White Truffles in Winter

Apr 04, 2012 Sharon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, historical-fiction, food, literature-classics

Such an imaginative book based on facts. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and all the rich, vivid details of place and food. Escoffier is an important historical figure. The main points are facts: where he lived and worked, his wife, his mistress, and more. The author deftly filled in what his life could have been based on known facts she researched. It's a fascinating story about an unusual man.

For those with culinary interests, there are intriguing food tidbits, but the story can be enjoyed by...more Such an imaginative book based on facts. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and all the rich, vivid details of place and food. Escoffier is an important historical figure. The main points are facts: where he lived and worked, his wife, his mistress, and more. The author deftly filled in what his life could have been based on known facts she researched. It's a fascinating story about an unusual man.

For those with culinary interests, there are intriguing food tidbits, but the story can be enjoyed by anyone. Culinary students learn about Escoffier's important contributions to the way we eat today but may know little about his personal life and what kind of person he was.

Escoffier's housekeeper in late life and many famous people of the time are prominent in the book. Culinary folk will recognize the name of Brillat-Savarin, another brilliant chef. Both of them used truffles, caviar, and fois gras liberally in their creations, as well as wines -- the wines sometimes used to drug crayfish and lobsters before cooking. Many such charming details pepper the story.

Escoffier and his wife, Delphine Daffis, a poet, lived in Monte Carlo. Escoffier worked in Paris and England and was often away from home for months or years at a time; Delphine refused to move away from Monte Carlo.

A couple of lovely romantic seduction scenes involve food and are all the more sensuous and unusual for that. There are bits of other history and war history and the Titanic plays into the story as well.

I loved this book and those who like historical fiction should enjoy it. Culinary enthusiasts will relish the richness of details. Although we will never know who Escoffier really was, this book is a beautiful and realistic tapestry of who he might have been. The writing is a joy to read. It helps to know a little French but isn't necessary.

Best of all, I learned a great deal reading it.

I think some of those who have reviewed this book poorly didn't really read and understand the book. That's apparent by comments made that are erroneous compared to the text of the book. Every author gets some of those, but authors who write intelligently seem to get more of those, unfortunately.(less)

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Nov 13, 2012 Judy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-reads, audiobook-e-book, new-york, food, france, fiction-the-arts

The story of chef, Auguste Escoffier, and the two women he loved, his poetess wife, Delphine Daffis, and the actress, Sarah Bernhard. This is a book that foodies would enjoy as it contains some of Escoffier's recipes, plus quotations from his books. This books is only rated 3.44 stars, but I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the audio version narrated by the author.

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Aug 19, 2012 Stephanie rated it 5 of 5 stars

A truly amazing book - excellently researched by the author, and superbly written. It's the story about the great French master chef Auguste Escoffier -a real chef- and his rise to fame in France (and around the world). It's also a tender love story.
Escoffier's love of his wife was legendary, but not as well known as his powerful love for the great actress of the time Sarah Bernhardt. This novel takes place from around the late 1800's to Escoffier's death in 1920.
Kelby's novel is rich with pow...more

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Jun 08, 2012 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-historical

This was an uneven telling of a story. It seemed as if this was a manuscript a decade or more in the making that had its limbs pasted together.

On the upside Auguste, Delphine, and Sarah had distinct points of view and voice. The recipes added luscious depth to characters and circumstances. Sometimes the dialog and narration was cohesive and captivating, especially for the final third of the book.

Too many times the weight of situation was treated with allusions, as in the suicide of Xavier. Ofte...more

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Mar 05, 2012 Ron Chicaferro rated it 5 of 5 stars

A truly amazing book - excellently researched and written. It's the story about the great French master chef Auguste Escoffier and his rise to fame in France and around the world. It's also a tender love story. Escoffier's love of his wife and also his powerful love for the great actress of the time Sarah Bernhardt. This novel takes place from around the late 1800's to Escoffier's death in 1920. The book is rich with powerful figures of the time - from well known world leaders to politicians and...more

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Nov 14, 2011 Jacqie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: didnt-finish

This was a prettily written book with no discernable plot. I couldn't really get a picture in my head of Escoffier, his wife Delphine, or Sarah Berhardt- their images kept sliding away, possibly because the writing of the characters seemed to be more about creating dramatic impact than developing character or consistancy.

