A Pig in Provence - by Georgeanne Brennan (Paperback)

About the Book

Thirty years ago, this award-winning author and her family set out to realize the dream of a peaceful, rural existence. This evocative and passionate memoir--filled with delicious recipes and local color--describes her life cooking and living in the South of France.

Book Synopsis

Georgeanne Brennan moved to Provence in 1970, seeking a simpler life. She set off on her many adventures in Provençale cuisine by tracking down a herd of goats, a cool workshop, some rennet, and the lost art of making fresh goat cheese. From this first effort throughout her time in Provence, Brennan transformed from novice fromagère to renowned, James Beard Foundation Award-winning cookbook author and food writer.

A Pig in Provence is the story of how Georgeanne Brennan fell in love with Provence. But it's also the story of making a life beyond the well-trodden path and the story of how food can unite a community. In loving detail, Brennan tells of the herders who maintain a centuries-old grazing route, of the community feast that brings a town to one table, and of the daily rhythms and joys of living by the cycles of food and nature.

Sprinkled with recipes that offer samples of Brennan's Provençale cooking, A Pig in Provence is a food memoir that urges you to savor every morsel.

From the Back Cover

"You can almost smell the lavender as you follow Brennan's love affair with the province that became her second home and shaped [her] culinary persona. Brennan is a talented storyteller." -- San Francisco Chronicle

Amid the quirks and charms of the French countryside, Georgeanne Brennan began her life in Provence with the not-so-simple task of tracking down a herd of goats and the lost recipe for making cheese from their milk. From odd out-of-towner to truffle hunter and community feaster, from novice fromagere to celebrated chef and cookbook author, she learned the traditional ways of one small village-- savoring the richness of food, nature and la vie provencale.

"Fascinating... Brennan revels equally in the preparation and consumption of the regional cuisine You can almost hear her lips smacking." The New York Times Book Review

"Georgeanne Brennan's romance with Provence continues to deepen, and the result of her long residence there is an intimacy with local people, food, and folkways. I would love to pull up a chair to her table." -- Frances Mayes, author of Under the Tuscan Sun

GEORGEANNE BRENNAN is the author of numerous cooking and gardening books, and the recipient of the James Beard Foundation Award and the IACP/Julie Child Cookbook Award for her writing. She lives in northern California and Provence, where she has a seasonal cooking school.

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Review Quotes

PRAISE FOR A PIG IN PROVENCE "You can almost smell the lavender as you follow Brennan's love affair with the province that became her second home and shaped the culinary persona of this cooking teacher and food author. Brennan is a talented storyteller."--San Francisco Chronicle

"Georgeanne Brennan's captivating memoir reminds me of why I, too, was enchanted by Provence. She beautifully captures the details of living in a place where the culture of the table ties a community together--where everyone knows the butcher and the baker, and everyone depends on the farmers."--Alice Waters, owner, Chez Panisse