Cookbook from France: Forest

Anyone who has seen the film "Ratatouille" knows that in the end it is the simple dishes that give the most pleasure.

This is no different in French cuisine, despite the cliché that the French are real snobs when it comes to eating.

Anyone who studies authors such as Edouard Louis or Annie Ernaux quickly learns that cuisine and wine are also class issues in France and that French cuisine has more to offer than wine, cheese and hours of complicated menus.

Enter Daniel Galmiche: The 64-year-old star chef has held up the tricolore of simple French cuisine for years.

His latest book ,

, is a spiritual sequel to his 2012

. Back then, Galmiche was dedicated to French classics ranging from bouillabaisse to onion soup.

But even a star chef must recognize that time does not stand still in the brasseries, that new ingredients and international influences leave their mark and that there are many new things to discover.

The new book

shows how rural cuisine has changed far away from the haute cuisine temples.

At Galmiche, pancetta (actually Italian) or ginger (Asian) sometimes make their way onto the list of ingredients, or a Thai-style rice pilaf onto the menu (guess where that came from).

Galmiche's approach is far removed from the culinary snobbery that the French like to be accused of: his tone is pleasant, the recipes are well explained and the fact that the first chapter lists basic recipes such as mayonnaise, croutons or creamy mashed potatoes is a big plus.

A few basic kitchen techniques such as sous vide cooking are also explained on the first few pages.

This is how the culinary journey can begin: in seven chapters, it takes you over hill and dale and into your own pantry.

The chapters have names like “Forest & Forest” or “Barn & Farm”.

The individual recipes are also provided with symbols that indicate in which season the ingredients used are in season.

The division is thought to be very cute, but also a little impractical.

For those who buy their ingredients in the supermarket anyway, it is relatively unclear whether the fish recipe can be found in the "Meadow, Stream & Hedge" chapter or better in the "From River & Sea" chapter.

A breakdown according to season would have made much more sense here, especially since seasonal cuisine is an important factor for everyone who cares about the environmental balance of their ingredients.

But how is it cooking with Galmiche's book?

The answer: just as solid as the kitchen it is presenting.

You should bring a little time with most of the recipes, because French home cooking cannot be shaken out of the sleeve so easily, even in the internationally updated contemporary version.

The book explains the recipes in detail, even if the individual work steps sometimes contain a few steps too little;

one of the rare cases in which a little more detail would have been good.

Small introductions above the instructions sometimes give a bit of background to the recipe.

Galmiche explains, for example, the origin of ceviche (a fish specialty from Peru that came to France via Spain), sometimes they simply encourage experimentation (different types of honey give a dessert a different taste), or Galmiche lets you peek into his private life (he is not a vegetarian, his son loves peas).

So if you like a bit of a personal touch in your cookbook, you'll be well served here.

The photos, on the other hand, are classic food photography that strives for a combination of the rustic and the modern and thus perfectly advertises the kitchen from this book.

By the way, Galmiche staged the food himself, together with the food stylist Aya Nishimura.

The rather dark

The rustic aesthetic of the images, however, clashes somewhat with the bright, playful illustrations on the cover and at the beginning of the chapter.

It doesn't look all that stringently designed.

But well, a cookbook is about the recipes and they are just right in

: modern home cooking with international influences.

Galmiche's book is not for purists or chefs looking for a standard work on brasserie cuisine.

But if you are looking for a book that offers new and surprising perspectives on well-known recipes, you will get your money's worth here.