Cassoulet Confessions, Sylvie Bigar
Cassoulet Confessions, Sylvie Bigar
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Cassoulet Confessions
Food, France, Family and the Stew That Saved My Soul

Author: Sylvie Bigar

Narrator: Suzanne Toren

Unabridged: 4 hr 58 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 01/30/2024

Synopsis

Cassoulet Confessions is an enthralling memoir by award-winning food and travel writer Sylvie Bigar that reveals how a simple journalistic assignment sparked a culinary obsession and transcended into a quest for identity. Set in the stunning southern French countryside, this honest and poignant memoir conveys hunger for authentic food and a universal hunger for home. In Cassoulet Confessions, Sylvie travels across the Atlantic from her home in New York to the origin of cassoulet—the Occitanie region of Southern France. There she immerses herself in all things cassoulet: the quintessential historic meat and bean stew. From her first spoonful, she is transported back to her dramatic childhood in Geneva, Switzerland, and finds herself journeying through an unexpected rabbit hole of memories. Not only does she discover the deeper meanings of her ancestral French cuisine, but she is ultimately transformed by having to face her unsettling, complex family history.

Sylvie's simple but poetic prose immerses us in her story: we smell the simmering aromas of French kitchens, empathize with her family dilemmas, and experience her internal struggle to understand and ultimately accept herself.

About Sylvie Bigar

Award-winning food and travel writer Sylvie Bigar was born in Geneva, Switzerland, and lives in New York City. Her writing has appeared widely, including in the New York Times, Washington Post, Food & Wine, forbes.com, Saveur, Bon Appetit, Edible, Departures, Travel & Leisure, and National Geographic Traveler. In French, Sylvie has contributed to Le Figaro, Histoire Magazine, Le Temps, and frenchmorning.com.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Donna on February 14, 2023

The illustrated cover and the dream of living in a French villa by the sea were the best parts of this book. Some of the time-traveling and name-dropping left me baffled. It’s as if I just tried to bake a mile high sponge cake but the directions were confusing and I ended up with a partridge pancake......more

Goodreads review by Ann on June 27, 2022

Like its eponymous dish, CASSOULET CONFESSIONS is a delicious slow-simmered concoction. Sylvie Bigar blends personal memoir with culinary research, history, and lore and the result is a heartfelt ode to terroir, family, and all the places we call home.......more

Goodreads review by Lenore on October 29, 2022

A tale that's about much more than the wonders of a delicious French dish or the master chefs who make it. The reader also takes a ride with writer Sylvie Bigar through the rigors of her past and present family life. The road is not always smooth, but we find comfort along with her in the flavors an......more

Goodreads review by Joanne on March 22, 2023

Cute storyline, however, the recipes in the back of the book which are 2 to 3 days of work are too much for me to attempt!......more

Goodreads review by Bronwen on July 04, 2023

This book made me fall in love with French food and gastronomy all over again. The author is very vulnerable about her own past and experiences around this dish. It has inspired me to give cassoulet a try and I’m looking forward to trying all the different versions listed in the back of the book!......more

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