Fanny in France: Travel Adventures of a Chef's Daughter, with Recipes

by Alice Waters, Ann Arnold (Illustrator)

From famed chef Alice Waters, a treat for anyone who loves France, food, adventure—or all three!

Fanny is a girl who knows a lot about food and cooking since she’s grown up in and around the famous restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. When Fanny’s mother, Alice Waters, the chef and owner of Chez Panisse, starts to watch her favorite old French movies, Fanny knows soon they’ll be packing their bags and traveling to France for a visit. In this sparkling book of whimsical stories, Fanny recounts some of her most fun-filled adventures with French friends and food. Join Fanny as she helps cook a huge bouillabaisse in Provence; learns how to make fresh cheese from a shepherd high up in the Pyrenees mountains; hunts for  wild oysters off the coast of Bordeaux, and discovers how one chicken can feed nine people, if served a certain way.
    
Fanny in France is also a beginner’s cookbook with forty simple, French-inspired recipes that encourage children and adults anywhere to cook and share delicious snacks and meals with family and friends using basic methods and the most sustainable ingredients.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, France, Nonfiction, Cooking, Childrens, Middle Grade

176 pages, Hardcover

Published October 25, 2016

About the author

Alice Waters is a chef, author, food activist, and the founder and owner of Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley, California. She has been a champion of local sustainable agriculture for over four decades. In 1995 she founded the Edible Schoolyard Project, which advocates for a free school lunch for all children and a sustainable food curriculum in every public school.

She has been Vice President of Slow Food International since 2002. She conceived and helped create the Yale Sustainable Food Project in 2003, and the Rome Sustainable Food Project at the American Academy in Rome in 2007.

Her honors include election as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2007; the Harvard Medical School’s Global Environmental Citizen Award, which she shared with Kofi Annan in 2008; and her induction into the French Legion of Honor in 2010. In 2015 she was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Obama, proving that eating is a political act, and that the table is a powerful means to social justice and positive change.

Alice is the author of fifteen books, including New York Times bestsellers The Art of Simple Food I & II and The Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea.

Reviews

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly delightful book written by Alice Walters of Chez Panisse. This book follows Alice's daughter, Fanny, who at 9 yrs. old travels to France to visit her mother's friends. You can follow her adventures--all wonderful stories, and learn about what she did and how everyone often gathered for simple yet tasty meals.

I liked the many recipes in the back of the book. They all looked good to me. I tried one of them; it was the "Roasted Strawberry Jam" recipe. It was extremely easy to make--I didn't realize you could make jam in the oven, but you can and it tastes delicious.

I highly recommend this children's book.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter and I love the recipes for bread in here, especially the baguette! And we recently made the almond brown butter cake—she very nearly made it herself! And we all love the watercress soup.
Lovely in every possible way—text, art, and simple, delicious recipes.

[Мария Бахарева · Rating 5 out of 5]

Все хорошо в этой книге, кроме того, что моя личная дочь ничего такого не ест ((((

[alicebme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this little treat on my new cozy loveseat in Room. I think the audience for this format is pretty small, but I enthusiastically include myself in it.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book -- lovely illustrations, nice stories, and great recipes, too!

[Kati Polodna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming! Cute story. Felt like I was there experiencing France and all its delicious cuisine.

[Rose Regan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best basic French cookbooks I've ever come across.

[Christine (Tina) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illustrations and recipes are so sweet! What a great tribute to her daughter!

[Marta]

I liked it but I'm not sure it actually works for kids. Hmmmmm.....

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful picture book that took my children and I on a culinary holiday in France.

[Kerri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was going to be pretentious at first, but it turned out to be charming and left me inspired.

[Pat Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful illustrations! Fun to read before our bike trip in Provence. Recipes sound great but I doubt I’ll make anything from them.

[Devin Redmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would actually give this book 3.5 stars out of 5, but i thought I would round up.
Fanny in France is kids' nonfiction. The narrator is Franny, daughter of Alice Waters, chef of Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, but she is not mentioned as an author. Her voice is one of a young girl, and it seems odd to me that her mom and a co-author, two adults, would choose to write from this perspective.
Once I got past this (kids probably wouldn't even notice), I loved reading about the food and cooking adventures Franny had, and the characters she met! It makes me want to move to France right now and eat all the good food and drink all the good wine. The first half of the book is stories, and the second half is recipes that would be way too hard for me but maybe not you. I could probably handle the vinaigrette.
This would be a great book for young foodies in your life, but probably not the best for classroom use. It would be great to buy if your library has cookbook lovers.
Fantastic and simple illustrations.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This part narrative of Fanny's adventures in France and part recipe book. The first half of the book is the story of Fanny's adventures in France, told from the perspective of nine year old Fanny, daughter of the famous chef, Alice Waters. It tells of Fanny in France and how she adjusts to French culture and enjoys French food. The narrative makes readers feel like they're in France with the French words and phrases interspersed in (translations are included in an alphabetical glossary in the back of the book). The second half of the book contains recipes from Alice Waters, the famed chef of Chez Panisse. Recipes are simplified versions of French foods but would be tough for a child to do, so would be best for parents and children to fix together. All in all, this would be best appreciated by at least a middle-grade through tween audience. I'd recommend this to all readers who love France and food. The watercolor illustrations of food are gorgeous. Side note: I LOVED the illustrated endpapers in the front and back that contain many French dishes with their names.

[Teresa Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book would be best for the French immersion schools. From the short blurb I saw on the book, I thought it would be more recipe book than story, but I was wrong. The first 85 pages are young Fanny's tales of her travels in France. It is told in a young girl's voice, so though I thought it was sweet, it would be a bit slow for older children. Through Fanny's telling of the day-to-day experiences, the reader gets a glimpse into life in France. The last 85 pages of the book are traditional french recipes. Where the story was for a younger audience, the recipes require more than basic cooking skills. I don't think a 9 year old would be able to attempt "Martine's Roast Chicken with Smoked Paprika and Mustard". Perhaps it would be best for parents and children to read this book together, and then head for the kitchen to create a french menu together.

[Gaili Schoen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book for the children in your life whom you know to be interested in cooking. I imagine reading through the stories with a child or grandchild while making some of the recipes listed in the back. I hope Waters writes more children's books! They are wonderful insights into the philosophy and aesthetics of cooking, as well as offering some of the science.

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful water colors! I enjoyed the descriptions of Fanny's French adventures and reading the recipes. This is a perfect read for spring.

[Pavithra Praveen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book

[cece · Rating 4 out of 5]

really good bread recipe. points taken off because alice waters annexed one of my favorite restaurants in some weird haute cuisine act of warfare

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Travel hungry!