Archive for the ‘books’ Category

My Day at the Paris Cookbook Fair – Part II

Friday, March 9th, 2012
Facebook Twitter Linkedin

I attended the Paris Cookbook Fair yesterday. For me, the fun took place at the food and beverage stands and the cooking demonstrations.

Festival du Livre Culinaire

There was one area in the exposition hall that was dedicated to products from Brittany. There, I met Adrien Auroy, sales representative for Coreff, an artisanal beer-brewing company in Carhaix, France. I tasted three of the beers that were on tap: a blanche (white), an ambrée (amber), and a stout. Of the three, I was most intrigued by the blanche for its refreshing, spicy taste. Adrien told me that it was flavored with coriander.

Adrien Auroy - Sales Reperesentive of Coreff

Adrien Auroy
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

Because man cannot live by beer alone and (presumably) needs intellectual stimulation, I left the food hall and went to see the presentation of a new book, Food on the Silk Road. There, three chefs recounted their adventures traveling the silk road in China in search of the foods that eventually found their way to Europe.

Chakall - James McIntosh - Jimmy Yang Jimei

Chakall - James McIntosh - Jimmy Yang Jimei
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

In another part of the exposition hall, author Teresa Severini Zaganelli gave a talk about her book Grapes in the Glass, in which she endeavors to teach youngsters and adults about wine production and responsible drinking.

Teresa Severini Zaganelli

Teresa Severini Zaganelli
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

In the French Show Kitchen I watched Chef Cyril Rouquet make an orange-flavored Saint-Honoré. This classic French cake is a circle of choux pastries on a pâte feuilletée base. The choux are filled with crème chiboust and the cake is finished with whipped cream. Lots of calories here, but who is counting? After samples were distributed, I sneaked back for another bite!

Cyril Rouquet

Cyril Rouquet
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

I will continue the saga of my day at the Paris Cookbook Fair tomorrow! I still have to reveal the amazing technique that I learned for making Bad Piggies’ Scrambled Eggs.

The Paris Cookbook Fair will run through Sunday, March 11.

* * * * * * *

Like our blog? Join us on Facebook!

My Day at the Paris Cookbook Fair – Part I

Thursday, March 8th, 2012
Facebook Twitter Linkedin

I attended the Paris Cookbook Fair today. For me, the fun took place at the food and beverage stands and the cooking demonstrations.

Festival du Livre Culinaire

I saw Virginia Willis, a chef from Atlanta, Georgia, give a cooking demonstration on how to make a dish of shrimp and grits. Her latest cookbook is called Back to Basics, Y’All.

Chef Virginia Willis of Atlanta, Georgia

Chef Virginia Willis of Atlanta, Georgia
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

I met cook, writer, instructor, and food geek Vivian Pei.

Vivian Pei

Vivian Pei
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

I met award-winning authors Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, whose latest book is called Food Lover’s Guide to Wine.

Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page

Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

And I purchased a kilo of coffee beans roasted in Sardinia from Amerigo Murgia, whose company Tradizione Italiana supplies kitchen equipment, espresso machines, and Italian-roast coffee beans to restaurants in the city.

Amerigo Murgia

Amerigo Murgia
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

Tomorrow I will write about other people whom I met and reveal the amazing technique for making Bad Piggies’ Scrambled Eggs.

The Paris Cookbook Fair will run through Sunday, March 11.

* * * * * * *

Like our blog? Join us on Facebook!

Just Released: Black Paris Profiles™ by Monique Y. Wells

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012
Facebook Twitter Linkedin

If you are thinking about moving to Paris or wondering what it is like to live there, then you’ll want to get your copy of Black Paris Profiles™ right away!

Black Paris Profiles™ presents the stories of 16 contemporary African-American and black Caribbean expatriates as told to Monique Y. Wells for our Entrée to Black Paris™ blog. Their lives are rich, uncommon, and complex and their inspiring tales are certain to shatter any stereotypes that you may hold about life as a black person in Paris. Counter to the prevailing tendency for works about the “Black Paris” expatriate experience to focus on men, more than half of the stories presented are about women.

Nowhere else can you find the viewpoints on forging a successful life abroad in today’s world that each chapter reveals! Our 62-page e-book in PDF format contains color photos and clickable links to sites with additional articles and images that enliven the accounts of these fascinating people.

Click here to place your order now!

* * * * * * *

Like our blog? Join us on Facebook!

