Paris Picnic Club - by Shaheen Peerbhai & Jennie Levitt (Hardcover)

About the Book

Charmingly illustrated with more than 75 watercolor illustrations, this beautiful cookbook features 100 recipes that enthusiastically celebrate the culturally diverse cuisines of Paris and the community shared meals can create.

Every Friday for a year, Shaheen Peerbhai and Jennie Levitt made a delicious picnic-style meal for their friends. This tradition soon grew into a pop-up restaurant, serving much-anticipated lunches to eighty or so guests once a week in different hotspots around Paris. In their charmingly illustrated book, Shaheen and Jennie offer a collection of curated flavorful recipes, taking inspiration from both classic French dishes and a selection of other diverse cuisines that are prominent throughout Paris. Along with its delicious recipes and stunning watercolor depictions, Paris Picnic Club helps you slow down, enjoy one another's company, and nourish your community through the love of cooking for one another.

Book Synopsis

Every Friday for a year, Shaheen Peerbhai and Jennie Levitt made a delicious picnic-style meal for their friends. This small tradition soon grew into a clandestine pop-up restaurant, serving much-anticipated lunches to eighty or so hungry guests once a week in different hotspots around Paris. In their charmingly illustrated book, Shaheen and Jennie offer a collection of curated flavorful recipes, taking inspiration from both classic French dishes and a selection of other diverse cuisines that are prominent throughout Paris. Pack your picnic basket with a recipe from the Small Plates chapter, such as the Frenchie Arepas with Caramelized Plum Jam. Be sure to impress the guests at your next casual dinner party with your tartine (open-faced sandwich) Smoked Ham, Brie and Onion Jam with Buttery Almonds and Garlic Zucchini recipe. Also, make sure to always include a plate of Rye, Chocolate, and Sea Salt Cookies to satisfy any companion with a sweet tooth! Along with its delicious recipes and stunning watercolor depictions, Paris Picnic Club gives you the tools to cook meals and grow your community through dishes that are supposed to be shared and recipes that are meant to be passed on. Paris Picnic Club helps you slow down, enjoy one another's company, and nourish your community through the love of cooking for one another.

Review Quotes

"In this charming cookbook, Peerbhai and Levitt share lunch recipes from their pop-up restaurant Paris, offering picnic-friendly fare alongside charming hand-drawnillustrations. Once readers get beyond the term "picnic"--only the most zealous of picnickers will bring to the park raw oysters with pickled rhubarb; aligot, a hot dish of mashed potatoes and stringy cheese; or meatballs in amalfitana sauce--they'll find more than a few dishes that are sure to impress guests without much fuss. There's homemade gravlax with a citrus vinaigrette, simple garlicky Escoffier potatoes, and pistachio and cherry financiers. Some dishes, however, require slightly more time and ingredients than would be feasible for a simple picnic lunch: foie gras with arugula, basil, fresh figs, Iberico ham, and butter croutons, for instance, or desserts that call for infusions of geranium leaves and tuberose flowers. Home cooks will delight in the creative array of meals that fall on the lighter side and are appropriate for impromptu as well as formal gatherings year round. The recipes here are fun, fresh, and perfect to share with friends." --Publishers Weekly

"If only we all had friendships like Shaheen and Jennie's--ones focused on gathering people and cooking for them. In Paris Picnic Club, they've created a joyful reminder that great cooking is nothing without the sense of discovery and pleasure that you share with others. You'll find yourself hopscotching in a playground of appealing recipes--make sure you don't miss gems like the Cold-Oven Chicken, which is now a staple in my dinner repertoire." --AMANDA HESSER, cofounder and CEO of Food52

" Brimming over with seasonal produce, the recipes of Shaheen Peerbhai and Jennie Levitt blend classic technique with the diverse flavors of twenty-first-century Paris. A vibrant, eclectic cookbook that radiates modern French charm!" --ANN MAH, author of Mastering the Art of French Eating and The Lost Vintage

" A heartwarming celebration of friendship and good food, this gorgeously illustrated book is brimming with fresh and approachable recipes." --CLOTILDE DUSOULIER, author of Tasting Paris: 100 Recipes to
Eat Like a Local and the blog Chocolate & Zucchini

" A beautifully illustrated celebration of the French table, both old and new, with many delicious recipes to inspire gatherings for years to come." -- JESSIE KANELOS WEINER, illustrator and coauthor of Paris in Stride: An Insider's Walking Guide and illustrator and author of Edible Paradise

About the Author

Shaheen Peerbhai is classically trained in French cuisine and pâtisserie at Le Cordon Bleu Paris and London and at École Ducasse in France on scholarships from the James Beard Foundation and The Culinary Trust. She has honed her skills in Mumbai, Paris, and London at establishments ranging from terroir-driven bistros to 3-Michelin-starred restaurants. She bakes and lives with her husband and daughter in London, where she is the chef-owner of Miel, a French-inspired bakery and workshop near Regent's Park.

Jennie Levitt is a chef and artist who is focused on the convivial and healing nature of bringing people together through great food. She blends classic Mediterranean technique with local ingredients and food culture to curate special events and cooking classes in cities such as Aspen, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, and Bogotá. Jennie is also the co-founder and creator of Corelia, all-natural sparkling fruit juices that capture the lush flavor and freshness of the tropics (www.corelia.co). She cooks and lives in Oakland, California, with her husband and daughter.