Book Review: Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard

What would you do if you met the love of your life, but he lived in Paris?

If it was me, I’d do exactly what Elizabeth Bard did – move my life to France. Lunch in Paris describes how she fell in love and eventually marries Gwendal, after sleeping with him half way through their first date.

While organising their French/American wedding, complete with a big band and smelly cheese, Elizabeth gets to know the real Paris. She discovers the fresh food available at the market, learns how to gut a fish (with some help from Jane Austen- I’ll have to try this method) and buys meat from a Matt Damon look-alike (her butcher). She even lands a job at the Louvre. What more could a girl ask for?

But after the fairytale comes the parsnip. Three months after the wedding, her father-in-law is diagnosed with cancer. Her husband then makes a risky career decision and has to decide whether to follow the American Dream or French Reality.

Elizabeth herself suffers from increasing confusion about what she wants to do with the rest of her life. She’s always been a girl with a plan, but now she has no idea how to achieve her goals, or even what these should be. Her friends say she can’t spend all of her life at the market, but could it provide the solution she’s looking for?

I really enjoyed reading the story, but the big bonus is the recipes for some of the delicious sounding dishes that she has made or tasted at the end of each chapter. These include mussels with white wine and fennel, ‘Gwendal’s quick and dirty chocolate soufflé cake’ and ‘better than French’ onion soup. And the food doesn’t just sound delicious- it’s also part of the real secret about why French women don’t get fat (which Elizabeth calls the ‘bikini factor’).

Like many people, I find the idea of cooking French food at home quite intimidating, but her stories about the dishes themselves encouraged me to have a go. I started out with one of her ‘ladies who lunch’ recipes- the asparagus with pistou and cured ham (I skipped the poached egg). The results were delicious and I’m already planning what to try next. Perhaps the scallops with champagne custard or the creamy carrot soup? I’m not sure if the profiterole recipe she’s included is part of the bikini factor diet, but that won’t stop me trying it.

This book is part love story and part cookbook, making it a perfect read for foodies and anyone who’s ever dreamed of moving to Paris.

By Laura Boness

Image: Gordon King