"A delightful, sympathetic and revealing journey into the heart and stomach of the new provincial France. More enjoyable and instructive than a recipe book or a travel guide." -- Theodore Zeldin, author of The French

"A delightful tale of how an American discovers le pays, the little France where the roads on the Michelin map are the thinnest of lines. It is the story of a young couple's restaurant and the ancient French village that it brings back to life. Rather than idealize what he sees, Michael Sanders' report is all the more memorable for its clear-eyed honesty." -- Patric Kuh, author of The Last Days of Haute Cuisine

"Sanders provides a truly intimate, in-depth and eloquent portrait of rural life in a beautiful part of southern France. Rather than the familiar rosy-sentimentalism that characterizes many other books in this genre, his caring and warm admiration for the villagers of the Masse and Lot valleys and his understanding of their arduous lives and time-honed skills, adds a refreshing dimension of authenticity to this intriguing and evocative work." -- David Yeadon, author of Backroad Journeys of Southern Europe

"Michael Sanders in his extraordinary tale has weaved a complex, rich textural tapestry of everyday life in the Lot that is honest, funny and endearing. I have a summer home there and it all rings true to me. He writes with warmth and affection as well as precise keen observation. This is a book for anyone who loves France or who wants to travel there." -- Ken Hom, BBC-TV presenter and author

"[Sanders] renders the restaurant's workday as cannily as he does the village's moments of abrupt dislocation from the present, when the air suddenly seems to hold a thousand years of history in it. A good and leathery year abroad, an honest and deeply enjoyed experience that avoids skimming off only the fruity bonbons while neglecting t