Customer Reviews

Bon Appetit: Travels Through France With Knife, Fork and Corkscrew

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Not really a review, (although it was quite an entertaining read!) but just to let readers know that this book is the same as that published in the US under the name: "French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Ford and Corkscrew". Anyone have an opinion (or information) as to the reason for the change in title for the US market?

Peter Mayle is probably best known for his two travelogues set in Provence - "A Year in Provence" and "Toujours Provence". While "Bon Appétit" is also set in France, it isn't restricted to Provence - it follows Peter's (fairly random) travels throughout the country - basically going wherever his belly leads him.

While British chefs are probably known better for the swearing than their food, their French counterparts are widely viewed as artists. Having spent his early years in post-war England, Peter had come to view food solely as fuel - and certainly not as something you could seriously enjoy. It was a business trip to France, guarding the managerial briefcase, that opened his eyes - a trip that is recalled in the book's opening chapter. His boss, Mr Jenkins, proves to be the stereotypical Englishman - he doesn't have a good word to say about the French, makes no attempt to speak "their lingo" and advises young Peter that, should any further explanations be required, shouting is the best course of action. While there are some who relate very well to Mr Jenkins, Peter isn't one of them : he credits that trip with the loss of his gastronomic virginity, and - if this book in anything to go by - it became the launchpad to a love affair with French cooking.

Peter travels the length and breadth of the country, but doesn't restrict himself to the cafes and restaurants. By the looks of it, there must be any number of food-related festivals. There's a trip to Richerenches for the `Messe des Truffes' - which goes to show you, I guess, just how religious some people are about what they eat. Interestingly, Richerenches started life as a fort built by the Knights Templar. (Doubtless, truffles have something to do with the Holy Grail, the Sacred Feminine and Leonardo da Vinci's entire back catalogue - however, Peter thankfully sticks to the food and avoids the conspiracy theories). He caters for the famous French foods - he attends a Festival of Frogs Legs in Vittel, while he discovers the art of eating snails at a festival in Martigny-les-Bains. Here, he meets the enticing Mlle Coquille, and his education includes a talk on the dangers posed by Chinese counterfeiters. (They're even - oh the horrors - apparently making foie gras). He also attends a cheese fair in Livarot, home to one of the most (reputedly) pungent cheeses in the world. The festivities include the induction of several Chevaliers de Fromage and a cheese eating competition.

Two of the country's most famous wine regions are also visited. The Bordeaux region must be home to the world's most enjoyable marathon. The Marathon du Medoc, run through Bordeaux 's famous vineyards, had nineteen thousand applicants the year Peter visited, of which eight thousand were selected to run. Six thousand of these runners arrived in fancy dress - with France's national champion among the remaining two thousand. (He possibly felt it was worth taking seriously, since the winner apparently gets his weight in wine). For the remaining runners, however, this marathon is all about pleasure. There are over twenty different refreshment stalls along the course...each, as you might expect, offers high energy snacks and mineral water. However, oysters, steak, cheese and a variety of the most appropriate wines are also on the menu - and nobody is out to set a personal best time-wise. "Nowhere", comments Peter, could he "see any sign of the traditional loneliness of the long-distance runner. It wasn't that kind of race."

The trip taken to Beaune, in Burgundy, is for the world's greatest wine auction. Here, Mayle gets to sample the "kind of wine Alexandre Dumas said should be drunk kneeling, with the head bared." I've always loved France myself, but my admiration for some of the region's pharmacies just cannot be put into words. (They actually recommend different wines as cures for various ailments. What a country.)

Even the French take on a spa treatment goes above and beyond what you could ever have dared hope for. Michel Guerard's establishment at Eugenie-les-Bains - an establishment, lets not forget, designed to help people lose weight - has three Michelin stars. Chilled bottles of white Bordeaux, foie-gras, a variety of cheeses, slim, attractive and friendly young ladies who will quite happily power-hose you as part of the treatment...are health clubs seriously supposed to be this enjoyable ?

A very easily read, enjoyable, funny and - at times - informative book. Based on what I've read, there are now several places I've decided to visit...not least a certain restaurant in St Tropez. Absolutely recommended.

BUYER BEWARE!!! My daughter collects Mayle books. Imagine the disappointment and disgust to find I had purchased this book, only to have it the very same book as "French Lessons", which I had purchased several years before. How was this allowed? Very discouraging and misleading.

As I read this in Provence it may have coloured my view of the book. Had I read it on a wet afternoon in Liverpool like another reviewer I may have had another view entirely. Nevertheless I enjoyed the bite size chapters, each dealing with a different food/fair/or culinary treat. It made me want to seek out the bizarre and eccentric corners of France discovered by Mayle. It's not meant to be great literature but he paints an interesting picture of a country that is only reluctantly embracing the rampant MacDonaldization of the world.

A fun read; I have ordered the rest of his books.

There is a time and a place for reading Peter Mayle. The best place is in Southern France in the heat of the day, over a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape. On rainy afternoons in Liverpool, something is missing.

In this latest book he tours France visiting various festivals related to particular foods and wines. Frogs - with remarkable thighs in Vittel, Chickens in Bourg en Bresse with perfect colouring - Red, White and Blue of course, Wine in Beaune, Scantily clad women in St. Tropez (?). They are all here. They are described with his usual humour and observation. If you love food, wine or France this is for you. If not you may become a convert.

A nice holiday read.

In his typical style, Mayle has presented us with a charming, if a bit overly precious, set of anecdotes about his travels to various culinary festivals throughout France. People who have traveled France extensively may find Mayle's writing (in this book and in his Provence-based books) somewhat pedantic, but for anyone who has felt the same enchantment of his over a simple crepe or omelette, oyster or cheese, this book is perfect.

I've enjoyed Mayle's writings in the past and I'm a bit of a "foodie" and a francophile, so this book worked well for me as a vacation read.

Peter Mayle's tale of bizarre French country fairs is sure to please the amature francophile. The festivals -- from a wine fair desguised as a marathon to a truffle celebration masquerading as a mass -- bring out the best of the French: their "gourmandisme" combined with their hospitality and their out-right dorkiness.

Have I offended you yet? Good, because that's where Mayle's book fails. He is so in love with everything French (or afraid to be lynched by his adopted countrymen) that he goes out of his way to avoid even the most minor of criticisms. At times it felt like I was reading a transcript of a dinner party: "I don't normally like snails because they are too chewy and bland, but these are so...interesting!" Please, Mr. Mayle, take a chance and tell us what you really think; not every Frenchman is delightful, even with a full belly and a half-empty wine glass.

If you are planning a summer vacation to France and you like food or colorful local flavor, you will probably enjoy Bon Appetit a great deal. If you live in France or spend a fair amount of time there, you will undoubtedly learn a lot about offbeat traditions, regional specialties, and the Michelin Red Guide. In the end, perhaps Mayle is right to leave out any criticisms. After all, who needs indigestion while trying to enjoy such light fare?