Part
of the beauty of the art of cooking is that it involves transience,
making something delightful that then vanishes, and that in turn
involves cherishing the time we spend on perfecting a dish. Cooking
yourself something delicious is rewarding, satisfying, cheering. It
makes us feel capable, creative, able to take care of ourselves. Cooking
for yourself makes you feel spoiled and cherished.
- Michèle Roberts

'Michèle Roberts’ enchanting book French Cooking for One proves la cuisine française
can be enjoyed alone, when there is nothing to interrupt the joy of
preparing good ingredients and turning them into enticing dishes. Her
anecdotes and notes of wisdom that accompany the recipes make her the
perfect companion in the kitchen.' – Carolyn Boyd, author of Amuse BoucheA unique work of literary and culinary joie de vivre, part food memoir, part recipe book, French Cooking for One
is Michèle Roberts' first cookbook, and a personal and quirky take on
Édouard de Pomiane's ten-minute cooking classic. Once a food writer for
the New Statesman, Roberts was born in 1949 and raised in a
bilingual French-English household, learning to cook from her French
grandparents in Normandy. Her love of food and cookery has always shone
through in her novels and short stories.


Whether
cooking for one on a daily or an occasional basis, cooking well for
yourself means cherishing yourself and your appetites, joyously giving
yourself pleasure, opening yourself to new experiences. This book will
encourage you to do all that.
- M. R.

French
cuisine, classic though it is, still holds delicious surprises. From
quick bites for busy days to sumptuous main courses for those who enjoy
spending more time in the kitchen, the focus throughout is on dishes
that are simple and fun to prepare, and results that are mouthwatering
to contemplate and, of course, to eat.

With over 160 delicious recipes, the majority of which are vegetarian, combined with piquant storytelling and feminist wit, French Cooking for One is a working cook's book with French flair, bursting with life and illustrated with the author's original ink drawings, full of charm and humour.

More than a handbook of classic French dishes, French Cooking for One does something that few, if any, cookbooks do: it bears testimony to a singular literary life.

Gorgeously
written vignettes of Roberts' childhood in Normandy and of her years
living in Pays de la Loire are peppered with anecdotes about
intellectual and artistic luminaries: an omelette prepared by Gertrude
Stein's cook for Picasso; a simple pasta dish calling to mind the French
philosopher Julia Kristeva and the Scottish poet Alison Fell's images
of female orgasm; and Emma Bovary's extraordinary wedding cake, among
others.

This slim paperback volume printed on woodfree
coated paper, with sewn binding for durability, fits easily on busy
kitchen shelves and is ideal for readers on the go.