Reviewed by Artemis on
White Truffles in Winter delights the senses in this tale of fiction and fact, about the life and loves of famed chef Auguste Escoffier. Based on the simplest of facts: where he lived, worked, his wife and children, his mistress, and contributions to the culinary world, author N.M. Kelby fills in the blanks in this imaginative story about an unusual man.
The book flips between “present” day Escoffier, an elderly man who has returned home to live out his days with his ailing wife, poet Delphine Daffis, and children, alongside his difficult young housekeeper, and Escoffier at significant points in his career. Cameos by actress Sarah Berndhart (also his mistress), Queen Victoria and countless others pepper each story about Escoffier’s life. This book was a clever mix of culinary and historical fiction, and although we will never know the true extent to which Escoffier lived out his life, this book was a beautiful portrait of who he might have been. Kelby is a wonderful writer and I look forward to more of her books.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 1 May, 2016: Finished reading
- 1 May, 2016: Reviewed