Return to Paris - by Colette Rossant (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Paris, 1947: Colette Rossant returns to Paris after waiting out World War II in Cairo among her father's Egyptian-Jewish relatives. Initially, the City of Light seems gray and forbidding to the teenage Colette, especially after her thrill-seeking mother leaves her in the care of her bitter, malaisé grandmother. Yet Paris will prove the place where Colette awakens to her senses. Taken under the wing of Mademoiselle Georgette, the family chef, she develops a taste and talent for French cooking. The streets of Paris soon become Colette's own as she navigates the outdoor markets and café menus and emerges into her new, gastronomical self.
Return to Paris is an extraordinary coming-of-age story that charts the course of Colette's culinary adventures -- replete with expertly crafted recipes and family photographs. An exploration of passion in all its flavor and texture, Colette's memoir will live in the hearts and palates of readers for years to come.

Review Quotes

Daily News (New York) An incredible read.

San Francisco Chronicle [Rossant] is a skilled writer who can capture any milieu vividly. You can feel...the warmth of the kitchens where she sought and found solace.

The Observer (London) [A] book for Francophiles and for anyone else who wants to make simple food well.

Arthur Schwartz Author, food critic, and Food Talk radio host Rossant can make a ham sandwich sound like a delicacy, and describe a raspberry tart with the same passion that others talk about their love affairs....[F]illed with food moments, observations, even recipes...frank emotionality, angst, and charm.