Emily in France 🇫🇷 A Village of Books
15 bookshops for 800 people
Last week, I discovered a place out of my dreams: Montolieu, population 861, home to 15 used bookshops. (As anyone who’s met me will find unsurprising, I did a fair amount of damage and was very glad to have booked a regular TGV and not a OuiGo on the way back to Paris.)
But despite toting an overstuffed backpack home, I was not actually in Montolieu to go book shopping. I was there to research an upcoming story for the BBC, which, through the magic of editing and time, the world will soon see in its full polished, varnished form. But you insiders are privy the inner workings that made the story possible – a glimpse into Emily-on-the-Road.
Friends, she’s a little bit feral.
Despite being a food writer, when I’m traveling for work, I tend to put the work first.
Exhibit A: On my trip through the Auvergne to update the Michelin Green Guide just before Covid, I subsided mainly on cheeses and salamis gleaned straight from producers for a pittance and, on one occasion, a paper cup of white wine I got a pizza place to sell me to go out of pure pity.
Exhibit B: On my trip through North Wales this summer, I wrapped leftover cheese bits in a napkin and accompanied them with a side of microwaved peas I got my hostel to sell me, once more, out of pity.
In my world, work and food frequently intersect, but when they don’t, as in the case of my Montolieu adventure, I eat a bit like a rabid raccoon.
For lunch my first day, I sat on a park bench overlooking the church, and I devoured a sandwich I’d made that morning before leaving Paziols: leftover omelet my friend Régine had made us for dinner the night before with eggs laid by her own hens, drizzled with a few drops of her homemade vinegar, made the traditional way, by emptying forgotten bottles of wine into a barrel in her attic.
For dinner, I picked up some local Goldrush apples, endive, and a jar of beans, fully intending to make myself a salad until realizing that the room I’d rented was devoid of both fork and knife. I ate the endive leaf-by-leaf standing over the sink and the beans out of the jar, using a broken pen as a spear.
As for breakfast? Coffee, sunshine, and a good book are all I ever need. Especially when I’ve got a chair like this one.
(Next time, I’ll be sure to have my trusty traveling chopsticks in tow.)
Cheese of the Week
Le Carré Aurillac is a bloomy-rinded cheese riddled with blue veining, but it’s got neither the footiness of Camembert nor the bitter punch most associate with bleu. Mild and creamy, this cheese from the heart of the Cantal region is the perfect beginner’s blue for those who think they aren't fans of this character-driven cheese category.
To discover more of my favorite cheeses, be sure to follow me on Instagram @emily_in_france, subscribe to my YouTube channel, and tune into the Terroir Podcast, where Caroline Conner and I delve into France's cheese, wine, and more one region at a time.
What I’m Eating
Maxim’s has long been ze place to be for the see-and-be-seen crowd; a Parisian answer, perhaps, to Tavern on the Green. With that in mind, the renovation of the luxe space is in line with its history. More on the blog.
What I’m Doing
1. Our next TERRE/MER retreat is on the books! Join us for cooking, ceramics, and yoga overlooking the Mediterranean from April 11 to 14. Book now to secure yoru spot!
2. Signups for the next edition of the Nantes Writers’ Workshop June 24 to 28 are open! In the meantime, be sure to sign up for our newsletter to keep those creative juices a-flowing.
Where I’m Going
1. To François Priet, a cheese shop a friend and dining buddy assures me is going to blow my mind.
2. To the Marché Beauvau, to indoctrinate a young cheese lover into full-fledged turophilia.
3. To Wine Paris – specifically, this talk on style, terroir, and longevity featuring three winemakers from three different parts of the world.
What I'm Writing
1. Not so much writing… but the first episode I fixed for Milk Street is now available for your viewing pleasure! It delves into the presence of South Asian street food on the Parisian dining scene. (You can hear me saying "merci" at 3:14.)
2. Chicago restaurants and Midwestern wineries are embracing homegrown grapes, for their sustainability and flavor. For InsideHook.
3. From the archives: What's the (cheesy, bacony) way to say hygge in French? Tartiflette, bien sûr. For Food52.
What I'm Reading
1. One of the best explanations of what the farmer’s strike is actually all about, from my go-to on such matters in English. In French Crossroads.
2. This deep dive into the history and resurgence of Paris as a winemaking region. In Paris Wine Walks.
3. This exploration of one of Paris’ three Chinatowns and its innate diversity. In Secrets of Paris.
A bientôt !