A life by the menu
Editions L'Iconoclaste, 2021
Passion Literature Prize, 2022
The child was wild, the man embodies the excellence of French gastronomy. At L'Ambroisie, his three-Michelin-starred restaurant for over thirty years, Bernard Pacaud refines his legendary dishes for lunch and dinner.
A truffle turnover with a good mood, a half-mourning Bresse chicken, a thin shortbread tart with bitter cocoa... Like the mushrooms he cherishes, the chef prefers shadow to light. For ten years, Frédéric Laffont has gathered his rare words and, with a chiseled style, recreates a destiny, encounters with extraordinary beings, an endless quest for perfection.
A life, a century of culinary history, where we meet Mère Brazier, Jacques Lacan, Barak Obama, François Truffaut, Calamity Jane and the Absente.
Libération : “An intense biography. A deeply moving account, written by Frédéric Laffont. The intense writing style of this renowned reporter and documentary filmmaker, winner of the 1987 Albert Londres Prize for his coverage of the war in Lebanon, reflects his close friendship with the chef, whom he has known for thirty years.”
Le Figaro : “A remarkable biography. This book is unlike the usual culinary hagiographies; the author addresses his subject as if revealing his own story to him in order to soften the painful moments, the unknown father, the overly absent mother.”
France Inter, Nicolas Demorand : “This is the biography of a modest man who shuns the limelight. His cuisine speaks for him. Obsessive work. Asceticism. Silence. A poem.”
Sud Radio : « Excellent! »
Politis : “An original literary form to paint the portrait of an outstanding chef. The quintessence of the culinary arts.”
Télérama : “Let's taste this book!”
Bottin Gourmand : "A remarkable book that stands out from everything we know about culinary literature."
L’Opinion : "A book that left me breathless, which I read in one sitting, thinking on almost every page how lucky I am to know Danièle and him a little, and to love them.
I believe Honoré Balzac wrote, ‘We don't like something a little or a lot. We either like it or we don't.’ I like it."
Gilles Pudlowski : “An ode to Bernard Pacaud. A brilliant tribute to one of the great chefs of his time.”
Gastronomie : "A favorite. Frédéric Laffont's poetic pen reveals the story of one of the most illustrious, but certainly also one of the most discreet figures in French gastronomy. The story of a singular man, and the life of a great chef whose words are so rare that we revel in them here."
L’Hôtellerie : “A powerful and moving story right up to the last line.”
