Khoo Rachel - My The little French kitchen: over 100 recipes from the mountains, market squares, and shores of France

First published in the United States of America in 2014 by Chronicle Books LLC.
First published in the United Kingdom in 2013 by Michael Joseph, an imprint of Penguin Books, LTD.

Text and illustrations copyright 2013 by Rachel Khoo.
Photographs copyright 2013 by David Loftus.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available.

ISBN 978-1-4521-3507-6 (HC)
ISBN 978-1-4521-4603-4 (EPUB, MOBI)

Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, California 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com

After the whirlwind months that followed the release of The Little Paris Kitchen book and television show, my life seemed to go back to normal. I was still living in the same apartment with my kitchenette composed of two gas burners and a mini oven, still no dishwasher in sight. I bought my grocery shopping from the same fruit and veg guy, visited the same baker, and traipsed to my butcher. Little had changed. Aside from my cheese ladys persistent jokey questioning, Where are the cameras? each time I picked up a hunk of fruity Comt, life went on in my little kitchen as before. But I could feel a growing rumble in my stomach, and it wasnt because I was craving a piece of French cheese and crusty baguette, my all-time favorite snack.

Just like when I moved from London to Paris eight years ago, I had an itchy yearning for new tastes and discoveries. I still loved Paris (I always will), but I felt I wanted to chart unknown territories in the country I had called home for almost a decade. It was time for me to pack up my cooking kit and discover what lay beyond the twenty arrondissements that piece Paris together.

Deciding where to go was easier said than done. When it comes to culinary culture and history, France is as rich and dense as my chocolate beret cake . My friends asked, How are you going to visit the whole of France and write about all the food? Ce nest pas possible! Most of them thought I had bitten off more than I could chew, and I can chew a lot! France has a gastronomic wealth that has been documented painstakingly by many other chefs and Francophile food writers throughout the centuries, from Marie-Antoine Carme and Auguste Escoffier to Elizabeth David and Jane Grigson.

This book took me on an adventure around France by train, plane, bus, car, and bikeat one point, I was even driving a minibus. Up winding roads and down dirt tracks, through howling wind, rain comme les vaches pissent (like cows peeing, as the French say), snow, hail... you name it, I braved every kind of weather. I was a woman on a mission to discover those recipes, now long forgotten and stuffed in the back of a drawer, made by regional French grandmas. But not just the old recipes; I was interested to see what France looked like today. How was the younger generation eating? Paris, being the capital, is a mecca for new concepts and trends, but I was impressed to see that a movement of young food producers can also be found all over the country, combining old traditions with their new ideas.

Frances artisanal food scene, in common with other countries in the Western world, is fighting against the big food corporations. Although France has always prided itself on its strong culinary heritage, as I visited producers, farmers, and local shops it became evident that all is not as rosy as one might think. There are battles against environmental changes and government regulations, combined with the lack of a new generation to take over traditional roles and a sharp rise in production costs. But despite all these challenges, the passion and hard work that go into creating products to sell with pride shines through brightly in the end result.

After each of my voyages, I would return with my suitcase laden with random bits and bobs I had picked up, from edible souvenirs like special dried herbs and lavender honey to cheese paper wrappers or the odd funny looking spoon. In my little kitchen in Paris, the tasty trinkets would be turned into dishes to eat with friends and family. Each meal telling the story of my trip, allowing me to share my edible exploration and the complexities and oddities of each regions food culture.

My travels took me to many places all across this wonderful country, from Biarritz, the surfers paradise, with its fiery Espelette pepper and Basque kisses, to the elegant chateaux and rickety but utterly charming oyster shacks in the Bordeaux region. I fell in love with the Christmas sparkle and spice of the Alsatian winter markets, and Brittany with its iconic lighthouses dotting the coast and its delicious giant blue lobsters. And I marveled at the almighty Lyon with its snowcapped mountains and warming dishes, which contrasted with the bright colors in the vegetable dishes of Provence that radiated summer heat.

And so this book is not about the whole of Franceeven a multivolume epic couldnt hope to do justice to that ideabut it is about the trips I made around French villages and towns; the people who welcomed me into their homes, farms, and food shops; and all the little culinary quirks that I stumbled upon. Each recipe is a postcard from my little kitchen to yours, savoring the flavors, smells, and textures that inspired me, and that I hope will inspire you too. Bon voyage on my little culinary tour of France! I hope you enjoy the trip.

Le crachin, as the Bretons refer to the so-called spitting rain, was almost constant when I visited the region in the early months of the year. The persistent drizzle wasnt the only thing that was like home: the lush green pastures, neatly trimmed hedges, and pretty stone country cottages reminded me of the verdant British landscape around where I grew up in Berkshire. It is easy to see how Brittany acquired the nickname Little Britain.

Brittany is one of Frances most iconic regions, being the home of many of the countrys most popular foodstuffs, as well as the sartorial export of blue-and-white stripes. Butter, galettes, crpes, caramel, fleur de sel, dairy and all its derivatives are entrenched in the food culture.