Tom Higgins, a translator who was spending much of his time in Geneva and his wife, Sue, a doctor, the brave English couple in Spotted Dick, s'il vous plait: An English Restaurant in France, did just that. A foolhardy venture, perhaps, because not only did they possess little experience in the professional food trade, they had the audacity to serve English cuisine to discerning Lyonnais. It is a well known fact the Lyon is not only the gastronomic capital of France (some say the world) boasting many Michelin-starred establishments, but that the French have a notorious disdain for English cooking. Would they be able to overcome the national horror of English pudding?
Tom Higgins' entertaining chronicle of the long, and rather bumpy road to fulfilling their dream is presented in an anecdotal style laced with a good dose of self-deprecating humor. His stories of French bank managers, petit bureaucrats and construction workers are an amusing glimpse into the French daily life. But the difficulties and financial risks of doing business in a foreign country - not to mention the language barrier and the exhausting hours - have been offset by the great compensation of living in Lyon and the beautiful countryside that surround it; planning the meals and shopping the terrific local markets for the freshest ingredients; visiting the nearby vineyards to stock cellar and kitchen; and finally, getting a good reputation and a steadily growing clientele. And, Tom has included a dozen of their favorite recipes, including one for that English pudding-of-all-puddings, Spotted Dick.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
From the Inside Flap:
r would have believed that anything could make me want to go eat English food in Lyon, but Higgins's delightful book has done so."
--Mimi Sheraton
When Tom Higgins, a translator, and his wife, Sue, a physician, decided to set up an English restaurant in Lyon, France (the country's capital of fine dining), they had no idea what they were getting into. In this delightful memoir of their first eight years in business, Higgins recounts all--from the amused disbelief of their neighbors who regard English food as a joke, to the frustrating impenetrability of the French licensing bureaucracy, from the positive delight in choosing wines and creating menus, to, ultimately, the extraordinary feeling of running a good restaurant that pleases the most fussy diners in the world.
Included in this charming tale are twelve typically English recipes
that anyone can make!
"After Peter Mayle comes Tom Higgins in Lyon. . . . Delightful reading."
--BBC Good Food&
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherSoho Pr Inc
- Publication date1995
- ISBN 10 1569470324
- ISBN 13 9781569470329
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
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Rating