Lunch in Paris (42 page)
“A delicious story about falling in love—over food—in France.”
—Harper’s Bazaar
“Sweet and heartfelt with delicious recipes.”
—People
“Gotta love a memoir that begins with: ‘I slept with my husband halfway through our first date.’ You’ll stay hooked as Bard
transforms from an American to a Parisian navigating markets and dealing with a mother-in-law who wears tiny bikinis.”
—Glamour
“
Lunch in Paris
has got it all: romance in full on the front burner with delicious French recipes for sustenance. Elizabeth Bard’s voice
is filled with lust and longing—it’s
Eat,
Stay,
Love
with a side of spiced apricots.”
—Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of
Very Valentine
“In this charming memoir, Bard searches for her new identity by balancing her love for two countries. She discovers the common
denominator that will give her life meaning: food. She trawls open-air markets and cooks up delicious, decadent meals. If
you enjoyed the Julia Child romance that made the
Julie and Julia
film so entrancing, you’ll love this voyage into the gastronomic soul of the French—complete with luscious recipes.”
—Carol Memmott,
USA Today
“A love story is always delightful, and one with recipes is also useful in the long run, part and parcel of a real French
relationship.”
—Diane Johnson, author of
Le Divorce
and
L’Affaire
“The perfect get-away-from-it-all escape for a dreary February day.”
—Redbook
“The book does an excellent job of placing food with culture, both French and American….
Lunch in Paris
winds its way through eight years of eating and Bard’s progression from a kitchen novice intimidated by the French language
and Paris’s hectic markets to an adventurous shopper and experimental cook comfortable mixing French, American, and other
techniques. It’s nearly impossible not to fall in love with her along the way. She’s halfway home with her luscious description
of that first steak.”
—M. L. Johnson, Associated Press
“As charming and coquettish as Paris itself,
Lunch in Paris
reawakens our tired hearts and palates with a deliciously passionate journey through the City of Lights. Be prepared to be
seduced by French kisses, the richest chocolate, and the sweet charm of Bard’s prose.”
—Nani Power, author of
Crawling at Night
and
Feed the Hungry
“In one of the loveliest memoirs to come along in a long time, Elizabeth Bard draws the reader in from the first sentence
and holds the interest throughout, sharing her fears, disappointments, experiences, joy, and delicious recipes. There’s an
intelligence, wit, and eloquence about this masterful social and cultural exposé about living abroad and intercultural marriages….
Most of all,
Lunch in Paris
is a romance that effortlessly leaves the reader with a mild sense of intoxication.”
—Stephen Davenport,
Independent Weekly
(Australia)
“A frothy confection of a memoir.”
—Susan Salter Reynolds,
Los Angeles Times
“Bard’s Parisian insights and savory recipes make a delightful union.”
—Don George,
National Geographic Traveler
“Yes, another food memoir, but a smart, coquettish one. In
Lunch in Paris,
falling in love with a Frenchman was not in Elizabeth Bard’s master plan, but then he took her to a local canteen: ‘Not to
minimize Gwendal’s many charms, but he was halfway to home base as soon as I cut into that marvelous steak,’ she writes. Culture
shock set in as Bard learned to shop and cook in Paris, standing in line here for the best green beans, going there for the
best walnuts. I thought the recipes were a cutesy touch until I made a few of them: chicken tagine with two kinds of lemon,
spiced apricots, chouquettes. Forget the narrative—you could just buy this as a cookbook.”
—Tina Jordan,
Entertainment Weekly
“
Lunch in Paris
is delicious, romantic, and sexy, just as the title indicates. What captivates you is the story of a woman finding herself
after she finds love, and the challenge that entails. I devoured this book with all the gusto I would bring to a plate of
steak tartare with pommes frites.”
—Giulia Melucci, author of
I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti
“Paris, food, falling in love—what’s not to love about this witty memoir that’s interwoven with delicious French recipes?
Elizabeth Bard combines a Nigella Lawson–style lust for food with a sharply observed eye on Paris and its people. This isn’t
just the book you want to read and own, it’s the life you want to lead.”
—
New Idea
(Australia)
“
Lunch in Paris
is a book about an American woman who falls in love with her Breton husband over food—at the nineteenth-century restaurant
Chartrier, in Paris—but with a twist: she includes recipes for classic French dishes, including baby cream puff shells, known
as chouquettes. Perfect stuff for the long plane trip.”
—Gail Vida Hamburg, Huffington Post
“The charmingly enviable tale of a woman who visits the City of Light and falls in love with it, a handsome stranger, and
the fabulous food.”
—Colette Bancroft,
St. Petersburg Times
“This true tale of a New Yorker who meets and falls in love with a tall, dark, and handsome Parisian while living in London
is a winner…. Smattered with Bard’s recipes, this is an honest, funny, and deliciously romantic travel memoir.”
—
Marie Claire
“There is certainly a lot of
l’amour
and
manger
(eating), filled as this little memoir is with recipes for delights such as oven-roasted pork ribs with honey; goat cheese,
tomato, and anchovy tarts; and mussels with white wine and fennel—the latter touted as a ‘Slimming Summer Recipe.’
Lunch in Paris
is a playful feel-good book, one you can devour in three nights, while living vicariously through the young protagonist’s
adventures with love, lust, and food, lots of food. Who doesn’t feel like just flying up and away to the city of love, and
then falling in love with a handsome stranger and the country’s incredible edible bounty?… So
romantique!
”
—Sylvie Greil,
Gayot
“If there’s anything that doesn’t get old, it’s a good love story and a good meal—all the better if they are crafted by someone
who can both write and cook! In
Lunch in Paris,
Bard shares not only her love story but her journey to finding a sense of self in a foreign land with a foreign man. Whether
you read it with the love of your life at your side or while dreaming of meeting your own exotic other half, this story and
its accompanying recipes will warm your soul.”
—Carla Jean Whitley,
BookPage
Copyright © 2010 by Elizabeth Bard
Reading group guide Copyright © 2011 by Elizabeth Bard and Little, Brown and Company
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U. S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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New York, NY 10017
Back Bay Books is an imprint of Little, Brown and Company. The Back Bay Books name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.
Second eBook Edition: February 2011
ISBN: 978-0-316-07200-7