Heat and Dust and Cooks: The Complete Indian Housekeeper and Cook
“The tale of the British in India holds keys to the universal story of colonization. A no-nonsense book, The Complete Indian …
Category Archives: Book Reviews
Arabs in France: An Early Account by an Egyptian Imam
Rare is the native English speaker who reads and writes Arabic, classical or otherwise. And thus a vast body of …
The Expert (French) Cook in Enlightenment France: A Review
If you scrutinize sixteenth-century Dutch artist Pieter Aertsen’s painting, “The Cook in Front of the Stove,” you will see a …
A Long Tradition: French Chefs in Britain, or, Daniel Galmiche’s French Brasserie Cookbook: The Heart of French Home Cooking
Britain, much to the chagrin of her more patriotic sorts, has long enjoyed the the food of France. In The …
Give the Gift of Cooking French Food at Home: Some Cookbooks That Make a Seemingly Impossible Task Possible
I have to tell you that the cookbook lists that come out every year around Christmas time drive me crazy. …
Memoirs of a Breton Peasant: Sifting Through the Nostalgia
It’s not often that the words of poor peasants appear in print. And when they do, it’s a cause for …
Who was Ginette Mathiot? And Why Should You Care?
Ginette Mathiot wrote books that bring up long-lost taste memories in France, much as Marcel Proust’s oft-quoted prattle about about …
Unquenchable: Natalie MacLean’s Terrific New Book on Wine
If, like me – overwhelmed by the hundreds of possible choices in front of you at the grocery store or …
Chartreuse and the Vallée du Désert: The Elixir of Life
While writing my brief “Gherkins & Tomatoes” blog post, “Cookbooks for a Desert Island, or an Autumn Afternoon,” I thumbed …
Ladies of the Pen and the Cookpot: Patience Gray
HONEY FROM A WEED: Fasting and Feasting in Tuscany, Catalonia, the Cyclades and Apulia, by Patience Gary (Harper & Row, …
