Cooking Around the World: Japanese
Author: Masaki Ko
These are recipes which are all accessible to the Western cook, whether served individually or in combination as a complete Japanese meal.
New interesting textbook: Green Gold or Effective Environmental Health and Safety Management Using the Team Approach
The Essence of Style: How the French Invented High Fashion, Fine Food, Chic Cafes, Style, Sophistication, and Glamour!
Author: Joan DeJean
What makes fashionistas willing to pay a small fortune for a particular designer accessory -- a luxe handbag, for example? Why is it that people all over the world share the conviction that a special occasion only becomes really special when a champagne cork pops -- and even more special when that cork comes from a bottle of Dom Pérignon? Why are diamonds the status symbol gemstone, instantly signifying wealth, power, and even emotional commitment?
One of the foremost authorities on seventeenth-century French culture provides the answer to these and other fascinating questions in her account of how, at one glittering moment in history, the French under Louis XIV set the standards of sophistication, style, and glamour that still rule our lives today.
Joan DeJean explains how a handsome and charismatic young king with a great sense of style and an even greater sense of history decided to make both himself and his country legendary. When the reign of Louis XIV began, his nation had no particular association with elegance, yet by its end, the French had become accepted all over the world as the arbiters in matters of taste and style and had established a dominance in the luxury trade that continues to this day. DeJean takes us back to the birth of haute cuisine, the first appearance of celebrity hairdressers, chic cafes, nightlife, and fashion in elegant dress that extended well beyond the limited confines of court circles. And Paris was the magical center -- the destination of travelers all across Europe.
As the author observes, without the Sun King's program for redefining France as the land of luxury and glamour, there might never have been a Stork Club, a BergdorfGoodman, a Chez Panisse, or a Cristophe of Beverly Hills -- and President Clinton would never have dreamed of holding Air Force One on the tarmac of LAX for an hour while Cristophe worked his styling genius on the president's hair.
Written with wit, dash, and élan by an author who knows this astonishing true story better than virtually anyone, The Essence of Style will delight fans of history and everybody who wonders about the elusive definition of good taste.
The New York Times - William Grimes
In The Essence of Style, her effervescent account of the birth of French chic, Joan DeJean returns, again and again, to the idea that virtually everything associated with the high life today can be traced back to one man, whose tastes and desires transformed France into an international luxury brand.
Publishers Weekly
Not only do French women not get fat, they've led the world in style for the past 300 years. French historian DeJean's premise is simple yet wonderfully effective: largely because of one obsessive spendthrift, Louis XIV, France, in the late 17th century, became the arbiter of chic, a position from which it has never since faltered. Louis's outrageous vanity, sumptuous court and devotion to his own well-being led to growth in the manufacturing of fine clothing and shoes, and the invention of shops in which to buy them, and to celebrity cuisine, cafes and Champagne (a particularly amusing-and explosive-chapter). Louis was enthralled by glitter, which fostered a huge increase in the diamond trade; the theft of the Venetians' mirror-making secrets and subsequent rise of France as world leader in that field; and the first night streetlights (hence the "City of Lights"). Louis also abhorred mud (so streets were paved with cobblestones) and disliked getting wet (thus umbrellas were invented). This engaging history "lite"-to be published on Bastille Day-is a fun read despite its many Sex in the City references. Photos, illus. Agent, Alice Martell. (July 14) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
School Library Journal
Adult/High School-DeJean gives readers an entertaining and engrossing account of how and when France cornered the market on luxury. Beginning with a description of what life was like before Louis XIV ascended the throne in 1643, she then details the radical changes that occurred as he and his ministers redirected French manufactures toward the creation of new luxury items. Each of the various subjects she discusses has its own chapter that can stand alone; taken together they show how desire for style created new products and markets. Louis's sumptuous, constantly redesigned wardrobe was copied by his court. The interest in the elegant new styles led to the development of the fashion press. The magazines with their engravings (the original fashion plates) enthralled the common people, who wanted their own bit of glamour. The manufacture of luxury accessories allowed almost everyone to feel like a fashionista. Since women needed somewhere to show off their stylish clothes, the dark, smoky coffeehouses were replaced by elegant, glittering cafes with fine coffee and exquisite pastries. Teens who gather in modern cafes, flip through fashion magazines, and purchase designer bags will enjoy this book. They will also discover that Madison Avenue has nothing on 17th-century Paris.-Kathy Tewell, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
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