[.ca] French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew (ISBN 0375405909)

From Amazon.co.uk:
Peter Mayle has done it again--but differently. Travelling 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. Author of the bestselling A Year in Provence, 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 omelette; 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

We need farmers with aristocratic chickens and cows:
I listened to "French Lessons" on tape, the unabridged production read by Simon Jones. What pleasant few days of commuting those were! I had never read any of Peter Mayle's books before; I had never even read this genre. I found this book in our local library by a complete coincidence and truly enjoyed every minute of listening to it. I liked the combination of the entertaining style and the array of very interesting facts. I share with the author the pleasure in eating good food. I agree whole-heartedly with Peter Mayle's opinion on the critical importance of the quality of the ingredients you use in the cooking process. For example, the chapter on "Aristocrats with Blue Feet" brought to my mind the memories of my childhood summer vacations and specifically how my grandfather's cows "respected themselves". Every evening, before the cows came home from the pasture (where they were all day with all the other cows from the village grazing on the shamrock), my grandfather prepared a pail of fresh icy cold water straight from the well for each cow. The pails had to be super clean and nobody was allowed to drink from those pails (which we, city kids, loved doing - pretending we were cows; and which the farm dog loved doing as well). If a cow as much as smelled that someone drank from her pail, she would shake her head, look at our grandfather with her beautiful eyes, and - without having a sip - go straight to her barn. Those cows' walk was almost as "stately and deliberate" as Peter Mayle's chickens' and even though they did not "pause between steps, holding one foot in the air", they respected themselves and expected the same from their farmer. The point of my story? My grandfather would never even think about offering them the feed made from dead cows' bones and other parts. That would be unimaginable. No wonder the cows all over the world are getting mad. I wonder if the following two situations could have happened to me in France. At a major North-American chain café I asked a lady behind the counter if the pastry presented behind the glass was fresh (unfortunately, I had doubts just by looking at it). Her answer: "Let me check. O yes! It is fresh, it was delivered yesterday." Or in a major North-American sports lounge, we were offered frozen chicken breast in tomato sauce, and after complaining to the waiter, we had it reheated in the microwave (talking about insult to the stomach). Peter Mayle's book is a true breath of fresh air in this world of the contaminated food and the appalling standards in some of our "good reputation" restaurants and cafés. I wish more people understood what he is talking about so that one day I will find quality food at my corner grocery store rather then having to drive 20km one way to a European bakery and 25 km in the opposite direction to a European meat store to find edible food.

This is a great travel book!:
I loved it. Peter Mayle is funny, adventurous, witty and blends right into the French lifestyles. He is game to go anywhere and try anything and he takes you along for the ride. I enjoyed every page.

Passport to Pleasure:
French Lessons may sound like something that should come with a syllabus, but it is in fact the latest witty look at French culture from British advertising executive turned writer, Peter Mayle. Page after delicious page, this book is pure enjoyment! Even if you haven't read Mayle's other wonderful books (which I highly recommend), this is a great read for anyone who loves French food, French wine and has a good-natured sense of humor about the people who both produce and consume it. It's like a trip to France without the inconvenience of transatlantic travel. If you're a Francophile like I am, you'll be laughing hysterically and pulling out your passport at the same time! If you are planning a trip to France, get the book as reference material, and a great way to get excited about your trip. On our honeymoon, my husband and I used Mayle's books as a guide to Provence and had a great time on our pilgrimage. If you are going to Paris and not the countryside however, I recommend reading "Paris to the Moon" by Adam Gopnik. Mayle is in love with the real French, not the Parisians (and if you've ever traveled both places you know exactly what I mean) so he spends his time in Burgundy, Provence and other countryside areas. One warning to the serious reader though, you'll be done in a couple of hours with this book. You'll fully enjoy those hours, but it is very much a quick read. I think of books like French Lessons as a vacation for the brain. It's great fun and not much thinking. So give that big brain a rest and pull up a fork for what I consider one of the best books about life in France published to date.

Another masterpiece by mayle:
mayle makes masterpieces, undeniable works of art. I no longer feel so confined to the knowledge of one culture.

excellent book:
This is a must read book for any lover of France and the french culture foods and way of life. "A Year ib Provence," make one want to pack up and move there to a very charming town and simpler way of life.