popular Wednesday column called "Ask Colette." Currently, she contributes to Food Arts and Super Chef magazines.
Rossant helped launch two restaurants in New York. Buddha Green (1998—1999) opened in Mid-Town Manhattan and featured original, vegetarian "Buddhist" cuisine. Dim Sum Go Go (2000—2003) opened in Chinatown and featured original Imperial Cantonese cuisine, although Rossant has stopped consulting there. Her husband James Rossant helped design both, while son Tomas Rossant helped on the interior at Buddha Green.
Rossant has traveled abroad (often with her husband, whose architectural design work took him to countries like Bhutan, Tanzania, and Turkey). Her lifelong interest in Asian cuisines took her to China and Japan, reflected in her cookbooks and restaurants.
Recently
With children grown and married, Rossant's most recent books have been three memoirs: Apricots on the Nile (2004, originally published as Memories of a Lost Egypt in 1999), Return to Paris (2003), and The World in My Kitchen (2006), published in both the United States and the United Kingdom.
Rossant's husband of 55 years died in December 2009. She continues to live in their home near Condeau, France, on whose town council she serves. She continues travel and has just begun drafting a twelfth book.
The World in My Kitchen (Atria 2006); Madeleine in Manhattan (Bloomsbury 2008)
Return to Paris (Atria, 2003); Return to Paris (Bloomsbury 2004); Retour a Paris (Editions les Deux Terres 2009)
Apricots on the Nile (Atria 2004); previously Memories of a Lost Egypt (Clarkson Potter 1999); Apricots on the Nile (Bloomsbury 2002); Mémoires d'une Egypte perdue (Editions les Deux Terres 2009; Albin Michel, 1999); Tadi Damagimda Kalan Ülke: Misir (O?lak Yay?nlar? 2000); Mein Kairo (Scherz 2002); Abrikozen langs de Nijl (Uitgeverij Sirene 2003); Sárgabarackok a Níluson (Ulpius-Ház 2004)
Cookbooks
Vegetables: Growing, Cooking, Keeping (Viking Studio Books 1991) with Marianne Melendez
New Kosher Cooking (Arbor House, 1986)
Colette's Japanese Cuisine (Kodansha America 1985), introduced by Calvin Trillin
Colette's Slim Cuisine (William Morrow 1983)
A Mostly French Food Processor Cookbook (William Morrow 1983) with Jill Harris Herman
Colette Rossant's After Five Gourmet (Random House 1981)
Cooking with Colette (Scribners 1975), edited by Lorraine Davis
Translations
Best of New York, by Gault Millau (Prentice Hall, 1988 and 1990)
Bocuse a la Carte' by Paul Bocuse (Pantheon Books 1987)
New Classic Cuisine' by Michel Roux and Albert Roux (MacDonald 1983)
Paul Bocuse's French Cooking, by Paul Bocuse (Pantheon Books 1977)
