Lunch in Paris

November 23, 2009
In this pleasant memoir about learning to live and eat à la française
, an American journalist married to a Frenchman inspires lessons in culinary détente. Bard was working as a journalist in London and possessed of the “wonderful puppy-dog” enthusiasm of young Americans when she first met her husband-to-be, Gwendal, a computer engineer from Brittany. Soon he had the foresight to put her name on the gas bill of his Parisian apartment in the 10th arrondissement, and they were destined to marry—and cook together. Her memoir is really a celebration of the culinary season as it unfolded in their young lives together: recipes for seduction (onion and bacon); getting serious over andouillette; learning to buy what's fresh at the Parisian markets (four and a half pounds of figs); surviving a long, cold winter in an unheated apartment; and warming up their visiting parents over profiteroles. Bard throws in some American recipes “that feel like home,” such as noodle pudding, and comforting soups for a winter's grieving over the death of the father-in-law. Bard carefully observes the eating habits of her impossibly slender mother-in-law for tips to staying slim (lots of water and no snacking). Bard keeps an eye to healthful ingredients (“Three Fabulous Solo Lunches”), and, as a Jewish New Yorker, even prepares a Passover seder in Paris, in this work that manages to be both sensuous and informative.

December 15, 2009
American journalist Bard traces her relationship with her French husband from the first lunch date to the present, framing the narrative around mouthwatering menus.

The book starts out vanilla, but the author's charming narrative and penetrating insights quickly add a subtle complexity that will captivate readers. Having met her future husband Gwendal at an academic conference in London, Bard soon invented an excuse to visit Paris. Eventually she moved in to Gwendal's tiny apartment and began her initiation into Parisian life. She pleasantly details her joys and obstacles, including her difficulties with grumpy fishmongers and complicated meat-market lines, and she provides poignant revelations about cultural differences that are alternately easy to overcome and seemingly insurmountable. The idea of love conquering all is certainly a clich, but the author's unique voice prevents her story from becoming stale. One of the most enlightening aspects of French culture that Bard reveals is the fact that in Paris, the customer is not always right. Whether it's the chef for the wedding hors d'oeuvres or the doctor treating her father-in-law's colon cancer, the author learned that one must bow to the opinion of the professional. Ultimately, Paris had much to offer Bard, including lessons in how to cook delectable meals with whatever is at hand, or the simplicity of sitting in a caf and relaxing with a coffee and croissant. Despite the many delicious recipes, the motif of food only provides a loose framework for the book, leaving the narrative somewhat disjointed in places. This does not, however, diminish Bard's entertaining voice.

A cozy, touching story.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

January 29, 2010
The dream of falling in love with a Frenchman and diving into the expat life in Paris is always surrounded by stories of food and intercultural fumbles. Bard, an American journalist, takes us along on her romantic adventure, delighting us with humor, poignant insights, and the occasional personal struggle. She learns her way around French food and culture and shares recipes and etiquette tips, though not to the extent that Polly Platt does in her own intercultural instruction manual, French or Foe?: Getting the Most Out of Visiting, Living and Working in France. Go with Bard as she explores the open-air markets, bonds with her butcher, and introduces American comfort food to her French family. Verdict Filled with vignettes of faux pas, lessons learned, and delicious desserts, this memoir is a great, light read that lovers of food and romance will tear through. It will make you want to cook up something to savor while you cuddle up with the book.-Sheila Kasperek, Millersville Univ. of Pennsylvania

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2010
I slept with my French husband halfway through our first date, begins Bard, a Paris-based American journalist, and she goes on to describe falling in love with both Gwendal, her Brittany-born amour, and with her adopted city, where she learns to shop for and cook delectable meals on a tiny two-burner stove (instructions for preparing the dishes close each chapter). Bard lacks the culinary chops of other recent romance-and-recipe memoirists in the increasingly crowded genre, such as New York Times food writer Amanda Hesser, whose Cooking for Mr. Latte (2003) also chronicled her path to marriage. And while Bard does include numerous, cinema-ready glimpses into her relationship with Gwendal (when she finally moves in, the adorable way he welcomes her feels pulled from a romantic comedy), both the love story and the food story feel slightly muted next to what seems to be the books deepest undercurrent: how to build an adult life that reconciles societal pressure, personal ambition, cultural dissonance, and true happiness.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)