There were all sorts of imagery that were beautiful (description of an Impressionist exhibit), but I just couldn't believe anything happening in the book would really happen. T...more This was a prettily written book with no discernable plot. I couldn't really get a picture in my head of Escoffier, his wife Delphine, or Sarah Berhardt- their images kept sliding away, possibly because the writing of the characters seemed to be more about creating dramatic impact than developing character or consistancy.

There were all sorts of imagery that were beautiful (description of an Impressionist exhibit), but I just couldn't believe anything happening in the book would really happen. There was talk about Escoffier trying to feed starving Parisians horsemeat, but he would garnish the horse with truffle and foie gras. What??!!

In fact, truffles and foie gras were everywhere, in almost every meal. Now, I like both these things, but even I, a devout foodie, got tired of reading about them with every meal. If I had believed in the accuracy of the book, I would have been more interested in reading about the meals, but I couldn't believe that I was reading anything other than the fancy of the author. I do like some reliable historical accuracy in my historical fiction, and I couldn't trust that I was getting it here.

So, imagery was indulged, I fear, at the expense of any realism. Maybe I'm wrong about this. But I couldn't fall into the story because I couldn't trust the author to give me something realistic in this work of fiction. Does that make sense?

I also did not get the sense of any relationships in the book. Escoffier stood alone, as did Delphine. They did things that made no sense to me (filling a house with tomatoes, cutting hands with a wine bottle in the kitchen) and again I had no greater context to see what was happening. What exactly was going on between the French and the Germans that made the wine bottle meal so fraught? What was the importance of tomatoes? I don't want to wait a hundred pages to figure out the answer.

So, ultimately, the book's meaning eluded me. Maybe I didn't get the symbology. Or maybe this was a matter of style over substance. Truffles garnishing horsemeat. (See, I can do a metaphor too!)(less)

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Mar 11, 2012 Randi rated it 2 of 5 stars

Loved the premise of the book but unless you're a major foodie many of the details will be over your head. The author spends more time on the food descriptions than she does on character or plot development. While I love food and cooking, I ended up skimming most of the cooking details because they made no sense to me. Wish the author had spent more time giving more insight into the choices the characters make. Why does Escoffier choose Delphine? What caused such a major rift between the two? Th...more

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Dec 18, 2011 Emily Crowe rated it 3 of 5 stars

First of all, isn't this a lovely cover, sensuously hinting at all of the good food writing contained therein? I do believe that it is the cover the first drew me to this book back when my Norton sales rep, David, was in town. He left me a copy of the ARC months ago but I'm just now getting around to reading it. Like that sweatshirt that my mom got me says, it's always a case of So many books, so little time.

This is the story of the great French chef, Escoffier, and his life and loves, told in...more First of all, isn't this a lovely cover, sensuously hinting at all of the good food writing contained therein? I do believe that it is the cover the first drew me to this book back when my Norton sales rep, David, was in town. He left me a copy of the ARC months ago but I'm just now getting around to reading it. Like that sweatshirt that my mom got me says, it's always a case of So many books, so little time.

This is the story of the great French chef, Escoffier, and his life and loves, told in a variety of ways: from the present, in which his wife Delphine, is dying but longing for him to create a dish in her honor; from chapters of the memoir which the present Escoffier is currently writing; and from the past, in which we get third person accounts of Escoffier's feats, ranging from wartime survival to loving Sarah Bernhardt, to running the kitchen at the famed Savoy in London. This hodgepodge of narratives robs the book of any real coherence. Early on, at least, the chapters alternate on a regular basis but in the latter half of the novel it switches a little willy-nilly and the novel suffers from this lack of continuity.

