We've Always Had Paris...and Provence: A Scrapbook of Our Life in France - Hardcover

Wells, Patricia; Wells, Walter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060898615 ISBN 13: 9780060898618

Publisher: Harper, 2008

Synopsis

Patricia Wells, long recognized as the leading American authority on French food, and her husband, Walter, live the life in France that many of us have often fantasized about. After more than a quarter century, they are as close to being accepted as "French" as any non-natives can be. In this delightful memoir they share in two voices their experiences—the good, the bad, and the funny—offering a charming and evocative account of their beloved home and some of the wonderful people they have met along the way. Full of the flavor and color of the couple's adopted country, this tandem memoir reflects on the life that France has made possible for them and explores how living abroad has shaped their relationship.

Written in lyrical, sensuous prose and filled with anecdotes, insights, and endearing snapshots of Walter and Patricia over the years, We've Always Had Paris . . . and Provence beautifully conveys the nuances of the French and their culture as only a practiced observer can. Literally a moveable feast to be savored and shared, including more than thirty recipes that will delight readers and cooks alike, the couple's valentine to France and to each other is delicious in every way.

About this title

About the Authors

Patricia Wells is a journalist, author, and teacher who runs the popular cooking school At Home with Patricia Wells in Paris and Provence. She has won four James Beard Awards and the French government has honored her as a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, recognizing her contribution to French culture. A former New York Times reporter, she is the only foreigner and the only woman to serve as restaurant critic for a major French publication, L'Express. She served as the global restaurant critic for the International Herald Tribune for more than twenty-five years. She lives in Paris and Provence with her husband, Walter Wells.

Patricia Wells and Walter Wells have lived in Paris for nearly thirty years. Patricia runs a popular cooking school in Paris and Provence, and is the author of ten previous books. From 1980 to 2007 she was restaurant critic for the International Herald Tribune. Walter retired as executive editor of the International Herald Tribune in 2005, having previously worked as editor and managing editor since 1980. He is one of the few non-French citizens to be awarded the French Legion of Honor.

From the Back Cover

Patricia Wells, long recognized as the leading American authority on French food, and her husband, Walter, live the life in France that many of us have often fantasized about. After more than a quarter century, they are as close to being accepted as "French" as any non-natives can be. In this delightful memoir they share in two voices their experiences—the good, the bad, and the funny—offering a charming and evocative account of their beloved home and some of the wonderful people they have met along the way. Full of the flavor and color of the couple's adopted country, this tandem memoir reflects on the life that France has made possible for them and explores how living abroad has shaped their relationship.

Written in lyrical, sensuous prose and filled with anecdotes, insights, and endearing snapshots of Walter and Patricia over the years, We've Always Had Paris . . . and Provence beautifully conveys the nuances of the French and their culture as only a practiced observer can. Literally a moveable feast to be savored and shared, including more than thirty recipes that will delight readers and cooks alike, the couple's valentine to France and to each other is delicious in every way.

Reviews

With charm and insightful anecdotes about the Parisian and Provençal food-driven life, cookbook author Wells and her husband, Walter, artfully recreate their quarter-century–long courtship with flavorful France. Their two distinct voices—complemented by black-and-white photos and more than 30 simple recipes for couscous salad, salmon tartare, and scrambled eggs with truffles—detail the couple's forays into going native. As they endeavor to adapt to the fashions and lifestyle of the French capital, Patricia takes on the task of researching a city's worth of tastes, textures and smells, visiting tea salons, pastry shops, boulangeries and chocolate makers for her Food Lover's Guide to Paris, while Walter settles into a new position as editor at the International Herald Tribune. Their Parisian interlude soon turns into a permanent French sojourn when they are seduced by the parasol pines and terraced vineyard belonging to an 18th-century farmhouse called Chanteduc. With their purchase of this northern Provençal abode, the remains of urban life fall to the wayside. This thoroughly enjoyable narrative describes the lavish, flavorful rewards of a life spent abroad. (May)
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Linking up with one another at the New York Times, Patricia and Walter Wells established their credentials in the vanguard of the 1970s’ foodie movement. Fans of her many books will eagerly devour these personal reminiscences, where each partner in this marriage recalls in vignettes the most memorable and remarkable scenes from their lives in France. Abandoning Manhattan for new assignments in Paris, the couple fell in love with all things Gallic. Despite initial publisher resistance, Patricia embarked on a guide to France for gastronomes, and it became a best-seller. Other books and periodical articles began to pour forth. Some revelations here include Patricia’s brief fling with vegetarianism before a food-writing career rendered that regimen moot. Recipes featuring in various stages of the Wells’ careers conclude chapters, and most are easily reproduced save perhaps the truffle omelet. --Mark Knoblauch

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0060898615
• ISBN 13: 9780060898618
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336