Maman: The Cookbook: All-Day Recipes to Warm Your Heart

Marshall and Sormonte are the team behind the Maman mini-chain of eateries, and this frothy cookbook is as much an advertisement for their business as a collection of recipes—a feeling reinforced by blurbs from fans about their “quaint” cafés. They lean hard into the theme of motherhood, with introductions written by each of their “mamans,” and the importance of mothers cooking with children harped on by a diet book author and others. Paeans to the authors’ childhoods in Canada (Marshall) and France (Sormonte) occasionally verge on the saccharine, and many recipes come from or are named for maternal figures: their marketing director’s grandmother Marion contributes zucchini bread, while a tuna salad sandwich salutes the former head chef’s mother. Typical café fare, such as quiche Lorraine and fruit salad, alternates with surprises, including a savory yogurt loaf with olives and sun-dried tomatoes, and a garnish of corn nuts atop pasta salad. Desserts are the strongest offerings—most notably, the café’s signature chocolate chip cookies with three types of nuts, and the pumpkin-maple madeleines, which combine North American and French traditions. (For pooches, there are dog biscuits with carob chips.) While loyal customers are sure to tune in, those unfamiliar with the brand may find this to be a collection in search of a binding culinary thread. (Sept.)