There are some gorgeous passages describing food in this novel--probably the best food writing I've read since Muriel Barbery's Gourmet Rhapsody. And I found my heart aching a little bit for Delphine, who on her death bed wants her husband to pay her the same compliment that he's paid his lovers through the years: to immortalize her through food. But there is very little character development here, and what little there is of Escoffier's development leaves me vastly disinterested in him. He seems to be a man of neither action nor honor.

The writing serves the story well enough, and there are a few moments of simple eloquence of art, food, & truth--and that narrative integrity simply be a matter of perception:

"Impossible stories--they are the key to all good restaurants. It [the "fresh" sole] could be frozen; it makes no difference. The diner will think it fresh, glorious. He pays for the story. If the story is told well, with imagination and conviction and the right amount of ego and embroidery, then it is true enough. And something that is true enough is all anyone can ever ask for."

If I had gone into this novel with any sort of expectations, I might say that I was disappointed. But instead I'll say that this was a pleasant interlude between far more serious and literary novels--an amuse bouche, if you will. In the end I found myself not caring much whether Escoffier created a dish for Delphine or not, or whether he had betrayed his country or not, or whether Sandra Bernhardt was pitiable or not. Reading about the intense passions the French reserve for their food, however? Now that was worth the prix fixe dinner! (less)

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Mar 30, 2012 Wendy rated it 3 of 5 stars

The descriptions in this book were lush and playful. The descriptions of food and cooking were especially well done. I think that Kelby captured the right balance of the sensual and cerebral that is at the heart of a lot of fine cuisine. Yet somehow, after all of those dazzling moments, I was not completely satisfied. I've thought about that and I've decided that that feeling is actually a credit to the novel.

Part of my problem is due to a personal sensitivity. I almost cannot bear stories of...more

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Dec 21, 2011 Ainee rated it 3 of 5 stars

The cover’s table setting on the book drew me to it whilst at the library, so I decided to give it a try. It is filled with edible delights created by the famed chef Escofier.

The mentioning of Kangaroo, and elephant, as something to dine on is impossible to imagine. Fish perhaps but not rabbits, suckling pigs and wild hens. Again it is up to the individual’s appetite.

Escofier had two loves other than culinary; he loved his wife Sabine but left her to be with another and returns to his wife at th...more

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Feb 22, 2013 Damaskcat rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Escoffier – world famous chef – won his wife Delphine in a billiard game. In spite of this unpromising but romantic start to their married life they do stay married and died within a fortnight of each other. But in between they spent many years apart with Escoffier working at the Savoy in London and Delphine remaining in France to bring up their children. The book starts with Delphine seriously ill and wanting Escoffier to create a dish in her honour. Throughout his life he has created many dish...more

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Jun 12, 2012 Becky Vowles rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: hist-fiction

Part Novel, part memoir, part recipe book, this is a lovely story well told. Brings to mind some of the best novels of Joanne Harris. Reading this book will make you want to cook!
Historically the facts behind the book are true. Auguste Escoffier was a historical character responsible for much of what we would recognise about the modern restaurant experience. His recipes do indeed include many we would recognise today as absolute classics; such as two created for Dame Nellie Melba- the Peach Melb...more

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Feb 06, 2013 T K rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is not what I would say... "extraordinary". It will never be considered a Literature, a true masterpiece, or an all time classic. In some ways, the praises given for this book seems to be exaggerated.

However, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it in a way a short swim is enjoyable. And one does not need to have superb swimming skills to enjoy swimming, right? It's the same for a book.

Now that I have established that the book is meant for fun, and exclusively for fun... I would like to praise the...more This book is not what I would say... "extraordinary". It will never be considered a Literature, a true masterpiece, or an all time classic. In some ways, the praises given for this book seems to be exaggerated.

However, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it in a way a short swim is enjoyable. And one does not need to have superb swimming skills to enjoy swimming, right? It's the same for a book.

