Burgundy is a lush region of France, steeped in history and immersed in wine. Imagine a cooking school in a grand château, with a 3-star chef and guests from around the world….under a distant cloud of loss and betrayal. Joan Shore’s new book “Red Burgundy” is a story of progress vs. tradition, commerce vs. culture, the foreign and the familiar. (And the possibility that if you’re very lucky — or very unlucky — the past may catch up with you!)
The idea for the story, says Shore, arose from a visit she made many years ago to an actual cooking school (La Varenne) run by the British food writer, Anne Willan, in her château in Burgundy. “I sensed immediately that it was the setting for a wonderful tale — by adding a three-star French chef, a roster of international guests, a little sex, and a good deal of history/mystery. So I wrote it, and for some obscure reasons (too busy, too preoccupied, or both) I never tried to publish it. I finally decided it was now or never.” The story isn’t dated, she adds. “The questions raised about European integration, corporate raiders, and cultural identity are as pertinent now as ever. But the story is larded (to use a culinary term!) with humor and insight.”
Shore was born in New York City but has lived most of her life in Europe. In Brussels, she was Features Editor of The Bulletin and broadcast a weekly news program for Belgian radio. In Paris, she was correspondent for CBS News for nearly a decade, as well as Voice of America. She has contributed to CNN, The International Herald Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, and The Huffington Post, among others. Her first book, “Saging — How to Grow Older and Wiser”, has been her subject for numerous lectures.
She plans on giving talks about “Red Burgundy”, too. She says: “There is so much interest in food and wine these days. And although everyone in the world seems to have visited Paris, not many people know other regions of France — Burgundy, for example. Though I hope, of course, that this won’t cause a flood of tourism to this wonderful, still-peaceful region!”
“Red Burgundy” is available on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Red-Burgundy-Ms-Joan-Shore/dp/0615564046