One More Croissant for the Road

I didn't know what to expect when I ordered this book. I have one of her cookbooks, which I love and she is such a funny, lovely writer. There are recipes in this book, which is all about rediscovering the wonder ofFrench cooking but it is not a cookbook. It is even better than that. She writes about cycling through France, the food she eats and the food she longs to eat with such wit that I was roaring laughing the whole way through. A foodie book with cycling. Shades of Elizabeth David mixed with Nigel Slater with a touch of Jilly Cooper in the best possible way. I'm ordering another copy so I can have a copy on my cookbook shelf and my normal book shelf. Just loved it.

I like all the stuff mentioned in other reviews: the food, the cycling, the sheer greed on show, and above all the really good (and hilarious) writing. Felicity Cloake has a very good pedigree as a food writer, and this helps in many ways.A particular thing I liked was her unvarnished view of France. She really loves the country, the people and the food, but not in an over-romanticised way. Shops and restaurants are closed, campsites are dreadful, people can be grumpy, but it's all still worth it. In other words, she's experiencing real life. I live in France a lot, also love it, and I recognise and applaud this realism.

Loved it. Loved it. Loved it. It brought me back to France. I could feel the rain. I could taste the food, I have eaten most of the recipes in the book at one time or another in my life. I could see the countryside go by, or sense the frustration of going round and round stuck in one of those endless city periphery 'zone industrielle' or 'zone commercial' . As a food lovers take on the Tour de France Felicity Cloake invites us to join her through her different 'stades' a recipe at a time. Hence, 'Moules Marinieres' on the Cherbourg to Avranches leg of her tour or a 'Ratatouille' for the Marseille to Nice part etc... I can but recommend this cleverly crafted part travel book, part recipe book set in France.

Extremely good read, part travelogue, part cookbook and 100% fun throughout.One woman (and visiting friends) tour round France by cycle aiming to taste the definitive dishes of the regions.Loved the Croissant Count, and rating, at the end of each chapter and the little details such as the regional impacts of rail strikes.A great read and, if you cook the recipes, a treat for the tastebuds as well as the mind.

I am really enjoying this book. Well written, evocative of places and regions I have visited but not on a bike. As well as the French attitude to life. There are a few recipes scattered throughout but this is not a cook book.