Lunch in Paris - Review

Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard, what can I say.  Wonderful, delightful, mouthwatering, beautifully written, an insight into her life, I loved it.  Forget the fact that I am a total Francophile, yes I am and that we were embarking on our trip to France as I was reading this, forget that I put on 7kgs in 5 weeks in France, yes I did and that I am still trying to lose it arghh!!!!!

Why did I tell you that well you may do the same after reading this book.  The recipes included will tempt you at least and if you succumb I can see the kilos waiting to jump on to you somewhere, me its the butt arghh!!!!

Anyway back to the book.  Elizabeth tells about her life changing move to France, Paris in particular to be with her fiance Gwendal.  Having spent nearly 2 weeks in Paris I can see it would be difficult to meld into the fabric of this town.  To meet and make friends and to become accustomed to the way of life there.  The dining time alone is so different to here, they eat at around 8.30pm. Well it seemed that way, the restaurants filled with people still dining and drinking at 11pm.  Fascinating.  Anyway Elizabeth steps out and moves to Paris, and the story is told by way of meals.  The meals that she linked to certain events in her life.  I could see her in this, I could feel her frustration, her anxiety and her desire to make this move work.  I walked with her to the market and I struggled with the language and the desire to fit in with her.  And I ate with her the wonderful meals she learned to cook along the way.  She left behind a successful, friend filled life to move to a country where to be honest she didn't quite fit in the beginning.  She taught herself how to fit and she finally realised that her life was with this man and his life in France.  In the end she is at the dinner table when she knows she is home, with Gwendal and with her new found friends in Paris.  The table is the place where lives are shared and lived in France and she is living and sharing.  Throughout the book she shares her recipes, you could make these and I will be and truly this was one of my favourite reads so far.  I think you will love it.

Above is a goats cheese salad I ate in Paris, the huge helping of fresh, soft, salty cheese tops a crunchy bread round and sits on a mixed leaf salad with a drizzle of mustard dressing delicious.

As they say in France     Bon Appetite.