- Hardcover: 176 pages
- Publisher: Columbia University Press; 1st Edition edition (March 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0231124163
- ISBN-13: 978-0231124164
- Product Dimensions: 21.8 x 14.5 x 1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 91 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #203,174 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Pitte raises a glass to celebrate France's dynastic cuisine and culture, exploring everything from its earliest recipe books to the 10 commandments of nouvelle cuisine to prove the undeniable influence the country has on world cooking. His charming, concise history reveals the development of the national taste, including Christianity contending with the slippery sin of gluttony, commissioning roads to Paris for shipping cheese, the demands of the export market and the invention of table etiquette including the handy additions of plates and silverware. Importantly, Pitte traces the indelible Parisian reign of haute cuisine from the Sun King through Napoleon, but traces past the ugly years of the Paris Commune like a skipped hors d'oeuvre, before moving onward to a food culture currently at an impasse due to the rise of faster foods and the fall of national taste severe enough to make it worthy of an inquest by the Institut de France. The introduction brashly toots the French horn hubristically declaring victory over the other tables of the world although Pitte balances his hearty dishes with historical realities in this entertaining and probing addition to Columbia's Arts and Traditions of the Table series. Illus. and photos.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
The triumph of French gastronomy owes as much to France's geography as it does to any particular chef or any special national characteristic. Pitte places the real historical beginnings of the French passion for good cooking at the court of the Sun King, Louis XIV. Elaborate social rituals surrounding the king's every move--from his rising in the morning to his bedtime--showed equally at the king's table, where appetites had to match the sumptuousness of the palatial setting. Good food became so important that even the French Revolution could not distract people from the pleasures of the table. Yet it was France's favorable climate, its multiplicity of raw ingredients, and the nascent transportation system of the eighteenth century that moved fresh fare to every corner of the nation. The advent of British and American tourism in the late nineteenth century offered this bounty to new and monied audiences. Pitte's remarkable ruminations on religion's role both as goad and check on gastronomic pleasure offer new insights into the French psyche. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The history and geography of a passion for French cooking,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: French Gastronomy: The History and Geography of a Passion (Hardcover)
Plenty of books have been written on French cuisine and history; but JeanRobert Pitte's French Gastronomy is different. It is about the study of French cuisine: the history and geography of a passion for French cooking. Individual chapters link the mystique of food and eating in France to a sense of place and microregions that allow for different agricultural results. French Gastronomy is an intriguing history and very highly recommended for avid French popular culture and culinary enthusiasts.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
5.0 out of 5 stars
French Gastronomy,
By Constancio Castro - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: French Gastronomy: The History and Geography of a Passion (Hardcover)
I got an extensive description of the original publication in french. I ordered this english version because the original was outdated
5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The history and geography of a passion for French cooking,
By Midwest Book Review - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: French Gastronomy: The History and Geography of a Passion (Hardcover)
Plenty of books have been written on French cuisine and history; but JeanRobert Pitte's French Gastronomy is different. It is about the study of French cuisine: the history and geography of a passion for French cooking. Individual chapters link the mystique of food and eating in France to a sense of place and microregions that allow for different agricultural results. French Gastronomy is an intriguing history and very highly recommended for avid French popular culture and culinary enthusiasts.
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