The Inventory of French Regional Foods

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011
Facebook Twitter Linkedin
Mary and Philip Hyman

Mary and Philip Hyman
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

On Sunday, we blogged about the reception that American Ambassador Charles Rivkin held in honor of Nathan Myhrvold. At that reception we also met Philip and Mary Hyman, both of whom have been extensively involved for the past twenty years in the publication of a twenty-two volume encyclopedia entitled L’Inventaire du Patrimoine Culinaire de la France. The Hymans are members of the steering committee which oversees the research and publication of this important work. What makes it important is that it is an extensive inventory of traditional French foods region by region—the collection is an historical record of regional foods that may someday no longer exist.

A government-sponsored undertaking, the project was started in 1990. Each French region finances the effort to research and write the material for the specific volume devoted to the food of that region.

The Hymans told us that there are two teams that research and write the texts. The first is composed of field workers who interview producers; the second, of historians who document the history of the foods being described. For practical purposes, traditional foods are defined as those in existence for at least two generations and firmly anchored in the local culture. The inventory is not a survey of regional recipes but of produce found in local markets that reflects specific regional tastes and savoir-faire. The research casts a wide net, including raw ingredients (local plant varieties or breeds of animals), cheeses, breads, pastries, etc.

The penultimate two volumes in the series are due to be published by the end of the year, one on the region Centre, the other on Auvergne. The collection will then have covered all the regions of metropolitan France as well as Guadeloupe, Martinique, and French Guyana. A final volume, devoted to the foods of the Island of Reunion, is currently under consideration.

* * * * * * *

Like our blog? Join us on Facebook!

The Inventory of French Regional Foods

Modernist Cuisine By Nathan Myhrvold

Sunday, October 9th, 2011
Facebook Twitter Linkedin
Nathan Myhrvold

Nathan Myhrvold
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

Ambassador Rivkin and Nathan Myhrvold

Ambassador Rivkin and Nathan Myhrvold
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

We had the good fortune to be invited to a reception at the American ambassador’s residence last night where Nathan Myhrvold was the guest of honor. Among other achievements, Myhrvold is the co-author of Modernist Cuisine, a six-volume book on the art and science of cooking. This is an amazing book, which shows in glorious photographs what happens when you apply heat to food. Though priced way too high for the average person who cooks at home and wants to understand the chemical and physical processes of food preparation (400€ on the Continent), it will undoubtedly help professional chefs who want to improve their cooking techniques. For those who are not professional cooks, if they can get a hold of a copy we are certain that they will spend many happy hours just browsing through the fantastic photographs.

Monique Y. Wells, co-founder of Discover Paris! and Nathan Myhrvold co-author of Modernist Cuisine

Monique Y. Wells, co-founder of Discover Paris!
and Nathan Myhrvold, co-author of Modernist Cuisine
Photo by www.DiscoverParis.net

Mr. Myhrvold is in Europe to promote the European editions of his book. It will soon be released in French, Spanish, and German. Myhrvold is hobnobbing with some of France’s greatest chefs as part of this effort—Pierre Hermé and Jacques Le Divellec were among the invitees for the Ambassador’s soirée on Saturday, and Myhrvold met with Alain Ducasse on Friday evening.

Ambassador Rivkin introduced Myhrvold—I do not remember his exact words—as being a modern-day Diderot. Denis Diderot was a major figure of the Enlightenment and co-founder and chief editor of an encyclopedia published in France between 1751 and 1772 that helped change the way people viewed the world. I do not think it an exaggeration to say—and this is probably what Ambassador Rivkin said—that Myhrvold’s book Modernist Cuisine will change the way that people view cooking and food.

* * * * * * *

Like our blog? Join us on Facebook!

Modernist Cuisine By Nathan Myhrvold

Pay With a Tweet – Download Our Book

Friday, July 22nd, 2011
Facebook Twitter Linkedin

Peter Greenberg, Travel Editor, CBS News, called Paris Insights – An Anthology “a true insider’s guide to one of my most favorite cities in the world, written by someone who has lived the special experiences you’ll never find in a guide book.”

The abridged edition is now available for the price of…a tweet! Click here and download now!

* * * * * * *

Like our blog? Join us on Facebook!

