French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew
by: Peter Mayle
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Dewey Decimal Number: 641.013
EAN: 9780375705618
ISBN: 0375705619
Label: Vintage
Manufacturer: Vintage
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 240
Publication Date: April 09, 2002
Publisher: Vintage
Release Date: April 09, 2002
Sales Rank: 78623
Studio: Vintage
Related Items:
- Encore Provence: New Adventures in the South of France
- A Year in Provence
- Toujours Provence
- Acquired Tastes
- Provence A-Z
- see more
Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Peter Mayle, francophile phenomenon and author of A Year in Provence, brings another delightful (and delicious) account of the good life, this time exploring the gustatory pleasures to be found throughout France.
The French celebrate food and drink more than any other people, and Mayle shows us just how contagious their enthusiasm can be. We visit the Foire aux Escargots. We attend a truly French marathon, where the beverage of choice is Chteau Lafite-Rothschild rather than Gatorade. We search out the most pungent cheese in France, and eavesdrop on a heated debate on the perfect way to prepare an omelet. We even attend a Catholic mass in the village of Richerenches, a sacred event at which thanks are given for the aromatic, mysterious, and breathtakingly expensive black truffle. With Mayle as our inimitably charming guide, we come away with a satisfied smile (if a little hungry) and the compelling desire to book a flight to France at once.
Amazon.com Review:
Peter Mayle, author of the bestselling A Year in Provence has done it again--but differently. Traveling this time beyond his adopted Provence throughout France, the food and travel writer has produced French Lessons, a celebration of many of that country's gastronomic joys. Whether pursuing La Foire de Fromages, the annual cheese fair at Livarot; a Burgundian marathon offering runners Médoc refreshment; or a village truffle mass that concludes with a heady dégustation of the newly blessed tuber, Mayle takes his readers in hand and shows all. Wide-eyed yet knowing, ever affable but with a touch of mischief, he's an ideal companion, the best possible narrator of his lively food adventures.
Mayle's gastronomic baptism occurs when, as a 19-year-old, he dines for the first time in France. 'At the first mouthful of French bread and French butter,' he writes, 'my taste buds, dormant until then, went into spasm.' The paroxysm leads to serious food-and-wine perambulations--and, finally, to chapters including 'The Thigh-Taster of Vitel' (a frog-eating fete); 'Slow Food' (snail love in Martigny les Bains) and 'The Guided Stomach' (an investigation of the Michelin Guide restaurant inspection), among others. Readers are also present for a debate on the secret of the perfect omelet; a search for the best possible chicken in Bourg-en-Bresse; and a visit to a St. Tropez restaurant notable for its scantily clad habitués. Those familiar with Mayle's work, and those yet to discover it, are in for a treat. --Arthur Boehm
Average Rating: 
Rating:
- A Cozy Read about France"It was a pleasure just to be alive." ~ Peter Mayle, on his experience in France
Peter ... Read More
Rating:
- fun and food= FranceThis book chronicles the adventures of Peter Mayle through the French country-side armed with knife, ... Read More
Rating:
- A Tasty ReadAs a former (and once-again) food writer, I must say this book is deliciously entertaining. I'm still ... Read More
Rating:
- Gastronomic Tour de FranceIn this wonderful look at Gallic Culture and Cuisine, British Francophile Peter Mayle visits several food ... Read More
Rating:
- When does the plane leave for France I am ready to go back to France after reading this book. Anyone with a love of good France, light humor and ... Read More
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