Clementine in the Kitchen

Rating:
Summary: Clementine was a made-up character
Review: Although not discussed much publicly (and the reviewers below don't seem aware of it), Clementine was an imaginary character that Samuel Chamberlain made up when his friend at "Gourmet" asked him to contribute to the magazine. It's written as a memoir, but it changes the feel for me when I know it's a made-up character. Laura Shapiro wrote about this in her recent book, "Something From the Oven." Also, the recipes are hard to follow, unlike Julia Child's French recipes.

Rating:
Summary: This gastronomic treasure made me laugh until I cried.
Review: Eloquently written with wit and humor, and peppered with recipes, I was wrapped in epicurian delight as I followed the expatriate Beck family from their idyllic home in pre-World War II France back to the States. Clementine, the family's Cordon Blue chef extraordinaire, introduces the Becks to the joys and adventures of French cuisine. Subsequently returning with them to New England, the indomitable Clementine continues to captivate as she navigates the highs and lows of American gastronomy. As one who reads at least six good meals a day, I consider this book to be one of the very best.

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining
Review: Excellent entertainment, but you can easily read it in one sitting!

More a recipe book than a memoir.

Great traditional french recipes.

Rating:
Summary: This is a Happy Book!
Review: If you've been reading heavy, deep, take-themselves-way-too-seriously type books lately this might be just the ticket if you want to take a break. It's a fast read and if you enjoy reading recipes/cookbooks then you'll love this.

The entire second half of the book is a cookbook and every recipe looks great! I can't wait to try a few.

My only complaint is the use of French was a little tough for a non-French speaking person. I don't mind a word here and there but there were whole sentences and/or paragraphs occasionally. There was no translation so at times I felt a little left out. I completely understand why the author did this and since I like to also read books that use lots of Spanish (a language I do speak a bit of) I know if you speak French you'll love the book all the more for it.

If you love cooking, eating and want to read about some really lovely people then don't let the French thing stop you. Just don't be surprised.

Rating:
Summary: This is a Happy Book!
Review: If you've been reading heavy, deep, take-themselves-way-too-seriously type books lately this might be just the ticket if you want to take a break. It's a fast read and if you enjoy reading recipes/cookbooks then you'll love this.

The entire second half of the book is a cookbook and every recipe looks great! I can't wait to try a few.

My only complaint is the use of French was a little tough for a non-French speaking person. I don't mind a word here and there but there were whole sentences and/or paragraphs occasionally. There was no translation so at times I felt a little left out. I completely understand why the author did this and since I like to also read books that use lots of Spanish (a language I do speak a bit of) I know if you speak French you'll love the book all the more for it.

If you love cooking, eating and want to read about some really lovely people then don't let the French thing stop you. Just don't be surprised.

Rating:
Summary: A sumptuous celebration of French home cooking
Review: Imagine contemporary food/wine lover and author Peter Mayle (A YEAR IN PROVENCE, FRENCH LESSONS) stumbling upon, and subsequently hiring, a fabulous French cook, then writing a book about the experience. This will give you some idea of the flavor of CLEMENTINE IN THE KITCHEN, written by Samuel Chamberlain (under the nom de plume Phineas Beck), and first published in 1943.

The Chamberlains - Samuel, wife, son, and daughter - were residents in the French town of Senlis for several years immediately before the outbreak of World War II. Samuel was an American businessman representing a U.S. company. After enduring five successive unsatisfactory cooks, the family discovered Clementine, a miracle worker in the kitchen. Then, brought back to the States by his company in 1939 because of gathering war clouds, Samuel offers to take the unattached Clementine to the Chamberlains' new home in Marblehead, MA. In addition to being about French food and the preparation of it, CLEMENTINE IN THE KITCHEN is a charming narrative of the lady's introduction to things distinctly un-French, including such wonders as the American outdoor barbecue ceremony, supermarkets, hot dogs, whole hams (unknown back home except by the very rich), frozen foods, canned clam juice, breakfast cereals, Coon cheese, and blueberries.

A few eternal truths were apparent even 60+ years ago. Two examples:

"Sliced American bread in cellophane puzzled Clementine. Those even white slices might be fine for sandwiches of ham and cheese sauteed in butter and covered with a cream sauce, but they didn't have enough substance for her idea of good table bread." Isn't this the truth?! (Such bread does make good peanut butter 'n' jelly sandwiches - though folded over, not cut.)

"The wastefulness of American packaging shocked us all... Fully half the weight of our purchases seemed to go into the trash barrel. The economical Clementine began to save paper bags, until the pile became overwhelming." Don't I know it! Sounds like my wife.

