WILLAN, ANNE — La France Gastronomique

UK, Pavilion Books Limited. 1991. Hardcover with dust jacket, 26.5cm. Ill.: Michael Boys (photos). Book, A collection of recipes from ten rural regions of France. This book offers an insight into French country cooking and eating, and shows how the French not only produce good food but also love to discuss it. The recipes featured range from the world famous to the little known. What is a cookbook? More than simply a collection of recipes, a cookbook can be a window to the larger world beyond the confines of the kitchen, as La Varenne Cooking School founder and award-winning cookbook author Anne Willan illustrates in this excellent book. review >>> It's one of those books that can be read back to front, or by random page-flipping, without much loss of charm. Old-fashioned farms, sleepy rivers, small shops, hill villages, wood-fired bakery ovens and lovingly tended gardens are the sort of things that stick in the mind, both from Willan's descriptions and Michael Boys' idyllic photographs. Famous restaurants, when they crop up, are mentioned with pleasure rather than awe, in no way eclipsing more modest experiences.& (re) the choice of recipes. There are only about 100, modestly tucked away in 10 sections at the end of the individual chapters, but they convey a lot. The selection emphasizes obvious dishes and use of obvious regional ingredients rather than gee-whiz "discoveries" and "creations." 192 clean white pp in great shape for some culinary browsing at a bargain price. approx 1.5kg carded/bubbled for post. We have a few other of Willan's fine books. Excellent/Very Good.