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John Baxter's The Perfect Meal is part grand tour of France, part history of French cuisine, taking readers on a journey to discover and savor some of the world's great cultural achievements before they disappear completely.
Some of the most revered and complex elements of French cuisine are in danger of disappearing as old ways of agriculture, butchering, and cooking fade and are forgotten. In this charming culinary travel memoir, John Baxter follows up his bestselling The Most Beautiful Walk in the World by taking his readers on the hunt for some of the most delicious and bizarre endangered foods of France.
The Perfect Meal: In Search of the Lost Tastes of France is the perfect read for foodies and Francophiles, cooks and gastronomists, and fans of food culture.
What does it take to find the authentic heart of French cooking before it’s gone forever?
- A Search for Lost Tastes: From tracking down elusive French caviar to uncovering the secrets of the perfect bouillabaisse, Baxter hunts for legendary dishes on the verge of extinction.
- Haute Cuisine History: Meet legendary chefs like Escoffier and Vatel and discover the dramatic stories behind France’s most famous meals—including a Christmas dinner of zoo animals during the Siege of Paris.
- A Witty Culinary Memoir: Follow a curious expatriate writer on a charming, often hilarious journey into the heart of French food culture, guided by a mysterious gastronome known only as "Boris."
- A Francophile’s Delight: For fans of Peter Mayle and A.J. Liebling, this blend of travel, history, and mouth-watering food writing is a must-read for anyone who loves France.
John Baxter
John Baxter has lived in Paris for more than twenty years. He is the author of four acclaimed memoirs about his life in France: The Perfect Meal: In Search of the Lost Tastes of France; The Most Beautiful Walk in the World: A Pedestrian in Paris; Immoveable Feast: A Paris Christmas; and We'll Always Have Paris: Sex and Love in the City of Light. Baxter, who gives literary walking tours through Paris, is also a film critic and biographer whose subjects have included the directors Fellini, Kubrick, Woody Allen, and most recently, Josef von Sternberg. Born in Australia, he lives with his wife and daughter in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood, in the same building Sylvia Beach called home.
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