Product Description

France is in a rut, and so is French cuisine. Twenty-five years ago it was hard to have a bad meal in France; now, in some cities and towns, it is a challenge to find even a decent baguette. For the first time in the annals of modern cuisine, the most influential chefs and the most talked-about restaurants are not French. Large segments of the French wine industry are in crisis, cherished artisanal cheeses are threatened with extinction, and bistros and brasseries are disappearing at an alarming rate. But business is brisk at some establishments: astonishingly, France has become the second most-profitable market in the world for McDonald's. How did this happen, and what is being done to reverse France's slide? Michael Steinberger argues that the problem of French cuisine is symptomatic of the broader malaise afflicting France, and his brilliantly reported narrative is set in the context of the political, economic and social crisis that besets the nation. In an enviable trip through the traditional pleasures of France, Steinberger talks to top chefs-Ducasse, Gagnaire, Bocuse-winemakers, farmers, bakers and other artisans. He marches down a Paris boulevard with Jose Bove, interviews the head of McDonald's Europe and breaks bread with the editorial director of the powerful and secretive Michelin Guide. He spends hours with some of France's brightest young chefs, who are battling to reinvigorate the country's rich culinary heritage. Throughout, Steinberger remains an unabashed and steadfast Francophile, and his own sharp and funny reflections bring empathy to this striking portrait of a cuisine and a country in transition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #43848 in Books
• Published on: 2009-06-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

Review
`One of the greatest books I've read. Magical, dreamy and romantic, with moments of sadness, it took me back to that young boy in the kitchen'
-- Marco Pierre White

Review
`If you've ever wondered why eating in France is so often disappointing, Michael Steinberger can explain. His delicious account draws not just on his amazing gastronomic expertise, but on a sophisticated understanding of French politics and history as well.'

Review
`Most books on food and wine are misty-eyed memoirs of great meals and happy times. Michael Steinberger's book is different; he is trying to understand the decline and fall of France as the center of the world's great cuisine. Of course, in his explorations, Steinberger takes us to the kitchens of great chefs, describes extraordinary food and evokes fond memories. The result turns out to be intelligent, interesting and complicated. You will have to read the book to get it - and you will read it with much pleasure'

Customer Reviews

Plane Fare
This is an entertaining book but within limits. For original ideas and a basic analysis this is gossamer light info-tainment, a book you pick up at an airport, lend to your friends and don't mind if they fail to return it. Written in that gossipy style of in-flight magazines, Mr Steinberger tells the story of a once great nation humiliated by the failure of an iconic industry. Its' decay is a metaphor for national decline, arrogance, dismal failure to innovate while investing overseas, high costs/low productivity, over priced products and the relentless rise of superior foreign competition. But we are not talking of General Motors (or the entire US auto sector); this book is about French cooking.

The first two chapters are historically interesting, the development of eating, structure of meals, the great chefs et al. He charts the rise (tyranny) of the Michelin guide and the fad that was nouvelle cuisine. Throughout the book he profiles the chef d'enterprise, men (no women in this world, he missed the chance to plead that cause) who left the kitchen to become restaurant opening entrepreneurs. So far so good but in chapter 3 he attempts to contextualise French cuisine within the economy and society. This is simplistic (as is chapter 12 where he lectures the French on racial integration). He explains the burden of being a three star restaurant but fails to make the obvious point that even the best are very small businesses. Yes, they close the weekends, for a month in August, public holidays,endure very high tax and pervasive regulation and make little money. All true but we are not talking about a global multinationals. These are little ventures with few employing more than 50 people. French restaurants are not Peugeot or Saint Goblin. Chefs are masters of their trade, but it is a trade and hard manual labour at that. Few could hold their own with Jacques Derrida in a post dinner digestive. In particular I found his arguments about innovation in cooking spurious, there are no intellectual property or copyright restraints in world gastronomy. Cooking is basic chemistry not rocket science, (unless you use liquid nitrogen) and the Spainish (chapter 4) can do it well. So what?

The premise of this book, that French food has "fallen" is wrong. He could equally have written about French haute couture or French wine (he makes some notes chapter 9). It is not that France has failed rather the world has excelled. It has not been propelled by the super rich - which Mr Steinberger seems fascinated by - but by a colossal increase in a well educated, well travelled middle class who demand good food and wine. Almost every country, and every wine producing country, has responded. A competent author would make this a comparative not absolute argument. Mr Steinberger alludes to the French getting fatter (you can't argue with an American's expertise on obesity) eating bad food, being less interested in cooking, addicted to the microwave and fast food. Correct, and French supermarkets are increasing full of processed over packaged foods excreted on an industrial scale by huge conglomerates. But gourmands have never been a majority in France, many French women/men know nothing, or care nothing, about cooking. France is going in the same direction as other developed countries, ready made food, cheap and over processed eating in front of a TV. Mr Steinberger could have shown how strong French agriculture and agribusiness is, economically dynamic as a percentage of GDP and huge export performance. That is an interesting story for a capable economist or cultural historian to tell but that self evidently is not his metier. And you can eat wonderful food in France, everywhere and within any price range (as you can in almost any country now where credit cards are accpeted).

Mr Steinberg wallows - he can't make up his mind if he is a journalist or novelist - in nostalgia for the France of his youth creating a romantic (mythical) image then bemoans its demise. Is he is more disappointed or gloating? "France" he tells "became not just a place that fed me better than any other, but an emotional touchstone (page 4), ...France remained the orbis terrarum of food, and nothing left me feeling more in love with life than a sensational meal in Paris?" If you read this on a plane there are times when the little paper bag in the back of the seat is comforting. Some of the writing is just comical, I thought it a spoof in parts. On page 177 he describes some ladies as "zaftig" (apparently Yiddish for buxom), page 202 he refers to "waitstaff" meaning the waiters/waitresses. He never misses a chance to use "eponymous" and feels the need describe the age, hairline and complexion of almost everyone he refers to. His wine tasting description - page 153 - is a masterpiece in puerile rubbish. This is a poor essay, nowhere near good travel or food writing.

This is a book where the idea is clever, but the author's ego is greater than his intellect. It is a warning to all who feel we have a book inside us. Two stars here. Some consolation though by a Michelin, as opposed to Amazon rating, that's good. Everyone is happy but if you want a serious, beautifully written commentary read Graham Robb - The Discovery of France.

A loving chronicle of the decline of French restaurant domination
This is an excellent review of the high end dining scene in France, and the reasons for its apparent stagnation in recent years. The author has interviewed a lot of key figures, and there are very interesting snippets for those interested in the upper strata of restaurants. I wonder whether it is the case that other countries have become more interested in food rather than simply that the French have lost their interest in cooking at their grandmother's knee, as the author suggests. This is certainly the case with wine, where winemakers from Australia, the US and elsewhere have simply shown that French wine was inconsistent and in many ways living in the past.

In some areas the author leaves you wanting more, as in the chapter about Michelin, which skirts over its increasingly peculiar relationship with celebritry chefs. However the author captures the obsession with micro-management of the French economy by central government, leading it into ever more absurd regulations that often have unintended consequences.

What I liked about the book was how, despite all the issues raised, the author's love for France comes shining through, so what could be a bitter tract is something more endearing. Michael Steinberger has a good eye for personal detail, and manages to bring out the characters of those he interviews well. The book is well worth reading for those with an interest in the restaurant culture of France.