A Table in Provence: Classic Recipes from the South of France

by Leslie Forbes

An illustrated collection of authentic recipes from the Provence region of France, an area renowned for its herbs and vegetables. Forbes's book is punctuated by her observations, conversations and local gossip. The author also wrote "A Table in Tuscany".

Genres: Cookbooks

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

"After dropping out of England's Royal College of Art without the Masters in Film and Design she had dropped out of studying physics and politics in Canada to get, Forbes won a talent contest at Vogue, where she worked as a designer until she couldn't stand fashion any more. She then became a designer for BBC-TV (once constructing a life-size working robot out of pasta) and the author of award-winning food/travel books including Table in Tuscany. A regular presenter/writer of BBC radio documentaries, since 1990 Forbes turned to fiction in 1995, when she wrote the internationally acclaimed thriller Bombay Ice, which wove Chaos Theory into a Bollywood remake of Shakespeare's Tempest. Her equally-acclaimed second and third novels, Fish, Blood & Bone and Waking Raphael (which 2003 Booker Prize chairman John Carey called "pretty well perfect"), also engage the ways in which science and art speak to each other. She is as involved with political and free-speech issues as she is with the relationship between art and science, and her writing is deeply inspired by her work as a volunteer "mentor" with refugee writers at the Medical Foundation for Victims of Torture."

http://www.scienceandliterature.org/s...

Reviews

[Libraryassistant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful book with a mix of traditional almost to the point of antique Provençal recipes and more elegant updates. Even though it was written in the eighties, the charm and many of the recipes hold up beautifully. And the illustrations are glorious— wish I could frame some for my kitchen.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was possibly my first ever cookbook. It supplemented wonderfully the cooking lessons from my French grandmother, mother and uncle. Leslie captures not just the foods, but also a wonderful sense of place in this book. It's not the end-all-be-all cookbook of Provence, but rather a travel guide + cookbook that gives you insight into a Provence primarily known by the locals. I personally love her illustrations - they bring a heartfelt comfort to the prose. Oh, and the recipes are good. I think I've made almost everything in the book. I don't think there's a single page in my dog eared copy that isn't stained at this point.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely cook book with beautiful illustrations by the author.
Whether the text is her own hand writing or a font I'm not sure, but it gives the whole the look of an illustrated diary.
Most of the recipes, and in other places, are preceded by a bit of preamble about the area, personalities etc., a little like Elizabeth David.
My edition is dated 1987 so I don't know if it's still in print, if it isn't it should be.