Let's Eat France!: 1,250 specialty foods, 375 iconic recipes, 350 topics, 260 personalities, plus hundreds of maps, charts, tricks, tips, and anecdotes and everything else you want to know about the food of France

by François-Régis Gaudry

Named a Best Food Book of the Year / Best Book to Gift by the New York Times Book Review, National Geographic, Houston Chronicle, The Guardian, Real Simple , and more

There’s never been a book about food like Let’s Eat France! A book that feels literally larger than life, it is a feast for food lovers and Francophiles, combining the completist virtues of an encyclopedia and the obsessive visual pleasures of infographics with an enthusiast’s unbridled joy.

Here are classic recipes, including how to make a pot-au-feu, eight essential composed salads, pâté en croûte , blanquette de veau , choucroute, and the best ratatouille. Profiles of French food icons like Colette and Curnonsky, Brillat-Savarin and Bocuse, the Troigros dynasty and Victor Hugo. A region-by-region index of each area’s famed cheeses, charcuterie, and recipes. Poster-size guides to the breads of France, the wines of France, the oysters of France—even the frites of France. You’ll meet endive, the belle of the north; discover the croissant timeline; understand the art of tartare; find a chart of wine bottle sizes, from the tiny split to the Nebuchadnezzar (the equivalent of 20 standard bottles); and follow the family tree of French sauces.

Adding to the overall delight of the book is the random arrangement of its content (a tutorial on mayonnaise is next to a list of places where Balzac ate), making each page a found treasure. It’s a book you’ll open anywhere—and never want to close.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, France, Nonfiction, Cuisine, Food and Drink

432 pages, Hardcover

Published October 16, 2018

Reviews

[Stephen Robert Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!
What a whacker this book on France it's huge, heavy full of colour , I have bought lot of cookbooks in Last 6 month but at £36 this one of Top ten of last 5ys.
Starting with history of Gastronomic in the Middle ages up to now.,we people of fame like Brillat-Savarin, Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette ,Pierre Gagnaire,Mareel , Pagnol ,Michael Brass to name but few.
The recipes go on on but is not just recipe book oh no it's a history book, a mouth watering pictures we have Hemingway's Paris to forgoten Cabbage , tart Rourdalone to Dumas 's Dictionary .
This is a coffee table book to placed out on the table when The boss is coming around with book markers sticking out. This impress the Mother in law book.

[Justin (Bubbas_Bookshelves) · Rating 5 out of 5]

An essential book for anyone interested in French cooking or French culture :)

[Raidene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This oversized and outstanding compendium is similar to the Lonely Planet Travel books except the focus is the food of France. Starting with a gastronomic chronology of French food and sprinkled with historical culinary figures, terroir information, recipes, quotations, charts and maps showing various regions and their influence on mushrooms, vinegars, arthichokes, chickens, eggs, cheese, various fruits and a plethora of other food goods, this is not merely another cookbook. This is a visual masterpiece that will have you interested, salivating and probably thinking delicious!! Original and eclectic, a visual wonder!

[Val · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Impressive and beautiful coffee table book, but I was confused by the lack of organization. Information doesn’t seem to be presented in any particular order- not by region, food category, chronology, topic, etc.

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book is very misleading being in the cookbook category. It is a beautiful encyclopedia with great history and information, but the actual recipes are very few. There is also no content page referencing where to find recipes within the book. There also does not seem to be a reasoning to the layout, such as by region, or by course. Not a good resource for actually cooking. It is really a coffee table display only.

[Rebecca Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

i mean… holy cow! remember the dk books about like, “egypt” or “castles,” or even richard scarry? this is that but weighing in at 6 pounds + the weight of human knowledge. this book is BEAUTIFUL, when i saw it at the library i gasped. there are recipes, but more importantly, there’s information. it was the best kind, where i never plan to use it but now i know how to find it. one of my favorite features of the book was the organization, which tried to sparse everything out but also left notes on related topics and where to find them. i might buy it as a coffee table book and enjoy it even more! the only downside of this book was having to admit that i wasn’t going to jump into my kitchen and make one of these (i don’t even like french food that much) and that it was literally difficult to get comfortable and read. this book is bigger than my rib cage. and there’s an italy one!

[Will · Rating 4 out of 5]

A giant tome that I'm sure will be a part of my kitchen for many decades to come.

[Cody · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would think a 6 pound book could feature more female contributions to the food of France. I knew French cooking was male dominated but this book was singularly focused on bros.

This book is full of:
1.Face after face of white male chefs.
2.The word "Brotherhood" peppered throughout.
3.A bunch of dredged up ancient sexist quotations.
4.Hundreds of subtle and not so subtle female exclusions...One page was headlined "of vegetables and men".
5.Fawning over the "Club des Cent" where "Alas women are not admitted".
6.Merde!

Fuck this book.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This massive book needs to be consumed over many small sessions when your brain is feeling curious, but it's so worth it! One of the few cookbooks I have purchased, for myself and as gifts. I always go back to the Walnut cake recipe, simple and unique!

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this at my French tutor’s house the first day of lessons and had my own copy in my hands 24 hours later. I love this book. Must figure out a way to bring it home. Recipes, photos, recommendations, maps, it’s a food guide through the history and regions of France.

[Carol Seidl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful compilation of artifacts from French culinary history. Many of the recipes are simple and delicious. However, the book's true charm lies in the numerous and fascinating maps, charts, anecdotes, travel tips, and historical fun facts related to French cuisine.