Now that I have established that the book is meant for fun, and exclusively for fun... I would like to praise the sensuous descriptions and details. The descriptions of food, setting, people are lush without being awkward. Honestly, the story's mood and the narrator's tone is heady and intoxicating. I felt like I was in a dining room described just in the book. Rich and revelling... and the lush descriptions are one of the reasons why.

(It is very possible that the descriptions become obstacles to reading. Just bear in mind, that everything is to be fancy and decorative in the book-- both the writing, and Escoffier's taste. Ostentatious? Dreamy? Perhaps. But that just seems to be how Escoffier wanted his meals to be like... with all extra details and stories. As I said, the mood and the narrator's tone fit well with the descriptions.)

While this book shows only a segment of Escoffier's supposed life... We see a man's life, not just one love story that once happened long time ago. There are loads of other details, not just attractions between a man and a woman (such as fear, desire/motives, inner struggles, and war). Not that the details are exact-- they are evasive and elusive but you definitely get a "sense". Nevertheless, those details are what that makes this story enjoyable(and apart from silly, cliched romance novels as well).

The plot goes back and forth, concentrating when Escoffier was young and old. Three women that will appear frequently is: Delphine (Escoffier's wife), Sabine (helper/cook), Sarah (friend/former-lover of Escoffier). You miss Delphine when the story concentrates on Bernhardt. You wonder where Sabine had gone to. An advice I could give for this potentially confusing storyline is to just follow what the author shows. The author has lots of control in this book, since there are details and events she choose, and choose not to, reveal. I felt as if I was shown glimpses of Escoffier's life, that in whole, make a story.

The book is worth a try. It definitely is what I would say, a "goodread".(less)

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Dec 18, 2011 Terryann rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: audio, grownups-fiction, lj-books-reviewed

Kelby, N.M. White Truffles in Winter. unabridged. 9 CDs. 10.5 Hours. Books on Tape. Nov 2011. ISBN: 978-0-307-97034-3 $40.00. F

Auguste Escoffier once the King of Chefs and Chef of Kings was a passionate romantic, obsessed with the the 5th taste - deliciousness - and beautiful women. As his poetess wife of 55+ years, Delphine Daffis Escoffier, is in her death bed, Auguste reminisces about his life, his delectable inventions and his lover Sarah Bernhardt the beautiful, scandalous actress. Seen thr...more

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Nov 19, 2011 Sandie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-books, contemporary-lit, historical-fiction

The first thing to remember when reading WHITE TRUFFLES IN WINTER by N.M. Kelby is that while the three central characters are "real" the story itself is the work of the author's rather vivid imagination. In it she conjures up a tale of food, love, and the love of food. Her imaginative journey into the life of food-obsessed chef, Auguste Escoffier, his unconventionally liberated wife, poet Delphine Daffis, and the "other woman" in his life - the bold, free-spirited Sarah Bernhardt is as delectab...more The first thing to remember when reading WHITE TRUFFLES IN WINTER by N.M. Kelby is that while the three central characters are "real" the story itself is the work of the author's rather vivid imagination. In it she conjures up a tale of food, love, and the love of food. Her imaginative journey into the life of food-obsessed chef, Auguste Escoffier, his unconventionally liberated wife, poet Delphine Daffis, and the "other woman" in his life - the bold, free-spirited Sarah Bernhardt is as delectable to one's reading palate as the dishes created by this amazing chef who pioneered French cuisine.

Being neither a gourmet cook nor an expert in fine dining, I was not personally familiar with the name Auguste Escoffier but discovered that I was, however, familiar with some of the dishes he created like Peach Melba and Cherries Jubilee (created for Queen Victoria) as well as some of the famous places where he plied his talent like The Ritz, The Carlton and The Savoy hotels.

The tale is basically told in retrospect by an aged Escoffier and combines the story of his unconventional love life with unusual recipes, related in a most uncommon manner. At times the recipes almost overwhelm the story as Kelby chooses to demonstrate Escoffier's compulsion for creating the new and unusual in an effusive and highly romanticized fashion. For this reader at least, some of this descriptive writing was a little "over the top" and flowery in conveying the message that Escoffier could never really be as loving and devoted to any woman as he was to his first true love, food for which he abandoned family, friends and homeland.

