by Alice Waters
First published 2012
Richard Olney arrives in New York in 1951 as a struggling artist, waiting tables in Greenwich Village to survive. His path leads him to Paris, where he discovers the simple beauty of French cooking that will define his life's work. Waters follows Olney through nearly five decades in Europe, where he transforms from an American expatriate into the writer who introduced French culinary simplicity to American kitchens. Olney battles to capture the essence of French food and wine in his writing, producing over 35 books including French Menu Cookbook and Simple French Food. His unexpected death in 1999 at his home in Sollies-Toucas, France, ended a career that bridged two culinary worlds. This story reveals how one man's artistic vision changed how Americans think about cooking.
Genres: biography, art, 20th-century, cooking, 21st-century, food-and-drink, food-writing, food-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water
Setting: France, Greenwich Village, New York, Paris, Sollies-Toucas
Period: 1951, 1999
418 pages · Hardcover · Brick Tower Press