One Soufflé at a Time: A Memoir of Food and France
“… a delightful sketch of four decades spent in the upper stratosphere of the food world… Willan’s noblesse and saltiness come through in equal measure. This is a strong woman who grabbed life by the babas…”Christine Muhlke,New York Times"[Willan] shares her adventures in life, love and cheese balls in the delectable memoirOne Soufflé at a Time, which also comes peppered with her favorite recipes."--Nora Zelevansky,The New York Times Magazine"Ms. Willan tells the story of her life--interspersing it generously with recipes, classic French and otherwise--in an easygoing, readable style, full of anecdote and insight."--Colman Andrews,Wall Street Journal"Woven into the story of how she managed to build a culinary school in Paris, Willan shares anecdotes from her interactions with Julia Child...making one of the most legendary figures in cooking seem like an old friend. Somehow she does the same with food."--Saveur"An episodic career memoir interwoven with momentous life occasions, from cross-Atlantic moves to weddings and deaths. Compelling chapters on La Varenne in Paris and its courses at Château du Feÿ in Burgundy reveal the pleasures and complications of working in the kitchen...A charming...portrait of a woman determined to bring French cuisine to a wider audience, with emphasis on traditional, accessible recipes that respect the intellectual side of cookery."--Kirkus Reviews"Willan, who founded LaVarenne Cooking School in Paris, shares her life story in this charming memoir."--Library Journal "When Julia Child introduced me to her dear friend, Anne Willan, she said, 'You must get to know Anne, she is remarkable!' Julia wasalmostright: Anne is extraordinary!  For those of us who love Anne and have admired – and benefited – from her work (she trained some of my favorite chefs and editors), this memoir is filled with insights, lessons, inspiration and so many tales of adventure.  And for those of you who are just meeting Anne, you’re lucky – you have a treat in store."--Dorie Greenspan, author ofAround My French Tableand co-owner of Beurre & Sel cookies"Anne Willan and her LaVarenne way have quite simply shaped modern food writing like no one else."--Virginia Willis, author ofBon Appetit, Y'all"Direct, forthright...It's fun to watch [Willan] calmly punch a hole through the glass ceiling of the culinary world."--The Oregonian"Anne Willan’s kitchen memoir reads like a season of Downton Abbey—castles, high society, far-flung romance, and the riveting story of how a Yorkshire woman broke through the closed male ranks of the French culinary world to found La Varenne, one of the great cooking schools of our day." --Amelia Saltsman, author ofThe Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook"If Julia Child got Americans dreaming about French cuisine, Anne Willan inspired us to travel to France to learn how to cook it--first at her ground-breaking La Varenne cooking school on the Rue St. Dominique in Paris, then in dozens of award-winning cookbooks equally remarkable for their cultural erudition as for their infallible recipes and techniques. If Anne's half century of culinary reminiscences don't make you hungry, the fifty of her favorite recipes inOne Souffle at a Timesurely will." --Steven Raichlen, author ofThe Barbecue Biblecookbook series and host ofPrimal Grillon PBS.Anne's book,The Country Cooking of France, is one of the most used books in my cookbook library, and is appropriately smudged with marks of recipes that have inspired my cooking and fed my family on many a night.One Souffle at a Timeis a beautiful memoir of a life well lived and food very much enjoyed" --Zoe Nathan, chef-founder, Huckleberry Bakery and Sweet Rose Creamery Santa Monica