16 Comments

Your article so perfectly captures what happened when many restaurants tried to copy Alice Waters with a shopping list of ingredients, rather than a chef cooking food they care about and putting their own personal spin on it. At the time, I wasn't excited about nouvelle cuisine and didn't think it was worth the price tag. Thanks for explaining why!

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Wondering (if you remember), was that long-ago article's title a play on the wonderful Anne Tyler titled novel of 1982, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant?

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“What people most want and need…food attention and love” So true and ever more profound now. Beautiful, Ruth.

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Did you ever visit Chapel in Mionnay?

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Enjoyed this article from the 80's. Funny to see a cigarette ad on the same page.

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Loved this article from the 1980s

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“Cooking is an act of generosity” what a great statement and so true

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"...we all got sophisticated without getting smart".

How could you forget that you wrote such a perfect sentence?

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2022 cookbooks you love pls

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Thank you, Ruth, for the remembrance of Catherine Brandel. What I remember most about her is that probably 30 people would have said she was their best friend. How did she do that? Everyone wanted to be around her--but I didn't know about Alain Chapel!

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Is this your mother who made the truly nauseating-sounding stew? Why would you take her to a French restaurant any higher-class than Jacques-in-le-Box...?

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Where do you stand on the term “foodie” now. Love it or hate it? Or somewhere in between?

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