Reflexions ~ Paperback ~ Richard Olney

The book begins in New York in 1951 where Olney, a struggling artist, waited tables in Greenwich Village, then moves to Paris and weaves a magical description of food that becomes so real -- as if you were actually there with Olney: "My first meal in Paris was in a glum little dining room for boarders, in the Hotel de l'Academie, at the corner of rue de l'Universite and the rue des Saints-Peres. The plat du jour was 'gibelotte, pommes mousseline' -- rabbit and white wine fricassee with mashed potatoes. The gibelotte was all right, the mashed potatoes the best I had ever eaten, pushed through a sieve, buttered and moistened with enough of their hot cooking water to bring them to a supple, not quite pourable consistency -- no milk, no cream, no beating. I had never dreamt of mashing potatoes without milk and, in Iowa, everyone believed that, the more you beat them, the better they were." This book is a long-awaited story of the man who brought the simplicity of French cooking to the United States, and a statement about one of the finest and most important food professionals in the world.Author BiographyRichard Olney, one of the first food writers to introduce the simple joys of French cooking to American readers was an American who lived in Europe for almost 50 years. He died unexpectedly July 31, 1999. Author of more than 35 titles and inspiration to hundreds more. A resident of Sollies-Toucas, France, Olney was close to his art and family and friends.