The book's first 150 pages comprise Samuel's narrative regarding Clementine's initial admission into the household, and her subsequent expatriation to Massachusetts. This section contains a few recipes relevant to the text, and a number of B&W sketches, perhaps pencil/charcoal originals, by the author himself. These sketches are truly marvelous works of art depicting locations described: the family's homes in Senlis and Marblehead, the Senlis main shopping street, a favorite French cafe, Boston's Faneuil Hall Market, shady Marblehead lanes, and many others. The book's final 100 pages is a compilation of Clementine's recipes revised by Samuel's daughter, Narcisse. (Clementine didn't stay with the Chamberlains, for a reason I won't reveal here.)

CLEMENTINE IN THE KITCHEN is a must-have addition for anyone interested in food, the time necessary for experimenting with French cooking, and the metabolism to absorb unscathed lots of butter and cream sauces. Unfortunately, I don't have the last two. So, let's see - what frozen dinner gets popped into the microwave tonight?

Rating:
Summary: Clementine in the Kitchen
Review: The gastronomic diary of an American family in France, and of their most treasured possession, Clementine, their extraordinary cook who accompanies them to Marblehead, Massachusetts on the eve of World War II where she struggles with the American way of cooking while managing to retain her very French sensibilities

Rating:
Summary: Your Own Private Cordon Bleu Cook
Review: This delightful part-memoir, part-cookbook is a poignant tale of times past, probably never to be recaptured. The author and family lived for a decade in France where they enjoyed the services of their excellent cook, Clementine. When war clouds broke over Europe, they were somehow able to convince this estimable lady to cross the ocean with them and settle in Marblehead Massachusetts.

Clementine braved the culture shocks of 1940 USA very well to hear Mr. Chamberlain tell it. The mighty American supermarkets, the excesses of packaging, and the difficulties of a one-language nation left her unfazed and French to the core. Unfortunately for her, the one language was not French. I suspect Clementine was not as innocent and circumspect as the author believed, and I am sure at times was very lonely.

The occasional recipes in the memoir section of the book can be daunting to the American cook who is used to exact measures. Mr. Chamberlain rather grumpily hints we should use our imagination. I think I can handle "butter the size of an egg," but confess "a handful of flour" makes me uneasy. The recipes are not exceedingly difficult, though many are painstaking, and all will make a cholesterol counter wince. The recipe for Coquille St. Jacques (scallops) is a marvel of simplicity and excellence. The latter half of the book contains recipes with measurements translated by Mr. Chamberlain's wife and daughter. Somehow, these lack the charm of Clementine's unexpurgated notes.

The book is lavishly illustrated with the author's charcoal and line drawings expertly done. This is a fun book to own for anyone with a taste for provincial French cooking and warm-hearted memoirs.

Rating:
Summary: Your Own Private Cordon Bleu Cook
Review: This delightful part-memoir, part-cookbook is a poignant tale of times past, probably never to be recaptured. The author and family lived for a decade in France where they enjoyed the services of their excellent cook, Clementine. When war clouds broke over Europe, they were somehow able to convince this estimable lady to cross the ocean with them and settle in Marblehead Massachusetts.

Clementine braved the culture shocks of 1940 USA very well to hear Mr. Chamberlain tell it. The mighty American supermarkets, the excesses of packaging, and the difficulties of a one-language nation left her unfazed and French to the core. Unfortunately for her, the one language was not French. I suspect Clementine was not as innocent and circumspect as the author believed, and I am sure at times was very lonely.

The occasional recipes in the memoir section of the book can be daunting to the American cook who is used to exact measures. Mr. Chamberlain rather grumpily hints we should use our imagination. I think I can handle "butter the size of an egg," but confess "a handful of flour" makes me uneasy. The recipes are not exceedingly difficult, though many are painstaking, and all will make a cholesterol counter wince. The recipe for Coquille St. Jacques (scallops) is a marvel of simplicity and excellence. The latter half of the book contains recipes with measurements translated by Mr. Chamberlain's wife and daughter. Somehow, these lack the charm of Clementine's unexpurgated notes.

The book is lavishly illustrated with the author's charcoal and line drawings expertly done. This is a fun book to own for anyone with a taste for provincial French cooking and warm-hearted memoirs.

Rating:
Summary: A literary and culinary delight
Review: You'll love Clementine,and if you aren't american,and live in the U.S.,you'll relate to Clementine's disorientation in some things (complete meals in a box???,big supermarkets,no separate stores for the meat,the bread,the vegetables??).
The recipes are delightful,but,if you are watching how much fat goes in your diet,then don't buy this book to relay on daily basis,there is a lot of bacon,butter and cream in this book!!!.