Author Kelby presents an interesting take on the life of Escoffier and his many contributions to the art of cooking. Possibly his most important contribution can be appreciated by folks such as Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse, Gordon Ramsey, and their ilk since it was Escoffier who raised the bar, so to speak, in elevating the "cook" from the status of lowly servant to "chef", a respected and financially rewarding profession in addition to introducing the organized discipline necessary to successful restaurant kitchen management. Overall, this is a book that makes every reader consider their own relationship with food and whether it could every reach the level of obsession experienced by Escoffier.

One last question: Is the title of the book and it's placement in the novel a metaphor for the initial beauty of youth which we try in vain to preserve from the inevitable passing of time and of the ultimate decay and death which awaits us all?- 3 ½ stars (less)

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Mar 13, 2013 Sfar89 rated it 3 of 5 stars

I didn't fully enjoy this book. This book sounded like a good read, and is why I suggested it to my book club. I never felt a connection with any of the characters. I could have even put the book down half way and never picked it up again, and that wouldn't have bothered me.
The cooking and food mentioned in the book were its only saving grace. I love to cook. I could feel my hunger as Sabine ate the langoustines in the stairwell, and licked her fingers clean. By the end of the book I realized t...more

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May 22, 2012 Pippa rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was an extraordinary novel that brought to life the complex chef Escoffier and those associated with him whilst being based on a few concrete facts.

The descriptions throughout, particularly of the incredible dishes, were rich and complex. The food was brought to life and and as a reader my senses were awakened to the inventiveness and imagination of such a groundbreaking chef.

Despite this incredible attention to detail and description, the novel flowed and the characters were well develop...more

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Jun 11, 2012 Cherie Magnus rated it 4 of 5 stars

Beautifully written, even more so if you are hungry.
As far as I can tell, the facts of Escoffier's life are there. Perhaps his private life is embroidered a bit,
but it is a novel after all. A very entertaining read, especially if you are a foodie like me.
However living as I do in a land where the ingredients he uses do not exist (except for eggs, cream and parsley), I was frustrated at the sensuous descriptions of the dishes.
If you like to cook--if you like to eat well, this easy read can be...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Katherine rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, realistic-fiction

I fell completely in love with this novel; I read it slowly to savour every moment. Food, history, and longing are captured so eloquently that I felt like I could taste and smell every scene.
Since this novel is about an actual historical person, it was great how other history and historical people were incorporated into the novel - I learned a lot of things I had no idea about previously.

The entire novel is made up of beautiful sentences and paragraphs; the end of one chapter in particular I f...more I fell completely in love with this novel; I read it slowly to savour every moment. Food, history, and longing are captured so eloquently that I felt like I could taste and smell every scene.
Since this novel is about an actual historical person, it was great how other history and historical people were incorporated into the novel - I learned a lot of things I had no idea about previously.

The entire novel is made up of beautiful sentences and paragraphs; the end of one chapter in particular I found so striking I had to read it out loud to my significant other:

[in speaking with Emperor Wilhelm II]"...I said, 'Your Majesty, I pray that before the end of your reign, we will see the time when the greatest of all humanitarian acts will be accomplished: the reconciliation of Germany and France.' This brought tears to his eyes. He assured me that reconciliation was indeed his greatest desire, something he had worked for and had been working for, but that he was misunderstood, misrepresented. Indeed. The journalists in newspapers around the world had painted him a villain. And then he said, 'I have the greatest hopes of seeing my desires realized, and I pray for it with all my heart, for the greater welfare of mankind. Reconciliation is my greatest desire.'
I wrote his words down as soon as he said them and for many years have read and re-read them. In German, the word for reconciliation is Versohnung. In French, réconciliation. They are completely different words, although I did not recognize it at the time. Shortly after our meeting, on August 3 1914, the Emperor declared war on France. On November 1 1914, my dear son Daniel, a lieutenant in the 363rd Alpine Regiment, was hit by German fire. A single bullet shattered his face, killing him instantly, and leaving his four children for me to bring up.
Brillat-Savarin once said, 'Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are.' Thanks to the Germans, I have consumed a great many things that I would like to have forgotten - horses, rats, spaniels - and this has made me hungry in unimaginable ways." (pages 101-2)(less)

