num_pages: 400
description: A culinary memoir that brings to life some of the most fascinating glamorous food years in France and reveals gastronomical treasures from gifted artisans of the French countryside.Dryanskys stories are the stuff of legendevenings with Coco Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent historic wine auctions and memorable banquetsbut Coquilles Calva and Crme is more than memories. These same memories prompt a journey across modern-day France through kitchens farms and vineyards offering a savory experience that can be duplicated by the reader afterward with numerous recipes most of which have never before been recorded.In the world of todays professional cooking publicity-chasing and performance has overshadowed the importance of dining and the food itself. Too often the modern restaurant is a mixture of bizarre novelty and paradoxical clichs. Truly great dining happens when youre fully engaged in the moment acknowledging the range of associations that emerge as Proust wrote from sensory experiences. From small cafs in Paris to Normandy Alsace the Basque country and beyond Dryansky takes us on a sweeping sensory journey with a voice as thoughtful as Kingsolver as entertaining as Bourdain and as cogent and critical as Pollan.
language: English
title: Coquilles, Calva, and Crème: Exploring France's Culinary Heritage: A Love Affair with Real French Food
publisher: Pegasus Books