I wrote a longer review here: https://casdinteret.com/2021/01/a-fun...

[Esther B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Merveilleux pour les yeux comme pour les papilles. Onéreux certes, mais un recueil qui se revisite tellement qu'il est exhaustif et agréable à feuilleter.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!

Fans of food, cooking, baking, France, history...this is a great read. I was completely charmed by this book.

It can get overwhelming, but it is not designed as a straight cover-to-cover read. I jumped around a lot in it, and read some with my son and to my husband. It was a really fun read!

[Francesca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Copieusement illustrée, cette bible rassemble des biographies de quelques chefs célèbres (Passard, Bocuse, Pic, etc.), des aperçus sur des aliments (des cornichons aux fromages, de la salade à la moutarde, de la friandise en passant par le cardon, les vins, les poules et les vaches), le tout entrecoupé d'histoire, de géo, de culture, de vocabulaire.
Vous aurez faim (ou soif) à chaque page. Vous vous direz "Ah mais bien sûr !" lorsqu'à la lecture d'un tel produit, vous vous rendrez compte que vous le saviez (ou pas). Certaines descriptions vous feront (sou)rire aussi.
Ce n'est pas un livre de chevet (près de 400 pages !), mais de consultation. À utiliser comme référence, surtout si l'on travaille dans le domaine - ou si l'on souhaite surprendre les amis ou la famille avec le bagage culturel/culinaire que propose cet ouvrage qui n'a aucun ordre particulier (ni chronologique, ni alphabétique). mais qui est cependant chargé de cartes de la France et d'un index très complet.

[Mag · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible! After returning from a brief French vacation, this was exactly the book I was looking for. Filled with incredible drawings and information, and several authentic recipes, this book gave me a flavor of what it is to be French. No dry data here! Everything was interesting, fun, and very thorough. Easy to sit and enjoy over many days, I laughed (at funny French sayings revolving around onions), I cried (at how the smallest of snails are prepared for consumption), but most of all I smiled, as I imagined everything I wanted to experience the next time I am [hopefully] able to go to France.

[Deb Holden · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s book about almost everything edible in France. I don’t think the author left out much. It’s not a cookbook but it does have recipes. I can’t say I read every word but it did take more than a few days to just skim read all the interesting snippets. It is a visual delight. The illustrations were delightful and the photography very good. The major drawback is its oversize and 6lb. weight for actually reading, but as a coffee table book, it shines. I would suggest getting copy from your local library and see this wonder before you decide to purchase. You may get hooked.

[Sylvie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Contrairement à “On va déguster l’Italie”, je n’ai pas aimé celui-ci. C’est un ramassis .. des pages imprimées à la verticale et horizontale mais pas toujours dans le même sens (c’est un gros livre, ça ne se tourne pas sur un 10 cents), ça part dans tous les sens … je n’ai pas senti de cohésion, oh mais attends c’était la France, c’est peut-être normal. Et quand on pense à la France, on pense gastronomie mais là on me parle de mets qui viennent d’ailleurs mais que les français ont adoptés. Mais quand même excellent pour l’histoire.

[Kris Springer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This very long and fun book has info about French foods, recipes and famous people in the French food world. Many mouthwatering foods described, as well as foods that are rarely eaten by Americans (frog legs, snails and wild boar, for example). I love that the French unabashedly love food and exalt high quality, healthy ingredients. Good things take time and fast food is not usually good food. An inspiring book.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic coffee table book for flipping through in my down time. It is ENORMOUS, and it's not arranged in any particular way, but personally I think that's what makes it fun to look through. Each page is an infographic about a particular aspect of French cuisine (chefs, ingredients, recipes, history), and although there aren't chapters, there are "if you're interested, see page..." notes to take you to related information.

[Deanna Detchemendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkable. This is a book to read over months and years, not days. It’s part coffee table book, part encyclopedia, part cookbook, part history book, all French. Beautiful and fun ... but very big and heavy — about 10”x13”x2” and 6 lbs — so a tough buying and positioning choice, definitely doesn’t fit on the cookbook shelf. I suspect I’ll figure something out!

[Martha · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title alone is a hoot and the book itself (quite oversized) is a fascinating dive onto the gastronomy of France, from wines to cheeses, meats, beans, fungi and a few less than appetizing groups of foods with great entertainment quality—think testicles and insects. Plus lots of anecdotal information, people, and, yes, recipes! Loved this book!

[Greis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really nice coffee table book and especially if you want to learn more about the history of French cooking. But the recipes? I haven't struggled with recipes the way I've struggled with the recipes in this before. Maybe it's my lack of skill in French cooking but every recipe I tried came out mediocre and I eventually gave up and returned it to the library.

[Mandy Crumb · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure how to describe this one. A two year long journey from the author created this six pound gigantic book. It's part encyclopedia. Part recipe book. Part autobiography. Part geography. All in all it's a comprehensive look at all things France.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, oversized book full of information about French foods, chefs, regions, novelties. It is massive and so interesting to page through.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent source for French recipes. Loved this book!

[Jean MacLeod · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a comprehensive undertaking of
French food history his book proved to be. Lots of useful information for both the professional and layperson. Fascinating!

[Lavette · Rating 5 out of 5]

An encyclopedia of French food & regions. I open it often.

[Mrs.Bee.17 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous cookbook/encyclopedia! Lots of fun information, great graphics, and tasty recipes. I wish there were more cookbooks like this on the market.

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing.