French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew | 
 enlarge | Author: Peter Mayle
Publisher: Knopf
Category: Book
List Price: $24.00
Buy New: $7.42
You Save: $16.58 (69%)
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Rating:  46 reviews
Sales Rank: 1004600
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 240
Number Of Items: 1
ASIN: B0001FZGOO
Publication Date: May 8, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| • | Hardcover - French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew | | • | Audio Cassette - French Lessons: Adventures With Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew | | • | Audio Cassette - French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew | | • | Audio CD - French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew | | • | Hardcover - French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew (Large Print) | | • | Paperback - French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew | | • | Audio Download - French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew (Unabridged) | | • | Kindle Edition - French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew |
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Product Description
From Peter Mayle, a joyous exploration and celebration of the infinite gastronomic pleasures of France.
Ranging far from his adopted Provence, Mayle now travels to every corner of the country, armed with knife, fork, and corkscrew. He takes us to tiny, out-of-the-way restaurants, starred Michelin wonders, local village markets, annual festivals, and blessed vineyards.
We visit the Foire aux Escargots at Martigny-les-Bains a whole weekend devoted to the lowly but revered snail. We observe the Marathon du Medoc, where runners passing through the great vineyards of Bordeaux refresh themselves en route with tastings of red wine (including Chateau Lafite-Rothschild!). There is a memorable bouillabaisse in a beachside restaurant on the Cute d'Azur. And we go on a search for the perfect chicken that takes us to a fair in Bourg-en-Bresse.
There is a Catholic mass in the village of Ri-cherenches, a sacred event at which thanks are given for the aromatic, mysterious, and breathtakingly expensive black truffle. We learn which is the most pungent cheese in France (it's in Normandy), witness a debate on the secret of the perfect omelette, and pick up a few luscious recipes along the way. There is even an appreciation and celebration of an essential tool for any serious food-lover in France, the Michelin Guide.
"Here we have all the glory and pleasure of the French table in the most satisfying book yet from the toujours delightfully entertaining"
--Peter Mayle.
Amazon.com Review
Peter Mayle, author of the bestselling A Year in Provence has done it again--but differently. Traveling this time beyond his adopted Provence throughout France, the food and travel writer has produced French Lessons, a celebration of many of that country's gastronomic joys. Whether pursuing La Foire de Fromages, the annual cheese fair at Livarot; a Burgundian marathon offering runners Médoc refreshment; or a village truffle mass that concludes with a heady dégustation of the newly blessed tuber, Mayle takes his readers in hand and shows all. Wide-eyed yet knowing, ever affable but with a touch of mischief, he's an ideal companion, the best possible narrator of his lively food adventures. Mayle's gastronomic baptism occurs when, as a 19-year-old, he dines for the first time in France. "At the first mouthful of French bread and French butter," he writes, "my taste buds, dormant until then, went into spasm." The paroxysm leads to serious food-and-wine perambulations--and, finally, to chapters including "The Thigh-Taster of Vitel" (a frog-eating fete); "Slow Food" (snail love in Martigny les Bains) and "The Guided Stomach" (an investigation of the Michelin Guide restaurant inspection), among others. Readers are also present for a debate on the secret of the perfect omelet; a search for the best possible chicken in Bourg-en-Bresse; and a visit to a St. Tropez restaurant notable for its scantily clad habitués. Those familiar with Mayle's work, and those yet to discover it, are in for a treat. --Arthur Boehm
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| Customer Reviews: Read 41 more reviews...
 A Cozy Read about France March 3, 2008
Rebecca Johnson (Washington State)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
"It was a pleasure just to be alive." ~ Peter Mayle, on his experience in France
Peter Mayle's "French Lessons" is an engaging book about French cuisine. He takes the reader off the beaten path to vicariously experience new discoveries. Along the way we find cooking advice (what type of pan to use when making an omelette), health spas, festivals, beaches, marathons and cheese eating competitions.
In one adventure Peter Mayle takes the reader to a Catholic mass which celebrates the expensive black truffle (they are auctioned off before lunch). His vivid prose enlivens the imagination. Through his writing we experience all the nuances he is enjoying.
As someone who makes her own croissants I am always eager to read about French cuisine. This is a warm cozy read, the type of book you curl up with in the winter or read in the summer in the shade.
If you love Peter's books I know you will adore: The "A Year in Provence" Movie.
~The Rebecca Review
Once I spent a weekend in Paris
 fun and food= France February 9, 2008
jeanne-scott (Asan, Guam)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book chronicles the adventures of Peter Mayle through the French country-side armed with knife, fork and corkscrew. His delightful sense of humor is present through out his epicurean journey. He attends amazing food events. There is the religious celebration of the black truffle. the marathon where every stop is hosted by a winery ( complete with tastings through-out the 26.2 miles!!) and the "interesting" fair of the ESCARGOT! You will understand how seriously the French take their food when you read this book..or do they just like to have fun!
A Tasty Read August 28, 2007
E. M. Griffith (Central Coast of California)
As a former (and once-again) food writer, I must say this book is deliciously entertaining. I'm still in process of devouring the entertaining writing. Very well done. Any serious foodie will enjoy it!
Gastronomic Tour de France July 18, 2007
Skylark Thibedeau (Charlotte, NC USA, Terra, Solaris System, Milky Way Galaxy.)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
In this wonderful look at Gallic Culture and Cuisine, British Francophile Peter Mayle visits several food fairs and celebrations in the French countryside and takes us along for the ride in this tale that is part travelogue/ part food guide. The tales are usually funny, interesting and mouth watering. I nearly drooled on some of the pages reading his description of the elegant dishes that were served.
I've never learned so much about Frog Legs, truffles, snails, or cheeses. I only regret is that he missed the festival celebrating the sausage that my Canjun relatives call Boodat.
Conviently there is an appendix with addresses and phone numbers for anyone contemplating a trip to France to attend one of the festivals themselves.
When does the plane leave for France November 5, 2006
Alice M. Lewis (Marietta, GA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am ready to go back to France after reading this book. Anyone with a love of good France, light humor and beautiful countryside of France, should read this book.
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