The Cook and the Gardener: A Year of Recipes and Notes from the French Countryside

by Amanda Hesser, Amanda Hesser

The unique, award-winning cookbook—a collection of seasonal recipes from a traditional French garden.

The Cook and the Gardener is Amanda Hesser's first book. From the opening lines of its introduction, her literary gifts are as evident as her passion for good food. Since this work combines recipes with her essays about Monsieur Milbert (the gardener at the Chateau du Fey in Burgundy, where Hesser worked as the cook), readers get to enjoy both of her talents.

Hesser worked hard to get M. Milbert to talk with her. She shares the careful, deliberate way she wooed him, sometimes by bringing freshly baked bread to his less mobile wife, sometimes by holding back questions she wanted to ask, just to win his tolerance of her presence. Crusty, surly, and tradition-bound, he is the quintessential French peasant. Fortunately, Hesser--who is respectful and patient even when M. Milbert's stubborn ways exasperated her--knows he is an almost-vanished breed. None of his children, or anyone else, is likely to work as he has, continuing to live mainly off the land for nearly 60 years.

Each chapter covers a month, starting with March, when the nearly 400-year-old walled garden comes to life. Hesser talks about the garden, how she used the bounty gathered by M. Milbert, and muses on life in and around Burgundy. In September, "the rains seemed to clean off and illuminate the plants' colors ... everything seemed to wake up, as after a hot, cranky nap." The final tomatoes are harvested, as are the green and butter beans, with Milbert sneakily keeping the best for himself. Hesser visits a neighbor's Portuguese-style garden, as exuberant and vivid as Milbert's is restrained and disciplined. She cooks sautéed red snapper with tomatoes, fennel, and vermouth; makes a profound Tomato Consommé; and slow roasts tomatoes into meltingly tender mounds.

Sepia drawings by Kate Gridley add to the low-key charm of this information-packed work. (It even includes a history of purslane going back to the Middle Ages.)

The knowledge and maturity of this work belie Hesser's youth. Not yet 30 at the time of writing, she's a wise cook worth following. --Dana Jacobi

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Gardening, Nonfiction, France, Food Writing

640 pages, Hardcover

First published March 17, 1999

About the author

Amanda Hesser has been a food columnist and editor at the New York Times for more than a decade. She is the author of the award-winning Cooking for Mr. Latte and The Cook and the Gardener and edited the essay collection Eat, Memory. Hesser is also the co-founder of food52.com. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Tad Friend, and their two children.

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amanda Hesser writes a series of charming vignettes about life as the resident chef at a chateau in the French countryside. It's a little overly-cheery and static, but then it's not meant to be a commentary on French life, or a true exploration of characters. Its primary focus is on cooking, which is why I bought the book in the first place. Each month of the year has a corresponding chapter of recipes, with a great deal of in-depth instruction, some fantastic old-world cooking lore, and the rustic hands-on approach you'd expect from a woman who has to make do with the materials at hand. I love the "make it from scratch" approach- the book is full of authentic ingredients and steps that come out best if you just invest the necessary effort. There are very few appliances or gadgets to buy, and the ingredients are usually common (with the exception of duck, goose, and other cuts of meat that are more available in Europe than suburban America.) I enjoyed the ongoing episodes with Monsieur Milbert and the constant awareness of season. We expect strawberries to be ripe year-round, which is absurd. Eat foods when they are ripe!

Overall, I found it fascinating.

Also, the woman who did the illustrations was fantastic!

[Kathleen Cooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one book that, the more I read, the more I disliked the author! She writes about her experience as a chef in the French country side and her relationship with the gardener and his wife. Sometimes she can be charming, but...sometimes she is annoying. I tried putting the book down and coming back to it, but after a few tries I decided that the problem was not in me, but in Amanda Hesser. Later on, I read John Thorne's review of the book and was relieved to discover that he felt the same way. If you like Amanda's reviews in the NY Times, you may like her book.
I'm sorry to say that she didn't grow on me.