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Jun 24, 2012 Patricia rated it 3 of 5 stars

A fictionalized life of Auguste Escoffier - the chef who set the stage for how we dine today in courses. The story is set primarily when he and his wife are approaching death and her greatest wish is that he create a recipe for her, like he has done for so many others - including many for his lifetime lover, Sarah Bernhardt. The book moves back and forth between the past and the end of Escoffier's life, telling the story of his tumultous loves, his passion for food and cooking, and his career i...more

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Jan 19, 2012 Candice rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Carol W.

A fictionalized account of the life of Auguste Escoffier (1846-1935). Such beautiful writing! I could almost see, hear, feel, smell and taste the story. The descriptions of some of the dishes he prepared made me want to prepare them myself. Although fiction, many things were true. He did win his wife, the poet Delphine Daffis, in a poker game! He carried on a decades-long affair with the actress Sarah Bernhardt. He lived apart from his wife for a good deal of their marriage. N.M. Kelby tells his...more

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Mar 31, 2012 Roberta rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Escoffier è un grande chef e un giorno vince la sua futura sposa al biliardo... La prima volta che Delfine entra nella cucina del neo marito pensa che è solo cibo, ma da quel giorno un mondo fatto di magia e nuovi meravigliosi sapori si apre davanti a lei...

Tartufi Bianchi in Inverno racconta la vita, gli amori e i grandi sogni di un grande cuoco francese: Auguste Escoffier, colui che diede ai suoi piatti i nomi di attrici, cantanti, imperatori e regine e che diede vita alla suddivisione della c...more Escoffier è un grande chef e un giorno vince la sua futura sposa al biliardo... La prima volta che Delfine entra nella cucina del neo marito pensa che è solo cibo, ma da quel giorno un mondo fatto di magia e nuovi meravigliosi sapori si apre davanti a lei...

