A spur-of-the-moment selection of good reads for those who enjoy literature with a side of dinner-time intrigue or tasteful food-inspired story-telling. Each chapter represents a new selection of two books. Enjoy. Make recommendations!
CHAPTER 3
High Bonnet: A Novel of Epicurean Adventures – by Idwal Jones, with introduction by Anthony Bourdain
“Idwal Jones’s urbane novel follows the young provincial Jean as he attempts to master culinary art at the hands of Paris’s most distinguished chefs. Jean will win his high bonnet… but not until he’s had many outrageous adventures, in the kitchen and out.”
This truly captivating novel was originally published in 1945. Forty years elapsed before it came into print again, but its premise is a flavorful today as it was then. It is a “novel about food with a capital F, about meals, extravagant meals, had in fine dining rooms, country gardens and filthy taverns alike.” This sounds like quite a journey for the senses; one that draws the reader into a society that has shaped who we are today.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Grave Gourmet – by Alexander Campion
“After dining on such delicacies as oyster sorbet and avocado soufflé, Jean-Louis Delage, président of automotive giant Renault, has been found dead in the freezer of …a three-star restaurant… Capucine is uniquely suited to the case, as her husband Alexandre is a food critic well-connected to the culinary world.”
Like a well-balanced and visually appealing dish, this novel offers an intricate combination of culinary mystery, with a pinch of espionage. The author started out in New York. A food venture required his assistance in Paris for a few months. He ended up staying for 35 years and becoming a restaurant critic. Gastronomic novels were a natural next step.
Happy Reading!
You may also enjoy – Famous Dinner Scenes
Find more Page Turners HERE
NOTICE: Excerpts are from Amazon.com. We strongly encourage you to stop by your local library (Varnum Memorial Library, in Jeffersonville), or a local bookstore (Ebenezer Books, Johnson) to explore these and other titles. The Amazon.com link is provided merely for your convenience and to offer a visual reference. 158 Main & JPD are not affiliated with Amazon.
158 MAIN 