2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Feasting in France, January 23, 2011
This review is from: Eat Smart in France: How to Decipher the Menu, Know the Market Foods & Embark on a Tasting Adventure (Paperback)
Sharon Hudgins, author of The Other Side of Russia: A Slice of Life in Siberia and the Russian Far East
The latest book in Joan Petersons' informative EAT SMART series was written by Ronnie Hess, an award-winning American journalist who lived and worked in France as a reporter for CBS News and a teacher of English. Following a similar format to all the books in this series (Eat Smart in Turkey, India, Sicily, Mexico, Peru, Morocco, Brazil, and Poland), this latest work begins with a brief historical survey of French cuisine, from ancient times to the present, followed by an overview of the regional cuisines of a country well known for its fine foods.
The main part of the book consists of a practical guide for travelers to France, with helpful phrases, a menu guide arranged alphabetically (with designations for which dishes are regional and national classics, highly recommended, etc.), an alphabetical foods-and-flavors guide where you can look up the English-language translations of French food terms, and 29 tongue-tempting recipes adapted from those contributed by chefs and cooking teachers in France.
Small enough to pack in your carry-on bag or purse, this book is a nice little introduction to French cuisine and a handy culinary travel guide. Certainly recommended for travelers to France, especially those who might not speak French and are not yet familiar with all the delicious dishes and regional specialties to be found in that felicitous country.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
As enjoyable a read as a fine French meal is to eat, July 7, 2011
This review is from: Eat Smart in France: How to Decipher the Menu, Know the Market Foods & Embark on a Tasting Adventure (Paperback)
Eat Smart in France
No. 11 in the acclaimed "Eat Smart" series, "Eat Smart in France" kicks off with a fantastic history of how cuisine became so dominant in French culture. Author Ronnie Hess begins by taking you on a sumptuous tour of France's food history, from the use of fermented fish sauce in the Roman precursor site to Antibes to the present day. I found intriguing tidbits such as a information on the invention of the restaurant, initially a different institution to what it is today. Early French restaurants in the 1760s on providing broths and boiled eggs rather than all manner of meals.
If you've only come across French culinary history in bits and pieces, and thus you know that La Varenne, Perigord, Antonin Careme and Escoffier are seminal figures but not their time frames or contributions, the kickoff chapter, "An HIstorical Survey," will prove eye-opening context to the passionate yet orderly development of French cuisine.
A chapter on "Regional Foods" follows, and you can sense that despite cosmopolitan Paris, the true nature of culinary France is found in the provinces, which purvey sensational ingredients and creative dishes to the national patrimony. Hess takes you on a tour that leaves no doubt of the artisanal production of foodstuffs in every nook of France, from dairy products to meat and fish, including everything from snails to apple tarts.
With its varied geography and climate, the regions of France are the original campaigners for an "eat local" theme, even though modern transportation allows regional specialties to travel throughout "the Hexagon" as France is called. Hess's tour of seven gastronomic regions of France will surely whet your appetite for specialties including Burgundian rabbit; the flatbreads, olives and bouillabaisse of Provence; duck from Gascony, and the fine beef and poultry of Lyon.
The middle section of the book, "Tastes of France," provides recipes for soups, appetizers and main courses, including yummy sounding versions of beef bourguignon and rack of lamb with an herb crust, and desserts including spice cake.
"Eat Smart in France" also includes tips for shopping in France's markets, a sensual delight, an extensive section of food phrases found on menus, and French food terminology and flavors. This title is bound to be useful for any food-based visit to France or even for former France travelers looking to attain some insight into how what they ate fits into French history and culture.
Hess's expertise as a former resident of France while working for CBS News shines through. She notes in an email to me that "this is a book even people knowledgeable about French cuisine will find useful," and I couldn't agree more. "Eat Smart in France" packs a lot of information into a compact, portable book, and a downloadable version is also available.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not to be missed by the food loving traveler looking towards Paris, December 11, 2010
This review is from: Eat Smart in France: How to Decipher the Menu, Know the Market Foods & Embark on a Tasting Adventure (Paperback)
French food, while delicious, isn't renown for being entirely inviting for outsiders. "Eat Smart in France: How to Decipher the Menu, Know the Market Foods, & Embark on a Tasting Adventure" is a guide for enjoying France for its food and wine, by embracing its culture and understanding its menus and dialect in the name of good food. A focused travel guide that executes its focus excellently, "Eat Smart in France" is not to be missed by the food loving traveler looking towards Paris.
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