Tartufi Bianchi in Inverno racconta la vita, gli amori e i grandi sogni di un grande cuoco francese: Auguste Escoffier, colui che diede ai suoi piatti i nomi di attrici, cantanti, imperatori e regine e che diede vita alla suddivisione della cucina per specialità.
La storia prende il via dai ricordi di Madame Escoffier, Delphine, nel 1935 anno in cui sia lei sia il marito morirono... Il racconto degli ultimi giorni di Auguste e Delphine è alternato da flashback della vita dello chef a pagine tratte dalla sua Guida ed ogni racconto è accompagnato da una ricetta, ogni piatto è descritto così minuziosamente fin dalla preparazione che a lettore sembra di riuscirne a sentire il profumo nell'aria.
Una storia travolgente, poetica e romantica, ma anche triste e drammatica: il lettore viene rapito dal racconto, lo vive e lo gusta anche se qualche volta si perde tra i vari balzi temporali tra presente e passato.
I personaggi principali sono Delphine, Escoffier e l'attrice Sarah Bernhardt ed ognuno di loro è ben delineato, descritto con tale precisione che quasi si materializzano davanti agli occhi del lettore, che impara a conoscerli a fondo e li guarda mentre si espongono e si liberano delle loro maschere per mostrarsi come sono davvero...
Escoffier è un genio della cucina, per lui cucinare è pura poesia, non mette solo insieme degli ingredienti bensì li rende pura arte. Un uomo che ha amato due donne per tutta la sua vita, ma nessuna delle due più di quanto amasse la cucina.
Delphine è una donna forte, che però non ha mai capito quanto davvero l'amasse il marito e che involontariamente con le sue scelte lo ha spesso allontanato da lei... Nonostante ciò ha continuato a credere in quell'amore fatto di poesia, ricette e sapori unici.
Sarah Bernhardt, il cui vero nome era Rosine: una donna avvolta nel mistero e negli scandali, che basò la sua vita sulla recitazione, ma che a suo modo amò Escoffier pur non essendo mai sua. Una donna che si nascondeva dietro le maschere dei suoi personaggi, ma che era in realtà capace di una grande umanità e forza d'animo... Una donna che continua a recitare anche quando il suo corpo, ormai mutilato e troppo vecchio, non riesce più a sorreggerla.
Tre personaggi, tre storie e un grande amore... Per tutto il libro si rincorrono, si perdono e si ritrovano, ma senza mai raggiungersi davvero, senza mai diventare una cosa sola: sono come tre ingredienti incapace di amalgamarsi tra di loro.
E poi c'è Sabine... una giovane cuoca alle dipendenze di casa Escoffier nel 1935, colei che aiutata dal grande chef e dalla moglie darà vita a "nuove storie" fatte di cibo e ricordi.
Molti dei luoghi in cui si svolgono i fatti non sempre sono ben descritti, l'autrice ha infatti cercato di concentrare l'attenzione del lettore sulla figura di Escoffier e di coloro che hanno fato parte della sua vita: lui e ma sua cucina sono i veri protagonisti, la sua tristezza, quella sensazione di solitudine e di non esser mai davvero a casa, quella sua inquietudine, ma soprattutto la sua felicità quando si ritrova in cucina e deve iniziare a creare.
Lo stile della Kelby è armonioso, il linguaggio non troppo sofisticato riesce a catturare l'essenza stessa dei piatti descritti e dei vari personaggi travolgendo il lettore, facendolo appassionare e sognare luoghi e tempi lontani ormai dimenticati. Unica pecca della Kelby è che a volte ha raccontato in modo confuso i vari avvenimenti, saltando dal presente al passato senza un vero ordine e inserendo nella lettura stralci della Guida dello chef creando un po' di confusione, ma per fortuna è un piccolo difetto che non va ad intaccare minimamente la bellezza della storia.
Quando si inizia la lettura è come se ci si sedesse ad uno dei tavoli di Escoffier: piatto dopo piatto si scopre la vita di un grande chef e degli altri suoi commensali, quando ci arriva all'ultima portata si ha voglia di esser stupiti ancora con il dolce e quando infine si chiude il libro ci si alza sazi e un po' malinconici e con in bocca ancora il sapore di una lettura che racchiude in sé tutti gli aromi della vita.(less)

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Sep 17, 2012 Vikki rated it 3 of 5 stars

White Truffles in Winter by N.M. Kelby was enjoyable and I am glad I read it. It is a novel written around the few facts that are known about Auguste Escoffier's life. He was a famous chef that worked at the Ritz in Paris and the Savoy in London and lived from 1846 - 1936. I do love this "genre". Escoffier did win his wife in a pool game. They lived apart for thirty years but did end up together at the end of their lives.
Each page of this book was filled with talk of food. I think I gained ten...more

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Mar 04, 2013 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: french-francophone, culinary

White Truffles in Winter finally is available at my wonderful library. I began last night and am immersed! A delightful read.

The novel White Truffles in Winter spans the life of French chef Auguste Escoffier, introducing the reader to his masterful touch in the kitchen as well as his love for his wife Delphine Daffis and also French stage and film actress Sarah Bernhardt. Much like the complexity and precision of the recipes which he composes over a 60-plus year career, the story allows the read...more

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Jan 16, 2012 Sara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, food-allsorts, kindle-books, ladywriters

This book is as opulent and sensuous as the title suggests. Although the characters and narrative go through long stretches of poverty, war, and deprivation, everyone is so hungry for beauty and deliciousness and romance that they find it, even if they have to root it out of the earth. So the novel is immensely satisfying to read in some respects - the description of food and meals is glorious! - but frustrating in another, as none of the characters exhibit the same sensitivity and mastery when...more

