Synopses & Reviews
Clotilde Dusoulier is a twenty-seven-year-old Parisian who adores sharing her love of all things food-related recipes, inspirations, restaurant experiences, and above all the pleasure of cooking with the fresh ingredients found in her local Montmartre shops. But her infatuation with food was born not in her mother's Parisian kitchen, but in San Francisco, where she moved after college and discovered a new world of tastes. When she returned to her beloved France, her culinary exploits inspired her popular and critically acclaimed blog, ChocolateandZucchini.com.
In her first book, Dusoulier provides a glimpse into the life of a young Parisian as she savors all that the city has to offer and shares her cooking philosophy in the form of more than 75 recipes that call for healthy ingredients (such as zucchini) and more indulgent tastes (such as chocolate). The Los Angeles Times calls her recipes "simple, charming, and fun."
Appetizers such as Cumin Cheese Puffs, sandwiches and tarts like Tomato Tatin, soups like Chestnut and Mushroom, main dishes including Mustard Chicken Stew, and desserts like Chocolate and Caramel Tart can all be found alongside menus for entertaining, as well as tips for throwing cocktail or dinner parties with French flair. Chocolate & Zucchini is the book for anyone who has journeyed to Paris and can still recall the delicious flavors and aromas or for those of us who only dream about them.
Review
"Clotilde Dusoulier, a young French woman who discovered her love for food in the United States, shares with readers her lighthearted, enthusiastic, and thoroughly modern approach to a very personal culinary passion." Susan Herrmann Loomis, author of On Rue Tatin and The French Farmhouse Cookbook
Review
"Dusoulier has a great deal of charm, and her recipes are fresh and appealing." Library Journal
Review
"Is there any food lover who doesn't dream about living, cooking, and eating in Paris? This charming homage to French home cooking feeds that fantasy with a feast." Melissa Clark
Review
"Clotilde Dusoulier's comfortable, homey food has just the right amount of authentic French flair, and her stories of life in Paris speak to food's universal ability to bring people together and make them happy. Of course, being transported to Paris never hurts either." Dave Lieberman
Synopsis
Illustrated throughout with Dusoulier's evocative photography, Chocolate & Zucchini is the book for anyone who has journeyed to Paris and can still recall the delicious tastes and aromas or for those who only dream about them.
About the Author
Clotilde Dusoulier lives in Montmartre. Her award-winning blog, "Chocolate & Zucchini," was launched in 2003.
Author Q&A
Recently, Fodors.com interviewed Clotilde Dusoulier, author of
Chocolate & Zucchini and creator of the mouthwatering blog of the same name. The Paris-based author focuses on cooking and eating in the City of Light. Here she shares with us some of her local food discoveries.
Q: While your blog and cookbook center on home cooking, you also occasionally write about restaurant meals—everything from Alain Ducasse’s soigné bistro Aux Lyonnais to a hole-in-the-wall source for Vietnamese sandwiches. Do you have any recent restaurant discoveries to share?
A: I've really enjoyed my recent visit to Le Grand Pan [20 rue Rosenwald], a freshly opened Basque bistro in the 15th arrondissement that serves a deliciously hearty Southwestern French fare, such as a grilled pork belly served with thick fries and chanterelles. Also in the 15th, I've just been introduced to an excellent family-owned Korean restaurant called L'Arbre de Sel [138 rue de Vaugirard] where the food is authentic and very fresh.
Q: Are there any places you’d recommend for a special breakfast in Paris—something more substantial than the standard coffee-and-croissant?
A: I should first note that breakfast is a meal that's typically taken at home in France, and Parisians don't really eat out for breakfast. However, if you want to enjoy a good French-style breakfast—fruit juice, café au lait, bread or brioche with butter and jam, yogurt, a soft-boiled egg—I recommend Coquelicot in the 18th [24 rue des Abbesses], or Bread & Roses in the 6th [7 rue de Fleurus]. Both have outdoor seating, too, so you can enjoy the morning sunshine.
Q: What’s your favorite street, square, or neighborhood you like to visit when you’re hungry?
A: I am fortunate enough to live in Montmartre, a neighborhood that's rife with specialty food shops, so I do most of my shopping in the market streets around me, on Rue des Martyrs, Rue des Abbesses, and Rue Lepic. All you need is right here—bakeries, pastry shops, fish shops, butchers, cheese shops, wine sellers, charcuteries, spice shops—and you even have several to choose from for each kind.
Q: As you write in the introduction to your cookbook, food shopping is a wonderful way to explore a city and a culture. Which are your favorite weekly food markets in Paris? Which would give visitors a truly local “slice of life”?
A: My favorite is the Marché des Batignolles, an all-organic farmers market that's held on Saturday mornings in the 17th, and where I buy produce, cheese, meat, and flowers. It is not the largest, but the selection is varied and inspiring, and it is one of few markets in Paris where the stall-keepers are actually growers, and not just retailers.
Q: One of my favorite aspects of your cookbook is the section on desserts: not one, not two, but four chapters devoted to sweet things. Where has your strong sweet tooth led you lately? Which pastry or chocolate shops do you find yourself returning to again and again?
A: I like to keep an eye on what the big-name pastry chefs are doing—Pierre Hermé in particular—but I most enjoy visiting the younger and the lesser-known, such as Fabrice Le Bourdat at Blé Sucré in the 12th [7 rue Antoine–Vollon] (try the glazed madeleines and the chocolate bars with crunchy flecks of salted caramel), or Claire Damon at Des Gâteaux et du Pain in the 15th [63 bd Pasteur] (try the chocolate and hazelnut éclair or the violet Saint-Honoré).