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Food & book trails – Paris

21st January 2019

TripFiction’s Andrew was given his best Christmas present EVER in 2018…the mouth-watering Food Trails from Lonely Planet: ‘Plan 52 perfect weekends in the world’s tastiest destinations‘.

Food & book trails - Paris

This book is a gastronomic tour of the world in 52 short breaks. We’ve scoured the globe for the greatest food experiences worth planning your travels around – not just fine dining, but also the best regional specialities, the most atmospheric street food spots, and the most memorable cooking courses’.

Whether we realise it or nor, food is one of the key ways in which we experience a place when travelling‘.

Here at TripFiction we have a passionate belief that literature and books are another way to really understand a destination….seeing a location through an author’s forensic eyes, walking the same streets as a book’s characters, eating the same local food as a protagonist and guzzling the same drinks.

So why not combine the two?

Food & book trails - ParisFirst up, let’s look at Lonely Planet’s Food Trail ‘Falling for Parisian Patisserie‘ and see which books set firmly in the French capital could help in your quest for Parisian culinary & literary harmony.

This Food Trail criss-crosses Paris, from left to right bank, from arrondissement to arrondissement, in search of ‘decadent sweet creations that are a hallmark of France‘. Here are a few highlights:

  • La Cuisine Paris – ‘this cooking school’s morning croissant workshop is a real treat – few Parisians dare make the impossibly flaky French breakfast staple at home
  • Blé sucré – ‘the lavish cakes and desserts pastry chef Fabrice Le Bourdat gets up at 2 am each morning to craft in his neighbourhood boulangerie-patisserie near Bastille remain five-star. But appropriately, his pièce de résistance is the humblest French cake of all – the Madeleine’
  • La Chocolaterie de Jacques Genin – ‘taste chestnut honey nougat, ginger caramel, rhubarb or pumpkin fruit jellies and other novel flavours in the chic loft of self-taught, chocolate-and-caramel wild child Jacques Genin
  • Dessance – ‘for dinner, turn to pastry chef Christophe Boucher at the city’s only fine-dining dessert restaurant. His innovative and unexpected pairings of sweet flavours with vegetables are executed with precision and brilliance’
  • La Pâtisserie des Rêves  – ‘next day head west, beyond the steel-faced silhouette of the Eiffel Tower, to the posh 16e arrondissement for breakfast at The Pastry Shop of Dreams’
  • Epicure – ‘your lunch date, a 10-minute walk away, is one of Paris’s most gastronomic addresses, the triple Michelin-starred kitchen of Eric Frechon, at the Hotel Le Bristol. The signature dessert is a vivacious, sunflower yellow lemon from Menton on the sun-blessed French Riviera, infused with pear and candied lemon, glazed in Limoncello frosting’
  • Ladurée – ‘polished smooth and round like giant smarties, eggshell-fragile macarons are the icon of French patisserie. Flavours are inexhaustible: cherry blossom, yoghurt and grapefruit, rose and quince….any marriage of tastes is possible. Buy a beautifully packaged box for home’

After all that sweet indulgence, what could be better than settling down with a book set in those same atmospheric streets. Grab a pastis or sip an espresso in a local bar, and dive into some very Parisian pages:

Foreign Tongue by Vanina Marsot  

Anna has just had her heart broken in LA. But unlike most women who have been unlucky with love, she has an enviable backup plan – she uses her dual citizenship and moves to Paris to live in her aunt’s empty (and free) apartment. Paris, the city of romance, might not seem like the easiest place to mend a broken heart, but Anna tries to find solace in the cobble-stoned streets, fresh bread, delectable pastries, and sexy Parisian men.

While there, she finds a job translating a mysterious, erotic French novel by a famous French author who is staying anonymous. As she is intrigued by his story and taken in by the mystery behind the book, she learns more about herself and how to find the best parts of her French and American self.

Madame Pamplemousse and Her Incredible Edibles by Rupert Kingfisher

Madame Pamplemousse is the story of Madeleine, forced to work in her unpleasant uncle’s horrible restaurant, The Squealing Pig. By chance she comes across the most marvellous shop, run by Madame Pamplemousse, which is quiet, discreet, yet full of delicious and otherworldly ‘edibles’ – Pterodactyl Bacon, Scorpion Tails in Smoked Garlic Oil, and Great Squid Tentacle in Jasmine-Scented Jelly.

A quiet comradeship develops between Madeleine, Madame Pamplemousse, and Madame’s cat, Camembert. And together they create some wonderful culinary magic.

Exquisite, beautifully formed prose that has echoes of Angela Carter belies a narrative that is full of pace. A wonderful fairy tale that will appeal to both adults and children.

Following closely on the heals of Chocolat, Zozie de l’Alba enters into Vianne and Anouk’s life (now calling themselves Yanne and Annie), seemingly from nowhere and they become friends.

But Zozie is not quite what she seems. With a second daughter, Rosette, born after the events in Chocolat, Vianne has a new life to protect, but is unaware of the threat beneath her own roof…..

The Confectioner’s Tale by Laura Madeleine

At the famous Patisserie Clermont in Paris, 1909, a chance encounter with the owner’s daughter has given one young man a glimpse into a life he never knew existed: of sweet cream and melted chocolate, golden caramel and powdered sugar, of pastry light as air.

But it is not just the art of confectionery that holds him captive, and soon a forbidden love affair begins.

Almost eighty years later, an academic discovers a hidden photograph of her grandfather as a young man with two people she has never seen before. Scrawled on the back of the picture are the words ‘Forgive me’. Unable to resist the mystery behind it, she begins to unravel the story of two star-crossed lovers and one irrevocable betrayal.

A decadent story of love and scandal that sweeps you away to Paris”

Delicious Days in Paris: Walking Tours to Explore the City’s Food & Culture by Jane Paech

Let food-lover and Paris expert Jane Paech show you around the city’s mille-feuille of history and culture, with its tempting pastry and chocolate shops on every corner

Romantic, mouth-watering Paris—where do you start? With this guide, you’ll visit both legendary and little-known cafés, restaurants, and pâtisseries of Paris, and see museums, art galleries, gardens, markets, and other interesting places—all at a civilized pace, with time to daydream. Taste camembert, champagne, strawberry tarts, meringues, and macarons on Jane’s 14 themed walks.

The above are just an amuse-bouche of five books with a vaguely foodie flavour to accompany you on your Food Trail through Paris. But we have over 300 books across all genres on the TripFiction database set in Paris. And here is one of our earlier blog posts with ‘Ten great books set in Paris from our ‘great books set in‘ series.

We hope this gets your appetite, travel and literary juices flowing, and if you use this article as your guide for any culinary or reading ideas on your next trip to Paris, we’d love to hear from you.

Which sweet eateries would you add? Which books have we missed?

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