The Food and Wine of France: Eating and Drinking from Champagne to Provence

The founding editor of The Art of Eating, who was inducted into the James Beard Foundation's Who's Who of Food and Beverage in 2014, shares this extended love letter to French food and wine. Leaving his home in rural Vermont, Behr (50 Foods) travels extensively through France to interview farmers, winemakers, cheesemakers, charcutiers, and pastry chefs about the traditions and evolutions of their methods in the age of agricultural shifts resulting from climate change. Focusing largely on bread, wine, and cheese, France's "trinity of fermented foods," Behr makes a strong case for the ongoing international relevance of French cuisine. He highlights its unique merging of "analytical precision paired with a strong sensuality," as when a refined Champagne is juxtaposed with andouillette sausage, "one of the most earthy and pungent of all foods." In describing the maker of that andouillette (and many more of France's top culinary artisans) as "sober and earnest," Behr could well be describing his purist self. The book is heavy with facts, and its instructive tone is lacking in convivial fizz, but it offers a solid education in France's diverse terroir and culinary methodology. (June)