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Nov 22, 2011 Petrea rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: petrea-s-book-shelf, read-on-kindle

This novel is about the famous French chef Auguste Escoffier who lived through the Franco-Prussian War, the first World War, and barely died in time to missed the Second World War. He was the most famous chef in the world and established a lot of the practices that are still followed in fine kitchens. This book is full of menus, discussions of food, politics, famous people, gossip, intrigue, a very strange marriage and plenty of romantic encounters with the rich and famous. I really enjoyed it,...more

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Nov 29, 2011 Jennifer Cain rated it 4 of 5 stars

I received WHITE TRUFFLES IN WINTER as a First Reads giveaway. It was delicious. Although I have read books with food relations in the past, they have always seemed a little cheesy (not a bad thing). However, this is the exception. The book detailed romance and elegance. Who ever knew there were so many uses for fois gras, champagne, and truffles?

Historical figures played a prominent role in the story yet it remained fiction. I enjoyed the eccentric nature of Sarah and the chef's dedication to h...more

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Jan 05, 2013 N. rated it 2 of 5 stars

Initially the descriptions of food in this book were lyrical and beautifully vivid. Eventually, it took away from the story and just became unnecessary fluff. The time line was poorly described and a bit confusing at times, which unfortunately just made me lose interest in the characters. The male protagonist was an incredibly selfish man, so I never bonded with him. I sympathized with Delphine simply because she could never live up to Escoffier's first love/mistress, but that was the only true...more

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Oct 07, 2012 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-mt-bookpile

At times, this reminded me of The Unprejudiced Palate and The Pedant in the Kitchen with the descriptions of the various foods and recipes and discussions how food should be appreciated. That's not a bad thing - I wish there'd been more of that! The historical fiction part was also interesting, but uneven.

Set in the final year(s) of Auguste Escoffier's life and filled with flashbacks, we get a mishmash of fact and fiction. For example, his career trajectory was well known, but his relationship w...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Andrea rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club

This book was the selection for a book club I was asked to join. Most of the people in it are great cooks and several grow their own food. I was a little intimindated to join since I do not like to cook and I was not sure if the book was going to be too abstract for me.
I am ashamed to admit I did not even realize Escoffier was a real person until more than halfway through the book.
This book was something I never would have picked myself but that is the beauty of a book club- reading outside my...more This book was the selection for a book club I was asked to join. Most of the people in it are great cooks and several grow their own food. I was a little intimindated to join since I do not like to cook and I was not sure if the book was going to be too abstract for me.
I am ashamed to admit I did not even realize Escoffier was a real person until more than halfway through the book.
This book was something I never would have picked myself but that is the beauty of a book club- reading outside my comfort zone and finding something interesting and enjoyable. I had to frequent Google as I looked up the time frame and some of the historical references that I was not familiar with. I was never sure what was fact and what was embelished for the story.
Although it may have made it a bit hard to follow, I enjoyed the fact that the narrative jumped between time frames and points of view. The descriptions of some of the culinary delights, the preparation, and presentation were downright poetic. However it just confirmed the fact that cooking is an anxiety producing effort for me.
I know most of the women in the group could not get past Escoffoer’s infidelity and they did not care for him as a character. In fact he had several unscrupulous practices that were romanticised. While he was not a likeable character I do appreciate his passion for his art-and it truly was an art to him, even if he had to embellish the truth to give the illusion of what would please the aristocrats that he often served.
There was something I found hopelessly romantic about his return to his wife at the end of his career, and the way they were able to reconnect on a primal level-over food of course.
I don’t know if I would recommend this book to anyone I know but I did enjoy it and some of the quotes that stuck with me.

Perhaps love is the worst addiction of all.

describing Barnum
He was an unparalleled promoter, unrepentant liar and public dreamer-a man with a chef’s heart.

Happiness is our best revenge.

“I love you Madame Escoffier.”
“There were times when you had forgotten this.”
He said nothing. It ws true and they both knew it.
“To be forgotten is the saddest thing of all,” she said.(less)

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