[Ani · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could see why Hesser is compared to M.K. Fisher. Her earlier style was very Fisher esque. I enjoyed cooking for Mr. Latte more. I don't think the author found her style yet with this book. I felt it was more of a cook book. I was having a difficult time following her story about the gardner. Though I do understand that most people who eat do not realize there is a farmer who had raised whatever they are eating on their plate.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gem of a book. So much more than a cookbook. Well worth the reading of her Introduction and other musings on food, gardening and cooking.
Amanda Hesser found herself in the enviable position of cooking for Anne Willan in the Burgundy region of France. She takes us on a armchair tour of this region, it’s people (specifically it’s gardeners) and food.
Which came first-the chateau or the garden? More specifically the garden and the well. Food and water. Without which a grand chateau would have been pointless. As Hesser says: “this garden’s prosperity was vital to the family living in the chateau - basic truth all do well to heed. Food doesn’t come from a grocery store.”
This book is like the ‘Secret Garden’ for adults. Only a few paragraphs into the introduction and I’m hooked. It combines one persons love of gardening with another’s love of cooking. Or is it one’s love of the earth combined with another’s love of food?
We make the acquaintance of Monsieur Milbert, the caretaker of the chateau’s kitchen garden. He understands the inner workings of the soil, the seasons…how they combine to give us harvest. His life is tied to a time when real thought was given to how we live our lives. His life was directly connected to the earth. The fact that not many of us understand this is brought to the fore by his unwillingness to allow none, but a select few, into his world. Enter a young woman who is his counterpart in the kitchen. She understands food is more than just fuel. It is a gift that brings one satisfaction and inner well-being when prepared at the proper time. Hesser is drawn into this forbidden garden to learn the facts of what she innately knows. Her humility and respect are note-worthy in this day and age.
It made me think of how, perhaps, we all have the love of earth within; but the world we live in-fast paced, high tech-has shoved it so far aside it’s hard to know it’s there.
Milbert tends the soil, not just taking, but giving back. Nurturing, appreciating. Resonating themes we are hearing more and more on environmental issues.
I have friends who have one of the loveliest gardens I ever seen. It is not typical for Houston, TX. I’m sure there are more elaborate gardens, more exotic. Gardens meant to impress. But this one pulls you in because of the two people who care for it. (Interestingly they have traveled extensively in France and perhaps there is some influence?) It is not merely utilitarian. Planted among the vegetables scattered with herbs, flowers are tucked, fruit trees , chickens, water features….you are transported to another time and place.
Some people are born knowing. For those of us who weren’t, but have the desire, how wonderful is the gift of their acquaintance. Each spring I await word that the garden is about to explode in bloom. Today!! A walk through this small Eden, a simple lunch, a visit with both while enjoying the porch swing. The dog and cats vying for attention at your feet. The smell of earth. Of growing. Of life.
This cookbook conjures up way more than just recipes. It helps us learn the seasons of the vegetable so we know when and what to look for. There are notes on shopping for fruits and vegetables. Cooking Notes explain exactly what she means when she asks for certain ingredients so we don’t wonder.
As a final note Hesser did not cook in the more ‘substantial’ manner of the area, taking rather a lighter tack (olive oil instead of cream or butter). Which is fine with me and just as tasty!

[Tattered Cover Book Store]

This is not a new cookbook (in fact, it's ten years old this year!) but it is my favorite! Amanda Hesser is a former New York Times food columnist and this book charts a year she spent with a farmer and his wife, learning to farm and cook. The book is divided up seasonally, and each season into months. Filled with great stories of her quirky hosts as well as recipes that have never once failed me. It is a book I return to again and again, even if just to while away a morning drinking coffee and dreaming of the garden.

