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​This is one of my favorites.. A portrayal of life in France - specifically my part of rural France, the Gers, without any Disneyesque overtones.  It rings very true to me.

This 11 page article written by the same author as above, is decidedly more touristic.  I think it single handedly sparked a mini invasion into the Gers and in particular into Lectoure, where many of the photos were taken.

Kate Hill is one of my favorite cookbook authors.  Even though this volume is slim, by the time you finish reading it, you'll think you were there in person.  The original version of this book appeared in 1995 - a perfectly sized book that won't crush your lap and that can accompany you into the bath.  I don't know how many copies I've purchased! 

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I haven't tried her newest book " CASSOULET A French Obsession" but as always, her writing will conjure up the soul of cassoulet.  I'll save it for cold weather reading.

More of her evocative writing, food photography and lots of recipes.

A Classic.  A Bible.  Fabulous recipes and knowledge base.  This book has a short (11 pg) introduction that is very helpful in figuring out a rather confusing region.   The author is a scholar and extremely down to earth.  Her recipes can be trusted.

This is a book of evolved classics.. with a modern spin.  The author is not wedded to the cuisine of his youth but he is Gascon through and through; proud of his heritage and interested in it's future.  Because these recipes are more involved, more sophisticated,  I use this book for inspiration as it's ambitions are slightly beyond me.

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In the words of Pascal “I take the base of the ingredient and with the team twist it to a certain level where we try to reach a new style and identity, something which is a bit different,”

This is one of a series of books featuring Bruno, a local policeman assigned, and determined to remain assigned to a small town in the Perigord (just above the Gers)  The mysteries are fun - although they often detail painful parts of French history.  But they mysteries are less compelling than the picture portrayed of a young French man who puts his roots, food, wine, nature, and personal relationships above everything else.

I haven't actually seen this movie yet, although I've tried to.  It appears to be a typical French comedy, possibly not great.. But, after trying to film it in other locations, the director realized that he was looking for the calm and beauty of the Gers.  It was filmed.. perhaps 20 minutes from here.  So, I am still trying to get a copy.

I haven't read this book either but it's a travelogue about the life of a young Englishman working on a farm in the southern part of the Gascony; about about an hour and half south of where I live.. not far from the area

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The last book/movie that I haven't actually read.  This a both a cookbook and a memoir of Pierre Koffmann, a renowned London cook who earned his third Michelin star only six years after opening La Tante Claire in 1977.  He retired in 2003 although he has returned to the cooking world on a casual basis.  This book is a classic. 

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