Book description
Au Revoir to All That
takes us on an entertaining and intriguing journey into France's
identity, directly through the tastebuds…
Offering a fresh and entertaining approach to understanding French
history, through its food and wine, Steinberger reveals a radically
changing France; a country moving through social and political reform,
economic crises and, importantly, the loss of their seemingly
unbreakable dominance in all things gastronomical. If the state of
France's celebrated cuisine is the bellwether for the state of the
nation, things are looking bleak.
Top chefs are renouncing their Michelin stars and prized farmhouse
cheeses are going extinct because there is no one to make them. Bistros,
brasseries and cafés fold by the scores and hypermarkets and superstores
account for 75% of retail food sales. The famed wine-producing Languedoc
is home to the world's first wine-terrorist organization - winemakers
resorting to violence to protect their struggling industry.
But while there may be better baguettes in Tokyo than in Paris, and
Spain has become the darling of the gastronomic world, there are
glimpses of hope. There are up-and-coming culinary stars and outdoor
food festivals, pockets of exuberance amid the gloom. And, as long as a
praline millefeuille can be celebrated, savoured and allowed to assume
talismanic qualities at a Right Bank tea salon, all is not lost.
Au Revoir to All That
is an essential - almost edible - book for lovers of food, France and
culinary history.
Michael Steinberger is Slate's wine
writer, a regular contributor to Saveur and the sports
correspondent and frequent food and wine contributor for the
Financial Times.
A passionate Francophile, he has travelled and written extensively about
French food and wine.
