White Truffles in Winter by N.M. Kelby White Truffles in Winter imagines the world of the remarkable French chef Auguste Escoffier, who changed how we eat through his legendary restaurants at the Savoy and the Ritz. A man of contradictions - kind yet imperious, food-obsessed yet rarely hungry - Escoffier was also torn between two women: the famous, beautiful, and reckless actress Sarah Bernhardt and his wife, the independent and sublime poet Delphine Daffis. In the last year of his life, he returns to Delphine, who requests a dish in her name in the same way as he has honoured Bernhardt, Queen Victoria, and many others. But how can even the best chef in the world define the complexity of love on a single plate?
Kelby conjures a pre-World War II world where food is almost as good as love. - Vogue ________ The Restaurant of Love Regained by Ito Ogawa After her boyfriend steals all her worldly possessions, Rinko has no choice but to go back to her native village and her mother, on which she turned her back ten years ago as a fifteen-year-old girl.There she decides to open a very special restaurant, one that serves food for only one couple every day, according to their personal tastes and wishes. A concubine rediscovers her love for life, a girl is able to conquer the heart of her lover, a surly man is transformed into a lovable gentleman - all this happens at The Snail, the magic restaurant whose delicate food can heal any heartache and help its customers find love again.
Mouth-watering, particularly if you’re a fan of Japanese food. - The Independent ________ The Hundred-foot Journey by Richard C. Morais The Hundred-foot Journey is the story of Hassan Haji, a boy from Mumbai who embarks, along with his boisterous family, on a picaresque journey first to London and then across Europe, before they ultimately open a restaurant opposite a famous chef, Madame Mallory, in the remote French village of Lumiere. A culinary war ensues, pitting Hassan’s Mumbai-toughened father against the imperious Michelin-starred cordon bleu, until Madame Mallory realizes that Hassan is a cook with natural talents far superior to her own.
Don’t read this book if you’re hungry. You might eat it. - Simon Beaufoy, Oscar-Award-winning screenwriter, Slumdog Millionaire