Breakfast in Burgundy: A Hungry Irishman in the Belly of France by Raymond Blake

Laced with compelling writing about French food and its ways, Breakfast in Burgundy is part travel memoir, part foodie detective story, and part love song to Raymond’s adopted home. This book tells the story of the Blakes’ decision to buy a house in Burgundy. Raymond describes the moments of despair, such as the water leak that cost a fortune, and the fantastic times too.

Blake has admitted to being "fascinated by flavor and how it is created.” Breakfast in Burgundy contains tales from the kitchen, and the answer to the question that begins each day ("What’s for dinner?”) is given ample coverage. The hunt for the best jambon persillé is portrayed in detail. The same diligence is applied to the search for the best Comté cheese; for there’s Comté and there’s Comté once nibbled, never forgotten.

Yet to be perfected by Blake is Chicken Gaston Gérard, said to have been first cooked in Dijon in 1930 for the celebrated gourmet Curnonsky by the mayor’s wife. A neighboring winemaker’s wife prepared it for Blake, as he watched over her shoulder. Breakfast in Burgundy documents these results and more.

Included are tips on how best to prepare, cook, and serve the various goodies, as well as the story behind the wines (some of the most sought after in the world) that complement the foods, telling of people and places, who made the wine and where it is from without recourse to tedious technical detail or dry-as-tinder tasting notes.