Joe

[Alyson Wills · Rating 5 out of 5]

I initially checked this out from the library but wound up purchasing a used copy on Alibris. I love the narrative , not only of the cook (the end user or the product) and the gardener (the starting place of the product), but I love the relational aspect and how we get to know our neighbors, even when you initially meet with some resistance. The recipes are laid out by month/season and I love their simplicity. They are at their core, simple French cooking at its best. A reminder that all you need is fresh produce, a great protein, some oil/acid, and some seasonings and you can make most of the recipes in this book and the ones I’ve tried are delicious! I started reading this in March/April so I tried those recipes first. The creamed leeks on toast was divine and I have a new obsession with this on my mornings off in the spring. We also tried the asparagus risotto and it was also a new spring fave. I will take my time going through this book with the season changes and trying some new things.

[jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Borrowed from the library - and had to have it. If you're dedicated to seasonal eating or love to grow the food you eat, then I suspect you'll enjoy this book.

One of my favorite things to do at the beginning of each month is to read that months entry and cruise the recipes. Have only made a few, but I'm more of an inspirational recipe reader than a follower 😉

[Alyssa Bohon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rarely read and enjoy cookbooks anymore, but this warmly narrative work, arranged by the seasons of the garden was a real pleasure. Hesser is not only a skillful writer but has a delightful personality that shines through her stories.
As a gardener who also cooks, I found the combination of these interests in one book, from people who were dedicated to excellence and connected to the past an exceptional treat. It was fun to discover that the mache plants I'd planted on a whim and had been halfheartedly keeping alive in my garden, are actually a gourmet treasure and can be made into delicious recipes. The little nuggets of expertise on just how to slice or blanch certain vegetables and how to handle them at different levels of maturity are just the thing I really want to know from a cookbook. Thank you, Amanda.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

An American cook is working for a year in a French chateau and befriends a curmudgeonly French gardener. While the premise sounds great, I was expecting a cookbook. This was like half memoir/story of her time working as a chef at this French chateau and how she becomes friends with the older French gardener and his wife. I would read that book if it was published as food/gardening memoir/nonfiction book. But a cookbook with not one picture or photo of the recipes? No thanks. In the future, maybe I'll revisit when I have time to read all of the writing around the recipes. I also agree with one review I read that said it had a know-it-all vibe too. I haven't read any of her other books and after this one I'm not inspired to.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

There’s a bit of a know-it-all tone to this book. In spite of that I liked the snippets of old French culinary history that are included throughout - especially a nice touch since Amanda was living and working in an old chateau for a year. I want to try about half a dozen recipes she shares. The best parts of the text are her descriptions of making classic French beverages: drying linden flowers for tea, the apple cider press, and the cassis liquor.

[Glenna Turney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so happy to have read this book. I LOVE cookbooks but one that has a story is the best.
Getting to know the Milbert’s through Amanda Hesser made the book more endearing to me.
The recipes broke down by month along with suggestions as to what to serve is amazingly helpful.
I am so looking forward to trying the recipes from this book.
Thank you Amanda for bringing France to Texas.

*I won the Hardback book from Goodreads and will treasure it. Thank you!

[Gaili Schoen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book which in her introduction the author, Amanda Hesser, describes the garden and her growing friendship with the crusty gardener at the chateau in which she cooks. I would have liked to have read more about the gardener, as his story was fascinating. Also would have liked to have had some photos of the garden as well as the chateau. The discussion about the foods- potatoes, onions, turnips, etc.- is interesting and helpful. But a bit awkward to get to within the recipes.

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The narrative about the developing relationship between the cook and the gardener on the estate where she is working is lovely. She speaks a great deal about the garden itself, its ebbs and flows. It is simple and very peaceful, as is gardening in spite of the gardener’s frustrations at times. This is a helpful reminder there is peace to be found in nature.

[Cc Wightman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm reading this for the gardening portions not the cooking part. I skip over the recipes. The "Cook" is the narrator- a cook at a large villa in France. She has to have frequent interactions with the crusty French gardener and gives many descriptions of his methods.

[Kelcey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mother’s Day gift from my daughter and exactly the kind of book I love. Organized seasonally, with gardening anecdotes and recipes throughout. Delightful to read, and I’ve already used some of the spring recipes to guide my cooking.

