Picnic in Provence A memoir with recipes

Elizabeth Bard

Book - 2015

The author describes how she and her husband moved from cosmopolitan Paris to rural Provence after their son was born, the beginning of their adventures as culinary entrepreneurs, and their initiation into classic Proven©ʹal cuisine.

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Subjects
Published
New York : Little, Brown and Company 2015.
Language
English
Main Author
Elizabeth Bard (author)
Edition
First edition
Item Description
Includes index.
Physical Description
ix, 368 pages ; 22 cm
ISBN
9780316246163
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Having been wooed and won by a Parisian, Bard discovers the south of France on a quick vacation before her baby arrives. The couple stumbles upon a fairly typical Provençal village, which especially attracts her husband when he discovers its connection to a noted heroic leader of the French Resistance movement. Buying a new home and raising a newborn may be taxing, but having a baby in tow helps Bard win over standoffish Provençaux. Their quaint little cottage quickly becomes a seasonal magnet for all sorts of weekend visitors. Even a bat in the cellar turns out to be useful for eating mosquitoes. As an American Jew, Bard has some insights into lingering anti-Semitism among the French, who refer to Passover as Jewish Easter. Chapters conclude with a simple Provençal recipe or two. Befitting a new mother, Bard includes some kid-friendly creations, such as a quick stir-fry of tiny green beans, and bacon colorfully paired with baked sweet potatoes.--Knoblauch, Mark Copyright 2015 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review

Following her first memoir, Lunch in Paris, Bard now takes listeners with her on a picnic in the countryside. She and her husband move to a tiny village in Provence, tackle the renovation of their ancient home, and open their own ice cream business. Filled with delicious food and recipes, this book is more than it first appears to be. While the food is the focus, the author also addresses issues such as trying to bond with her young son, supporting her husband's desire to live the life he imagines, and figuring out her own life. This is the story of a family growing together, with food as the commonality. The author is the perfect narrator, turning in a nuanced performance. A PDF of all the recipes is included on the last disc. VERDICT Overall, a delicate and delicious treat, perfect for fans of such culinary/travel memoirs as Peter Mayle's classic A Year in Provence or Anthony Bourdain's A Cook's Tour.-Donna Bachowski, Orange Cty. Lib. Syst., Orlando, FL © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A journalist's account of the unexpectedly rich life she and her French husband made together after leaving Paris for a small town in southern France.When a very pregnant Bard (Lunch in Paris, 2010) and her husband, Gwendal, visited Creste, it was to see the village that had been home to a French poet and Resistance leader named Ren Char. After they chatted with the daughter of Char's wartime lover, they discovered that her family was about to sell the house where the poet had lived. The pair bought the house on impulse the next day, certain only of the fact that Creste was "where [they] would become a family." A neighbor's move-in gift of a basketful of homegrown vegetables became the symbol of what would quickly become the couple's organizing principle: food. Not only was it something that, in all its delicious Provenal variety, was one of Bard's "central pleasures." It was also the way she would continue to forge an identity for herself apart from her Brooklyn-born mother and her American supermarket tastes. Through sharing recipesmany of which she includes in this book, as in her previous bookBard negotiated and built relationships with her French friends and extended family. When she realized that pain from her own childhood was preventing her from bonding with her son, cooking with her child became the way she repaired the rift between them and healed her own heart. Gwendal also found his own salvation in food. Faced with a decision to rejoin the corporate world and become an unhappy "cog in the wheel," he decided instead to open an artisanal ice cream shop with his wife. Like the Provenal food and lifestyle it celebrates, Bard's book is one to be savored slowly and with care. Delectable reading. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.