J’aime Paris by Alain Ducasse

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011
Facebook Twitter Linkedin

There are numerous restaurant guides available for the Paris-bound traveler to consult before making that dream trip to the City of Light, but the one that I have found that best describes the city’s culinary scene is the soon-to-be-published J’aime Paris: Mon Paris du goût en 200 adresses, by Alain Ducasse (April 2011, Alain Ducasse Edition).

J’aime Paris is a heavy book, weighing in at 4 lbs! It contains 596 pages, and is illustrated with sumptuous black-and-white and color photographs. Co-written with Frédérick E. Grasser Hermé, it is a lively account in words and pictures of some 230 establishments in Paris. While most of the places described are restaurants, the authors also include numerous marketplaces, kitchenware shops, specialty food shops, bars, bakeries, pastry shops, cheese shops, butcher shops, cafés, and more. The book is a veritable treasure-trove of information on the vast and varied world of gastronomy for which Paris is famous.

Although the brief accounts of each establishment are written in French, in my opinion, an understanding of the language is not necessary to enjoy and to learn from the book. It is amply illustrated with hundreds of photographs. The images by themselves effectively convey the passion that motivates Parisian restaurant and food shop owners, and the rich culture and traditions of the French gastronomic experience.

J’aime Paris by Alain Ducasse
Alain Ducasse Edition
Photographer: Pierre Monetta
Appears in bookshops in April 2011 – 35 €

A full review of J’aime Paris is available to the subscribers of our monthly newsletter Paris Insights.

Access to the newsletter is by paid subscription. Click here to view the announcement of the newsletter that features the book review. Click here to enter a subscription.

Bonne lecture!

* * * * * * *

We participate in Wanderfood Wednesdays. Head over there to explore food from around the world!

Like our blog? Join us on Facebook!

An Evening at Shakespeare and Company

Saturday, September 4th, 2010
Facebook Twitter Linkedin

Shakespeare and Company
(c) Discover Paris!

Last Sunday evening I attended an event at the Shakespeare and Company bookstore that featured author John Kirby Abraham speaking about his new book Paris Made Me… I thought that John gave a great presentation, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The occasion was, however, the first time in the eighteen years that I have been living in Paris that I ever entered this venerable institution.

Upon reflection, I now understand why. It is because I do not like to enter narrow, crowded quarters where there is little room to move about and where, in the event of a fire, there is little chance of getting out. The bookshop is a confined, decrepit place, whose history and charm do not, in my mind, compensate for its state of disrepair. As I entered, I had to push my way past customers standing in the narrow halls and climb a narrow staircase up to the room on the first floor where the reading was being held. Then I had to make my way along another narrow hall to enter the reading room, where there were seats arranged for the presentation. But what an arrangement! All of the seats were pushed tightly together to accommodate as many persons as possible. Many were simple stools, and many were fragile-looking things. Fortunately for me, I spotted Sylvia, the daughter of founder George Whitman, removing the “Reserved” signs from two comfortable-looking chairs in the front row. I quickly sprang up from the awkward stool upon which I had perched and occupied one of the chairs. What luck to find a tiny island of comfort in this jumble of a place!

John Kirby Abraham
(c) Discover Paris!

From the moment that he began the presentation, I could tell that John had extensive experience as a public speaker. Indeed, he served as a broadcast journalist for Radio France for many years. He engaged his audience, asking questions from time to time that required specific answers or asking for a show of hands to questions such as “How many here are from the United States?”. His presentation centered on his reminiscences and, given that he has interviewed many interesting people, he had a lot to say. I was delighted when he played a tape of his interview of Josephine Baker that had been recorded just before she gave her last performance (she died in 1975). I found his interview questions thoughtful and her responses equally so. I was also surprised to hear that her voice was a rich, commanding voice—not the tinny one that I have heard in her songs and in the movies.

After the presentation I purchased John’s book, which I asked him to autograph. A young woman came by and handed me a glass of red wine, so I moved out of the reading room in order to drink it. In another room I met a young man who introduced himself as an illustrator from Barcelona. His name is Sergio Lifonte and he is in Paris to find a publisher for a book of strip cartoons that he has written and illustrated. He described the book as an Alice-in-Wonderland fantasy in which his principal character recurrently finds himself. Fascinating!

After I finished the wine, I took leave of the place. As I made my way downstairs I noted that the shop was still full of customers browsing through books. It was heartening to see so many people on a Sunday evening engaged in the search for a good book to read.

Like our blog? Join us on Facebook!