[Janet Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a tome you may want to own so you can pick it up whenever you're in a food mood. More than a cookbook it's full of fascinating food information--the history of particular herbs or veggies, brief stories from an American in France, plenty of tasty recipes. A real treasure for "foodies".

[Lisa Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful book. I was completely charmed by the moody Monsieur Milbert and his garden. The recipes and illustrations are gorgeous.

[Lorraine Sulick-Morecraft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will keep this cookbook on my kitchen counter for seasonal recipes fresh from the garden.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this like a novel lol. A perfect cookbook

[Wendy Feltham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really lovely book that captures the author's experience working as a chef in Burgundy, and getting to know the elderly gardener who grew all the vegetables she cooked. Amanda Hesser carefully observes the passing of the seasons and the changes brought to the garden and her stove. I liked reading about each month, what vegetables were harvested, and how she used them in her cuisine. These days I read a lot of food blogs, and none are as well written as this book. I always like reading Amanda Hesser's food writing in the New York Times, and it was fun to read a whole book from an earlier time in her life. I also tried a couple of her recipes, and love the unusual way she baked bread with branches of rosemary pressed into the loaf.

[Lisa Airey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so delectable that I had to purposefully slow myself down in order to savor it more fully. The book is part novel, part gardening treatise, part cookbook. The story begins in March. The reader should also! Follow the book along with the seasons and cook the recipes provided (the peach pie is the BEST you will ever, ever eat). A fabulous read. Don't pick it up if you are hungry. On second thought, do! It is inspiring.

[Lizwhizzz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love reading about the food and garden, but sometimes the tone was like a cranky schoolteacher. For example: "If you do not have a jelly bag, you should buy one. They are inexpensive, and homemade alternatives are not only less stable and dangerous, they're a pain to make." Dangerous? Really? I am laughing so hard as I wonder how a "jelly bag" (I have no idea what that is) can be dangerous.

The recipes and some of the guidance seems dated.

[Christine Lichatz · Rating 4 out of 5]

As both a cook and a gardener, I like this book very much. You don't have to be either to feel the same. A year's worth of experience and recipes gleaned from a congenial dalliance on a French country estate between an elder live-in gardener and a younger American chef, training in French cuisine.
This volume is fat; its simple & seasonal cooking made me everything but.
Enjoy this as a kitchen shelf reference to cook from year round for years to come.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't tried the recipes yet, but most of them look great. Nice recollection of the author's year serving as a cook in Burgundy, her evolving relationship with a rather cantankerous but gifted gardener. This book is a good reminder of how much we miss by not being as connected to our food (planting and harvesting it, preparing it).

[Carla Jean]

I loved Cooking for Mr. Latte, and was super excited to find this one on the shelf at The Strand in 2007. However, I have yet to read it all the way through. I'm attempting to do so now by reading it month by month. The book starts in March, not January, so my reading will be a bit convoluted, but I'm looking forward to it and to taking it into the kitchen.

[Kerith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started this with some disappointment -- I had thought it was a book of food essays and not a cookbook format, but then it turned out to have so much writing about food in it that I was happily surprised. I especially enjoyed the seasonal aspect to it, and just read straight through, taking in the recipes as I went. A beautiful book for cooks, gardeners, and those who love to eat good food.

[Kay Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

A glorious description of a young cook's experience in France, especially her relationship with the gardener who provides her raw material. Anyone serious about cooking has probably already read it but it was wonderful even if I came late to the table. Full of wonderful recipies I'll never make but loved reading.

[KellyK · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is whimsically romantic in the french countryside. I love how the author has to befriend the grumpy gardener. She has fantastic recipies and observations. Great book-almost more of a memoir than anything. I love it.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young American cook meets old French gardener. Respect slowly develops. More for reading than for cooking inspiration, given the butter and cream involved (isn't that usually the case?)

I'm dipping in month by month, for seasonality.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm reading this for the gardening portions not the cooking part. I skip over the recipes. The "Cook" is the narrator- a cook at a large villa in France. She has to have frequent interactions with the crusty French gardener and gives many descriptions of his methods.