Au Revoir to All That : The Rise and Fall of French Cuisine

Au Revoir to All That takes us on an entertaining and intriguing journey into France's identity, directly through the tastebuds... Offering a fresh and entertaining approach to understanding French history, through its food and wine, Steinberger reveals a radically changing France; a country moving through social and political reform, economic crises and, importantly, the loss of their seemingly unbreakable dominance in all things gastronomical. If the state of France's celebrated cuisine is the bellwether for the state of the nation, things are looking bleak. Top chefs are renouncing their Michelin stars and prized farmhouse cheeses are going extinct because there is no one to make them. Bistros, brasseries and cafés fold by the scores and hypermarkets and superstores account for 75% of retail food sales. The famed wine-producing Languedoc is home to the world's first wine-terrorist organization - winemakers resorting to violence to protect their struggling industry. But while there may be better baguettes in Tokyo than in Paris, and Spain has become the darling of the gastronomic world, there are glimpses of hope. There are up-and-coming culinary stars and outdoor food festivals, pockets of exuberance amid the gloom. And, as long as a praline millefeuille can be celebrated, savoured and allowed to assume talismanic qualities at a Right Bank tea salon, all is not lost. Au Revoir to All That is an essential - almost edible - book for lovers of food, France and culinary history. "France is in a rut, and so is French cuisine. Twenty-five years ago it was hard to have a bad meal in France; now, in some cities and towns, it is a challenge to find even a decent baguette. For the first time in the annals of modern cuisine, the most influencial chefs and the most talked about restaurants are not French. Large segments of the French wine industry are in crisis, cherished artisanal cheeses are threatened with extinction, and bistros and brasseries are disappearing at an alarming rate. But business is brisk at some establishments: astonishingly, France has become the second most profitable market in the world for McDonald's. How did this happen, and what is being done to reverse France's slide?"--Jacket. A potted history of French cuisine Aux armes, cuisiniers! France in crisis The pain from Spain Star-crossed The last gentleman of Europe Fast-food nation The raw and the cooked "Without wine, it would be a desert" King of the world The new French revolution "Better than the original." Looks at the problems of French cuisine in the context of the political, economic and social crises that beset the nation and asks, How did this happen? And what is being done to reverse France's slide?