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The Cuisine of the Rose: Classical French Cooking from Burgundy and Lyonnais
One of those rare cook books where everything works, everything is delicious and the recipes are truly worthwhile. I have only two such cook books which stand out from all the others. In the general crowd of cookery books only one or two recipes work and they are really just celebrity products from Lawson, Carlucci, Day Lewis. However, this book particular book has no celebrity about it except the food! The veal in wine and onions page is completely covered with the fatty speckles which only adorn the most satisfying recipes after repeated use. The food is completely classical and correct and if you like unusual or creative food, don't bother with this. Wicked Capitalist
320 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1984
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August 24, 2026
I enjoy reading cookbooks for several reasons: to learn about the part of the world the dishes come from, to discover things I might like to eat if I visit, and, lastly, to find recipes to try.
Johnston does reasonably well in introducing the worlds of Burgundy and Lyon. She notes, for instance, that the medieval Burgundian dukes were famous for their lavish feasts: “The splendour of their festivities, when guests spent nights and days at banquets, echoed throughout Europe. Each course consisted of ten dishes, and there were five to six courses, with acrobats and jugglers in between.” This is just the sort of potlatch my Tsimshian mother would have enjoyed! But I would have liked much more of this kind of material.
In terms of learning about regional cuisine, she does well. The main limitation is the book’s early-1980s vintage: there is quite a bit of Americanization of the recipes, including substitutions that would probably make a Burgundian cook wince. Otherwise, I learned quite a lot about what one can expect to eat in the region.
Recipes are the least of my interests. There are too many recipes for eight to ten servings, but only a few for four and none for two. Johnston also makes frequent use of food mills, which I don’t possess. Some recipes simply didn’t appeal to me—I'm talking to you, snail omelette. Still, I found eight or ten I’m likely to try on friends, ranging from classics such as Boeuf Bourguignon and Coq au Vin Bourguignon to simpler dishes such as little galettes and various gratins, and some that simply sounded interesting, such as pork chops with garlic, herbs, onions, vinegar, and mustard.
On the whole, I’m not sure how much future use I’ll get out of this book. But it was fun enough to read, I learned things that will be useful on vacation, and I’ll keep it on hand as a reference when I want to look up the dishes of these regions.
Johnston does reasonably well in introducing the worlds of Burgundy and Lyon. She notes, for instance, that the medieval Burgundian dukes were famous for their lavish feasts: “The splendour of their festivities, when guests spent nights and days at banquets, echoed throughout Europe. Each course consisted of ten dishes, and there were five to six courses, with acrobats and jugglers in between.” This is just the sort of potlatch my Tsimshian mother would have enjoyed! But I would have liked much more of this kind of material.
In terms of learning about regional cuisine, she does well. The main limitation is the book’s early-1980s vintage: there is quite a bit of Americanization of the recipes, including substitutions that would probably make a Burgundian cook wince. Otherwise, I learned quite a lot about what one can expect to eat in the region.
Recipes are the least of my interests. There are too many recipes for eight to ten servings, but only a few for four and none for two. Johnston also makes frequent use of food mills, which I don’t possess. Some recipes simply didn’t appeal to me—I'm talking to you, snail omelette. Still, I found eight or ten I’m likely to try on friends, ranging from classics such as Boeuf Bourguignon and Coq au Vin Bourguignon to simpler dishes such as little galettes and various gratins, and some that simply sounded interesting, such as pork chops with garlic, herbs, onions, vinegar, and mustard.
On the whole, I’m not sure how much future use I’ll get out of this book. But it was fun enough to read, I learned things that will be useful on vacation, and I’ll keep it on hand as a reference when I want to look up the dishes of these regions.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review