num_pages: 400
description: For readers of Paula McLain Nancy Horan and Melanie Benjamin this captivating novel is inspired by a little-known interlude in the artists life. The French Riviera spring 1936: Its off-season in the lovely seaside village of Juan-les-Pins where seventeen-year-old Ondine cooks with her mother in the kitchen of their family-owned Caf Paradis. A mysterious new patron whos slipped out of Paris and is traveling under a different name has made an unusual requestto have his lunch served to him at the nearby villa hes secretly rented where he wishes to remain incognito. Pablo Picasso is at a momentous crossroads in his personal and professional lifeand for him art and women are always entwined. The spirited Ondine chafing under her familys authority and nursing a broken heart is just beginning to discover her own talents and appetites. Her encounter with Picasso will continue to affect her life for many decades onward as the great artist and the talented young chef each pursue their own passions and destiny. New York present day: Cline a Hollywood makeup artist whos come home for the holidays learns from her mother Julie that Grandmother Ondine once cooked for Picasso. Prompted by her mothers enigmatic stories and the hint of more family secrets yet to be uncovered Cline carries out Julies wishes and embarks on a voyage to the very town where Ondine and Picasso first met. In the lush heady atmosphere of the Cte dAzur and with the help of several eccentric fellow guests attending a rigorous cooking class at her hotel Cline discovers truths about art culture cuisine and love that enable her to embrace her own future. Featuring an array of both fictional characters and the French Rivieras most famous historical residents set against the breathtaking scenery of the South of France Cooking for Picasso is a touching delectable and wise story illuminating the powers of trust money art and creativity in the choices that men and women make as they seek a path toward love success and joie de vivre.
language: English
title: Cooking for Picasso
publisher: Ballantine Books